ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Panel Deserving of Its Status

Orange County is scrutinizing all of its programs in the face of severe budget shortfalls that have already brought deep cuts in social services. Some programs that in other times might go on unquestioned may fall by the wayside. But the Commission on the Status of Women shouldn’t be one of them.

In one significant way, women have arrived as equal partners to men: In ever-greater numbers, they work outside the home. But they still make 68 cents to every $1 made by men. Meanwhile, they shoulder most of the housework and child care needed to keep family life together. They also are primary caretakers of elder relatives. And, sadly, they still are the victims of violence inflicted by their partners.

All of these are uniquely women’s issues that deeply affect the fabric of society. Orange County’s Commission on the Status of Women has proved effective in bringing them to the attention of the Board of Supervisors and in offering constructive ways to deal with them.

Working with a tiny staff--one part-time and two full-time people--the 15-member volunteer commission has issued reports on women’s issues. It has issued a well-received child-care resource book. It has sponsored legislation in Sacramento on domestic violence. The commission office also fields about 200 calls a month from women who desperately need help. All of this is done on a modest budget of $114,000 a year.

The county’s budget staff says that, although careful questions are being asked, no decision has been made on the fate of the commission. There is some thought that the commission’s functions could be combined with the Human Relations Commission or given to another department.

That would be unfortunate, because many issues important to women would slip though the cracks. The Commission on the Status of Women was created to advise the Board of Supervisors on how to make Orange County a better place for women to live and work. That challenge should not be abandoned.