Why Not Forgive and Forget?

Peter Digre, the third director in the six-year history of the Los Angeles County Children’s Services Department, faces a daunting task in his new job. He must come up with better ways to protect the abandoned, abused and neglected children entrusted to the county’s care--and do it with less money than before.

Now the agency faces yet another squeeze that could end up cutting 190 jobs at a time when the caseload is expected to mushroom. Overbilling by the county, due in part to shoddy record-keeping, has Sacramento threatening to take $3 million of its money back. This additional hit would be on top of a $22.7 million in state funds cut after former Gov. Deukmejian vetoed child welfare funds. The agency was also forced to give up even more after a state audit substantiated overbilling.

Digre is appealing to state officials to restore that $3 million cut by promising that his administration will not make such mistakes. In his first month on the job, Digre has tightened management, reduced the administration and cut back on overtime, transportation and office expenses. He has vowed to make other reforms in an agency beset by many problems--particularly in foster care, which the state threatened to take over last year.

Digre plans to cure the documentation problem by improving record-keeping. He has seen records on top of and under desks, in office corners and on the back seats of cars. Some case files are lost--and could end up costing the agency state funds.

Restoring that $3 million would allow the county to keep on valuable employees rather than let them go now shortly before the seasonal upswing begins with the hope of rehiring them at the start of the next fiscal year. The county supervises 50,000 children. Those numbers are expected to grow, fueled by the continuing disintegration of families, loss of jobs caused by the recession and the drug crisis. In addition, Digre is keeping tabs on the war to determine if the loss of young husbands and boyfriends is creating social or economic stress on families.

Sacramento should give this dynamic new agency head a vote of confidence by restoring the $3 million.