Supervisors Revive Self-Esteem Program

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors revived its dormant task force on self-esteem Tuesday to bestow praise on deserving youths, dole out awards for self-esteem boosters, and generally preach feel-good messages.

Praising the success of the program that was killed last summer, Supervisor John K. Flynn urged that the new task force expand its membership and focus on single mothers, latchkey children, and child-care centers.

“At first this was thought of as a funny, kooky idea,” Flynn said after the board’s decision to reinstate the task force. “I think it’s taken seriously now.”

The group’s biggest accomplishment, Flynn said, was earning public acknowledgment that healthy self-esteem can go a long way toward curing social ills such as crime, drug abuse, gang violence, alcoholism and divorce.

The task force was modeled after a statewide Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility that drew potshots for its touchy-feely overtones. Garry Trudeau penned it into his satirical “Doonesbury” cartoon strip.

But Flynn said the county’s work was significant in boosting self-esteem in the workplace and on school grounds.

“Children need this more than ever,” the supervisor said. “So many children don’t get it reinforced at home as much as they should with both parents working.”

Before the group was disbanded last summer, it recognized teen-agers who overcame hardships at home, produced a video on parenting and a variety show on esteem-building. The task force also sent schools how-to sheets on helping children feel better about themselves.

“Identifying kids and improving parenting was the key to everything,” said Steve Kingsford, former chairman and assistant superintendent for the county superintendent of schools office. Without it, he said, “you’re only putting out fires and spending scads of money on broken people.”

The new 30-member group will have 20 members appointed by the supervisors--four from county agencies and six picked by the group at its first meeting this spring.