Coordinating Council for Children OKd : County government: The planning unit, established by the Board of Supervisors, will pull together hundreds of private and public services for youngsters.

Responding to growing complaints of costly and ineffective services for children in Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to establish a planning council to promote coordination among hundreds of public and private children’s agencies.

The Children’s Planning Council is urgently needed to improve collaboration by the more than 1,100 private groups and myriad public agencies that serve 2 million children every year, according to a report issued in April by a committee studying problems in children’s services.

“I think the county took a giant step that should result in immense benefit to literally thousands of kids--perhaps 100,000 kids--that aren’t being reached today just by delivering services efficiently,” said David Fleming, an attorney who was chairman of the Los Angeles County Blue Ribbon Children’s Services Planning Committee. “We are very pleased.”

As the unanimous vote was being cast at the County Hall of Administration, more than 200 social service workers gathered at the Ronald Reagan State Building as part of a statewide effort to protest proposed cuts in state-funded social welfare programs for children.

They delivered petitions with hundreds of signatures to the governor’s Los Angeles office calling for restored funding.

The protest was one of several around the state Tuesday in which 44 organizations, including unions representing children’s social services workers, charged that Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed cuts of $57 million in children’s services while claiming that the program is fully funded.

“We are here today for our children, who are often referred to as the leaders of tomorrow,” said Tim Farrell, president of Service Employees International Union, Local 535. He predicted that “clinics will be closing down or cut back.”

Phil Ansell, senior field representative for the Local 535, which represents many social services workers, said that the Wilson Administration recently lowered its projections of the caseload in children’s services for the coming year, then reduced its proposed funding for the program.

“I understand their argument,” said Catherine Camacho, assistant secretary for the Cabinet-level California Health and Welfare Agency, who speaks for Wilson on health and welfare policy issues. “But we don’t agree with it. . . . We maintain that we have fully funded caseloads in child welfare services.”

Camacho said Wilson had projected a higher budget for children’s services in his initial budget proposal in January. That estimate was based on the number of children being served during the first six months of 1990, she said. When figures for the second half of 1990 were completed in May, she said, the caseload was down, so Wilson reduced his proposed budget to $524.7 million for fiscal 1991-92.

The blue ribbon committee had first proposed a body overseen by the supervisors in the belief that the board would have enough power to effect real change.

That proposal was countered by Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon, who tried and failed to create a council that was not a county agency. Blue ribbon committee members strongly opposed this, saying it could leave the new council powerless.

As approved Tuesday, the new council will be funded by the county, and Dixon will have a seat on the 24-member board. The board will include representatives from schools, minority groups, cities, private nonprofit groups and county departments.

The council, to be headed by the president pro tem of the Board of Supervisors, is to convene within 60 days.