Group Praises County’s Children Policies : Social services: The rate of 3.4 per 1,000 in foster care is the second lowest in the state. Cooperation is cited as a key.

A statewide watchdog group issued a report Thursday ranking Ventura County among the nine best counties in California for children’s welfare.

Children Now, a nonprofit group based in Los Angeles, reported that Ventura County has the second-lowest rate of foster-care placements among California’s counties, the fifth-lowest rate of juvenile incarceration and the fifth-lowest rate of children living in extreme poverty.

The report ranks Ventura County among the nine best counties in child welfare indicators such as infant mortality, violent crime rate and births out of wedlock. And the county is above the state average for all the indicators and above the national average for all except child support.

With 3.4 children out of every 1,000 in foster care, Ventura County was bested only by tiny Amador County, which had 3.2 children per 1,000 in foster care, the report said.

Los Angeles County has 13.1 children per 1,000 living in foster homes and the worst, San Francisco County, has 22.9 children per 1,000 in foster care.

“Ventura County stands out above the rest, having experienced a 10% reduction in its (foster-care) placement rates since 1987 and showing a 1990 rate that is 65% below the state average,” the report said.

Ventura County was one of nine--others were Amador, Marin, Napa, Nevada, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties--ranked among the best because they scored in the top 20% on at least four of the indicators analyzed by Children Now, the report said.

Los Angeles County was ranked among the bottom 10, along with Alameda, Fresno, Kern, Madera, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco and San Joaquin counties, according to Children Now.

“Ventura County is one of the nine counties making good progress,” said Deborah Ellwood, senior policy analyst for Children Now. “People are trying hard to coordinate services for Ventura (County) and to keep families together.

“The sad thing is that we see worsening conditions for kids in every section of the state, and there are more kids in worse trouble--that’s what’s so grim about this report,” she said.

Wendy Lazarus, who is Children Now’s vice president for policy, said Ventura County is not immune to those worsening conditions.

* The percentage of underweight babies born in Ventura County (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces) rose from 4.9% to 5.9% from 1988 to 1989, showing that prenatal care in Ventura County may not be adequate.

* The percentage of girls ages 15 to 19 who bore babies out of wedlock increased from 22.5% to 25.5% from 1988 to 1989, dimming those mothers’ chances of finishing high school and staying off welfare.

* The percentage of court orders for child support that resulted in payment of any child support decreased from 46% in 1989 to 45% in 1990--below the national average of 55%. “In most places, it’s because there’s not enough person power and effort put into enforcement,” Lazarus said.

“These ought to be viewed as warning signs so county officials and community leaders can get a better handle on why those trends are happening and what can be done quickly about them,” Lazarus said.

But Lazarus also praised Ventura County for its agencies’ willingness to work together, and credited that cooperation with the county’s good report card.

“I think it’s not a coincidence that we see some relatively good results on things like foster-care rates, juvenile incarceration rates that are far less than the state average,” Lazarus said.

“Part of what I think people need to hear is that programs like this really are making a difference,” she said. “I hope that Ventura (County) is really a model to other communities . . . and that others will pick up on these proven, successful ideas.”

Many county workers credited Supervisor Susan K. Lacey and juvenile court judges past and present for fostering cooperation among county agencies that work with children.

“Among the folk who run the various children’s programs . . . we have agreements,” Lacey said Thursday. “We have fewer turf battles and we have more respect and we work closer together than other localities.”

The heads of the Corrections Services, Mental Health Services and Public Social Services agencies meet regularly to coordinate cases and make plans, Lacey said.

“Instead of blaming each other, people sit down and try and solve things,” she said. “That strengthens the system.”

For example, county mental health workers keep track of individual children whose cases move through schools, foster-care programs, social services and Juvenile Hall, watching their progress and steering them toward the help they need, said Mental Health Director Randall Feltman.

“Trying to enable a kid to stay with their family or foster family when appropriate, in their community, to attend their school and to stay out of trouble--that’s basically our goal,” said Mario Hernandez, chief of children’s mental health services.

The county Corrections Services Agency strives to keep the juvenile crime rate from rising by counseling youths to avoid repeat offenses, said Karen Staples, division manager for field services.

The agency also provides safehouses for abused children and runaways, psychotherapists for those with mental health problems and job programs to help delinquent youths earn the money to pay restitution to the victims of minor crimes they commit, Staples said.

Interagency cooperation has helped reduce the repeat offenses rate by 56%, Hernandez said.

Lacey admitted that some children may be going without county support they need. And she warned that cuts in Ventura County’s social services budget could erode the support that is available now.

“It takes some work to keep it going, especially when you’re in a time when you’re cutting budgets,” she said. “It’s kind of easy to keep everybody happy when you’re getting more, but when you’re cutting, it’s hard to keep the strength of your relationships.”

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Ventura County’s Children A new study has found that children in Ventura County fared much better than many of their peers in other parts of the state and nation on issues of health and welfare. The County Rank compares Ventura County with other counties in the state. Here is a look at some key indicators:

COUNTY RANK* VENTURA 1=Best, COUNTY CALIF. U.S. 58=Worst EDUCATION 8th-Grade Achievement Score Averages 21 of 58 278 257 n.a. (500 possible): High School Dropouts: 17 of 57 12.4% 20.8% n.a. HEALTH Infant Mortality Rate 6 of 38 6.6 8.6 10.0 (per 1,000 live births): Low Birth Weight 9 of 38 5.9% 6.1% 6.9% (less than 5 lbs. 8 oz.): SAFETY Violent Crime Rate of General Population 11 of 54 399 977 663 (per 100,000): Foster Care Rate 2 of 46 3.4 10.1 6.4 (per 1,000 children): TEEN YEARS Births to Unmarried Teens 10 of 48 25.5 42.9 36.8 (per 1,000 females): Juvenile Incarceration Rate 5 of 25 178 306 221 (per 100,000 youths): FAMILY LIFE Compliance With Court Orders to Pay Child Support: 28 of 58 45% 39% 55% Children Living 5 of 58 8% 17% 12% in Extreme Poverty:

* In some categories, statistics for all counties were not available.

A Day in the Life of California’s Children EVERY DAY:

1,560 babies will be born in California

3 young people will be murdered

12 babies under age 1 will die

174 babies will be born to teen mothers

179 teens will drop out of school

306 babies will be born into poverty

SOURCE: Children Now, 1991 Compiled by Times researcher Michael Meyers