LANCASTER : Program to Reunite Families Praised

The newly formed Antelope Valley Hispanic Project was praised Monday by county officials for performing a crucial role in addressing the problems of Latino children and their families.

The project, set up by the Department of Children’s Services in November and funded with a $130,000 grant from Supervisor Mike Antonovich, was created to reunite troubled families and obtain safe and sanitary living conditions for children.

Antonovich attended Monday’s reception at the Lancaster Department of Children’s Services office, along with Department Director Peter Digre and Juvenile Court Judge Jaime R. Corral.

The project pays for Spanish-speaking therapists and counselors to assist families and children in Dependency Court proceedings, in which judges decide whether children should be taken from their families on grounds ranging from child abuse to poor living conditions.

Targets of the project are high desert communities dominated by poor Latinos, such as Joshua Hills, Hi-Vista and Lake Los Angeles. Some residences in those areas lack such necessities as electricity and plumbing, a county spokesman said.