Antonovich Calls for Child Abuse Investigation
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich asked Tuesday that several county departments research allegations made in a recent Times story concerning child abuse slayings in the Antelope Valley.
The story, which appeared Sunday, indicated that in several of the cases, county officials were aware of a history of child abuse in the families before a child actually died.
Geographic isolation, drug use and a lack of services also were blamed for an alarming number of fatal child abuse cases in the high desert.
In the past 14 months, as many as seven Antelope Valley youngsters have died at the hands of their guardians.
Antonovich asked the departments of Public Social Services, Mental Health, Children’s Services and the sheriff to look into the problem and report back to the board on what is being done to address it.
He also suggested that a future hearing concerning child abuse be held in the Antelope Valley.
In a separate action, the board approved a grant of $8,560 for the Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council.
That amount will be paid by federal grant funds controlled by Antonovich’s office.
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