Peter Digre
The Sept. 8 article documenting the positive changes in services to children and families in Los Angeles County since the arrival of Director Peter Digre was an insightful message. His leadership, however, has not been limited to the Department of Children’s Services.
For too long, child welfare agencies have struggled to stem the tide of child maltreatment without reaching out to collaborate with other agencies. Digre has given children a better chance because he knows his department must be part of a larger safety net.
As one example, Digre worked with 12 agencies to develop the nation’s first computerized interagency high-risk family and children’s index. This index, once fully operational, will allow law enforcement, medical practitioners, schools and other human services agencies to identify and collaborate on high-risk families before a child is damaged or dead. He then secured state and federal funding to assure this concept would become a reality.
DEANNE TILTON DURFEE
Executive Director
Los Angeles County Inter-Agency Council
on Child Abuse and Neglect
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