Board Studies Shift to New Child Support Enforcement

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday inched uneasily toward taking control of Los Angeles County’s child support system in the wake of new legislation signed by the governor last week removing the operation from the district attorney’s office.

Supervisors instructed county staff to study how best to shift the 1,600-person child support unit from the district attorney’s office to a new county department, as mandated by the new law. They put an emphasis on finding out how to make the transition without any loss of jobs or services to parents.

They also warned that they could not rush the transition, which is not required until Jan. 1, 2001. Supervisors said Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti wants to divest himself of the program in the next three months but that it may take longer.

“We could be a victim in this thing too, and the kids could be, if we don’t do it the right way up front,” Supervisor Don Knabe said.

Supervisors created a task force of various county agencies ranging from the welfare office to the Family Support Advisory Board to draft a transition plan. They also asked for reports on how much control of child support policy they will have now that the program is under their authority.

On Friday, Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation that removed child support from the state’s 58 district attorneys, created a state department to monitor the new offices and greatly increased the Franchise Tax Board’s role in collecting money owed to more than 3 million California children.

The legislation, a longtime dream of child support advocates, was spurred by a Times series that revealed that Los Angeles had the worst operation in the state, failing to collect money in nine of 10 cases and erroneously billing thousands of innocent men.

Critics had long held that California’s child support system was in bad shape because it was fractured among powerful district attorneys. By removing prosecutors from the picture they hoped to allow the state to have better oversight of county operations.

The move has created anxieties among some politicians who are worried that they may suffer if the unpopular operation does not improve.

“We need to understand what we’re getting into here,” Supervisor Gloria Molina said. “I’m interested in doing it as quickly as we possibly can [but] I don’t want it done hastily.”

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who asked about studying ways to increase privatization of the unit, urged speed. “The clock is always running for these children,” he said.