Department of Children and Family Services (Los Angeles County)
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Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is an agency of the
government of Los Angeles County The Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county g ...
. DCFS's operations involve investigating child welfare and abuse allegations, foster care, and adoption. DCFS files child welfare allegations in
Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court is a Los Angeles County Superior Court in Monterey Park, California, United States. This court handles all of the juvenile dependency cases in Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County o ...
, located in
Monterey Park, California Monterey Park is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future". Mo ...
, and the Alfred J. McCourtney Juvenile Justice Center in
Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...
. DCFS is represented by
Los Angeles County Counsel The Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel is a public law office that serves as legal counsel to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and other County agencies. History The Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel was established in 191 ...
.
Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc. (LADL) is a non-profit organization that represents parents in juvenile dependency proceedings in Los Angeles County. A dependency hearing is a court proceeding involving a child, typically in cases of parental ...
represents the parents and Children's Law Center represents the children.


History

Los Angeles County Social Services began their origin in the Office of Superintendent of Children's and Women's Work, formed in 1891, to care for destitute women and their children under the guidelines of the 1851 Poor Law. The Department of Charities was formed in 1913 and included five Divisions: County Hospital, County Farm, Outdoor Relief, Olive View Sanatorium, and Cemetery Divisions. By statute enacted in 1903, California's first juvenile court had jurisdiction over dependent, neglected and delinquent children. The Division of Outdoor Relief was expanded and renamed in 1938, the Bureau of Indigent Relief, and in 1943 changed again to the Bureau of Public Assistance. In 1966, the Bureau of Public Assistance became the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). In 1984, after public discussion and hearings, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors created both the Department of Children Services and the Commission for Children's Services. In 1994, the Board changed the name to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In 2013, eight-year-old Gabriel Fernandez was brutally murdered by his mother and her boyfriend in Palmdale, California. The two were found guilty of torture and first degree murder. Pearl Fernandez, the child's mother is currently serving life while her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre was sentenced to death. Charges of criminal negligence brought against employees of the Department of Children and Families of California prompted public outcry for accountability. In 2020, Netflix released the documentary "The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez" telling his story.


Notable investigations

According to reports DCFS had investigated
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
beginning in 1993, with a sexual abuse allegation and again in 2003. Reports show the
LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
and DCFS did not find credible evidence of abuse or sexual misconduct.


References


External links


DCFS Website
{{County of Los Angeles Child abuse in the United States Child welfare in the United States Government of Los Angeles County, California County government agencies in California Child welfare