Finding F2.7
Racial disparity poses a challenge, especially with Black and Hispanic children. Proportionately, there are more Black and Hispanic children in foster care than the relative share of the Black and Hispanic population in Los Angeles County. This creates a challenge in finding resource families, social workers and mental health clinicians of the same culture to care for and work with them. When children are placed with foster parents who have no understanding of the child’s culture, it makes the adjustment more difficult for both. Communication gaps and misunderstandings are more likely to occur. The same is true when social workers or mental health clinicians with no knowledge or exposure to the child’s culture are assigned to work with them.
Jury report: Los Angeles County Foster Care · PDF page 133
Permanent linkOfficial response
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (consolidated County departmental response)
County partially disagrees, describing DMH merit-based recruitment, cultural-needs documentation and training. Response does not resolve demographic disproportions or comprehensively address DCFS workers and resource families.
Read official response · PDF page 19Partial disagreement is explicit, but disputed portions of compound finding are not clearly mapped. DMH-specific reasons are concrete and cite Civil Service Rules, CLAS standards and Medi-Cal requirements; demographic and non-DMH propositions remain unexplained. Report physical PDF page(s) 133; County response physical PDF page(s) 19. Claims remain attributed; adoption date is not a filing or receipt date.
This review evaluates the response document. Implementation claims have not been independently verified.