Los Angeles County Grand Jury • 1997-1998

LOS Angeles County Grand Jury Final Report

269 pages
Ver PDF original

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F8, F9, F10

Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

F3 Page 14
II.1 Los Angeles County can reduce the cost of the Workers' Compensation Program by an estimated $4.9 million annually. An outside consultant, hereinafter referred to as "Consultant A", hired by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), prepared a report in May 1996 for the County which contained
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Page 19
III.4.4 to assist in preparation of the information for the revised actuarial valuation; 3.III.5.2 After
F4 Page 20
V.1</u> Procedures for issuing program reports are inadequate. During the visits to the 22 group homes, procedural problems were noted within CRS/DCFS that delayed the mailing of CRS/DCFS audit reports to some of the group homes by as much as 15 days. This is inconsistent with the contractual requirement imposed on group homes to respond, in writing, to the audit report within 15 days of the date of the report. Therefore, it is recommended that the Director of the Department of Children and Family Services: 4.V.1.1 Implement internal procedures to insure that program audit reports are expeditiously processed after completion by the Contract Audit Section and mailed within one day from the date of the audit report. <b>Executive Summary</b> Illegal activities are not promptly reported to law enforcement
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Page 22
V.3.1. It is also recommended that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 4.V.3.3 Designate appropriate staff to monitor the quarterly reports of Social Workers' face-to-face visits with children under the care of DCFS. 4.V.3.4 As part of the two DCFS managers visit per year they specifically include inspection of the food services provided at each Group Home; and the facilities. 4.V.3.5 DCFS managers verify program statement compliance at each visit. DCFS managers and CSW verify if child has had a complete assessment 4.V.3.6 and evaluation. If not, they must schedule an evaluation expeditiously, and the child's file shall be kept current. Each time a child is relocated to a different facility the file is to accompany him her at the time of relocation. 4.V.3.7 Before a young person is emancipated, there must be total agreement between CSW and the Group Home operator. If not, the case shall be referred to Juvenile Court for settlement. <b>Executive Summary</b>
F5 Page 28
1 Los Angeles Grand Jury training needs updating to comply with new law California law now requires all grand jurors to receive training to understand the scope of their responsibilities and statutory authority. While some training is already provided as part of the Superior Court's charge to each new grand jury, our review of relevant written materials showed that the description of the reviewing process for grand jury reports was not completely clear, nor did the 1997-1998 Grand Jury receive information on statutes, court decisions and legal research memoranda that help define the scope of its responsibilities and statutory authority. <sup>1</sup>Appendices B, C and D hereof contain the complete texts of this statute and two proposed bills concerning grand jury matters, which are currently under consideration by the California Legislature. <b>Executive Summary</b> Therefore, it is recommended that the District Attorney, acting as legal advisor to the Los Angeles Grand Jury: 5.I.1 Update all training/orientation materials for new Grand Jurors to reflect that Grand Jury reports are reviewed by the Legal Advisor from the District Attorney's Office, the Office of the County Counsel, and the Superior Court, and the reasons for each review, particularly the differing roles that the Legal Advisor and the Office of the County Counsel play in this process. 5.I.2 Ask the Office of the County Counsel to provide copies of all applicable legal research memoranda it has prepared for previous grand juries during the past ten years, which remain in its possession, listed in chronological order, identified by subject(s) and penal code reference(s). The file of these memoranda should be assigned a permanent location in the Legal Advisor's Office at the grand jury, and regularly updated as new memoranda are received. 5.I.3 Request that if the Supervising Judge of the Superior Court excises any material from the Grand Jury Final Report, a memorandum explaining the Court's legal basis for such excision be provided to the Grand Jury and filed in the casebook described in the following
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Page 29
I.4. 5.I.4 Establish a casebook, also to be maintained in the Legal Advisor's Office at the grand jury, of legal research memoranda, key case law and statutes pertaining to the grand jury. Responsibility for maintaining this casebook, on an annual basis, should be assigned to the juror appointed as Secretary of the Grand Jury, assisted by the Legal Advisor from the District Attorney's Office and the Office of the County Counsel. <b>5.I.5</b> Establish a permanent procedure for receiving and filing copies of all new statutes, proposed legislation and court decisions applicable to California grand juries from the Legislative Services Office of the Los Angeles Superior and Municipal Court. Executive Summary <b>5.I.6</b> Provide to all new Grand Jury members, as part of the training now required under Penal Code Section 914(b), excerpts from the proposed casebook as part of their orientation and training materials, including copies of relevant statutes, case law and key legal research memoranda.
F6 Page 32
1 Public education is essential to reducing non-emergency use of the 9-1-1 system in the short term. Public education programs and outreach efforts have been highly successful in informing residents of Los Angeles County of the existence of 9-1-1. However, these programs have failed to teach residents to discriminate between emergency and non-emergency situations. Only recently has education begun in the use of the seven digit non-emergency numbers. Processing non-emergency calls through the 9-1-1 system potentially (a) increases the number of abandoned calls, (b) causes continuing delays in answering calls, (c) delays emergency service response time, and (d) leads to loss of life and/or property due to delays in responding. Executive Summary Therefore it is recommended that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 6.I.1 Assist 9-1-1 Administrators in seeking demonstration grant money from the United States Department of Justice (COPS Office), and the California Department of Justice to develop and implement public education and information programs as an additional method of reducing non-emergency calls. 6.I.2 Fund a County-wide public education and information program designed to provide residents with information on appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 9-1-1 systems. 6.I.3 Designate a staff member to serve as contact person for the 47 9-1-1 Directors in the County. 6.I.4 Encourage law enforcement agencies to foster relationships with school districts, utilities, religious, and nonprofit community based organizations in order to develop collaborative educational programs. Also, it is recommended that 9-1-1 Directors in Los Angeles County: 6.I.5 Create and distribute clear and concise brochures that explain the appropriate use of 9-1-1 6.I.6 Ask the public utilities operating in the County to insert the new 9-1-1 brochure with their utility bills as a public service. 6.I.7 Ask the electronic and print media companies to assist in promoting the proper use of 9-1-1 by developing and running public service announcements and special advertisements for newspapers, television, and radio. <b>Executive Summary</b> 6.I.8 Ask the telephone companies to provide front cover visibility on their directories for key emergency/non-emergency information, and to consider printing a special page listing emergency/non-emergency numbers and providing peel-off stickers that may be placed on telephones. 6.I.9 Develop programs with school districts to educate children on the proper use of the 9-1-1 system and provide information sheets with peel-off stickers.
No recommendations for this finding
F7 Page 35
1 At time of registration to vote, proof of citizenship, age, and residency is not required. The voter registration system is seriously flawed. However, this is not because of the policy and procedures implemented by the office of the Los Angeles County Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk. Quite the contrary. The system is flawed because of Federal and State laws that, over the years, have so liberalized the registration requirements and the process that, collectively, they prostitute the intent of the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States clearly states that a citizen, 18 years of age or older, has the right to vote. The California Constitution adds a disqualification of electors while mentally incompetent or imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony. Under current Federal and State law, applicants certify, under penalty of perjury, that the information on the registration form is correct. Thus our election system is an "honor system". Lacking proof at time of registration creates the need for a host of administrative procedures used by the Registrar of Voters, all labor intensive and costly, in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the system. <b>Executive Summary</b> Therefore, it is recommended that The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 7.I.1 Endorse the
No recommendations for this finding
F11 Page 240
ll The Cost of building the Red Line is being shared by a combination of federal and state funding, with matching local funds from voter-approved sales tax initiatives and established benefits. <b>Transportation Committee</b> 11-2 Status of Metropolitan Transit Authority Therefore, it is recommended that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 11.II.1 Request that the Federal and State governments exercise greater oversight and coordinate the MTA operations to best serve the needs of this County.
No recommendations for this finding

Additional Recommendations 2

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.