SUPERVISOR MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH
Published On 08-21-2008 , 9:34 PM
What makes Mike Antonovich, a Los Angeles County Supervisor, so dedicated to the well-being of children in the foster care system?
As guest on Wednesday’s Talk About Parenting with Shirlee Smith Live Call-In Show, Antonovich responded to that question by telling of an experience he had as a schoolteacher in the years before he became an elected official. That experience, he said, brought him to know up close the horrors of child abuse.
And the Supervisor’s been a champion for children who are in harms way ever since.
While the media feeds the public regular news stories relating to problems within the county’s foster care system, our LIVE conversation Wednesday didn’t focus on the negative, and instead offered ways for people to become involved in making life better for children either as individuals or through churches, service clubs or other organizations.
Often children are placed in group homes, and a caller wanted to know the number of these in his community. It’s often claimed by residents that there is a proliferation of these “businesses” and that the youth in them create problems for the neighborhood.
By follow-up email the caller made it clear he wasn’t on the side of the complainers but that he needed the facts to answer them back when the issue resurfaces, as it continually does.
While the answer wasn’t available during the broadcast, that’s the service our YouTube Forum here on the site provides. Post the question and the guest, or in this case the Supervisor’s staff, will post an answer.
Got questions? Go to our YouTalk Forum. Got questions? Contact Tony Bell in the Supervisor's office at (213) 974-5555 or by email at: TB@ lacbos.org.
But wait, there’s more. Cathy Walsh from the Los Angeles County Safely Surrender program shed light on why desperate mothers might put their newborn baby in a dumpster rather than taking them to a hospital in Los Angeles County or to any fire station.
Help spread the word about the Safely Surrender progam that asks no questions and is done with no name, no shame and no blame. If you missed the show, get the facts at:www.babysafela.org
If you saw the show and need a speaker or just want more information, visit the above website.
Become involved in helping a foster child have a broader vision of life’s possibilities. Call the Los Angeles County Foster Youth Mentorship Opportunies Program at (213) 361—0106
And don’t forget there are hundreds of children needing a supportive and nurturing placement. Los Angeles County "Adopt a Foster Child" Hotline: (888) 811-1121.
In case everyone doesn’t know, I’m a foster parent and Brandi has been in my care for 17-years and 3 months. That's all of her life and a huge slice of mine. Phew!
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