Lawyers Ask for Reforms in Foster System

Lawyers representing foster children in Los Angeles County asked a federal court Tuesday to order the county to fulfill its promise under a 2003 legal settlement to radically overhaul its treatment services for thousands of mentally ill children.

Describing the county's plan for treating foster children as "woefully inadequate," the attorneys filed legal papers asking that an independent panel of experts develop a better blueprint.

The lawyers represent an array of activist groups that have long been critical of the county's treatment of foster children, including the Los Angeles-based Western Center on Law and Poverty and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz is expected to hear arguments on the request March 13.