Typically, a foreign consulate in the United States doles out passports, helps travelers in crisis and serves as a liaison to the home country.
But the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles has become an almost de facto public agency in recent years, forming partnerships with government officials and nonprofits here to provide healthcare, offer mental health counseling, fight labor violations and hold literacy classes.
The consulate took another step earlier this year to meet the needs of Mexicans living in L.A. County by teaming up with the Superior Court and the county's Department of Children and Family Services to regularly assist Mexican nationals in dependency proceedings.
Court and county officials welcomed the help, even giving the consulate space for a desk at the Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park. Ted Myers, chief deputy director of the family services department, said having consular representatives on site helps parents, who are often in shock after having their children taken away, understand and maneuver through the dependency court system.
"It's great having them there and being able to connect [parents] to the services right away," he said. "It vastly increases the probability of them following through and keeping appointments."
In March, Michael Nash, the presiding judge in Juvenile Court, and Juan Marcos Gutierrez-Gonzalez, the Mexican consul general, signed an agreement laying out procedures to follow if Mexican nationals are involved in dependency court proceedings. For example, court officials agreed to allow consular representatives to attend court hearings.
The consulate also began offering free Spanish-language parenting classes, using a curriculum approved by the county. Most of the parents, including 27-year-old Mexican immigrant Gema Galvan, were ordered by the court to attend classes.
Galvan's three children were taken away in November when she hit one of them with a belt. The court directed her to attend counseling and take anger management, domestic violence and parenting classes. Galvan, who works part time at a garment factory, said she was grateful to find a free course because she already had to spend more than $100 a week on the other courses.
During the 12-week parenting class at the consulate, Galvan said, she learned how to talk to her children at their level and how to control herself when they misbehave. Galvan has visits with her children every week and said she believes she is on track to get them back by the end of the year.
