NEWS
August 27, 1999 | VIRGINIA ELLIS, TIMES STAFF WRITER
For 15 years, Dennis Mooney was a foster parent, caring for the emotionally scarred, physically neglected children who were the castoffs of drug addicts, abusers and petty criminals. Seared into his memory is the plight of newborn twin boys severely addicted to the heroin ingested by their mother during pregnancy. Simple feedings, Mooney remembers, took hours as the babies' bodies fought to reject life-sustaining nourishment.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 10, 1998 | ERIC BAILEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Buffeted by reports of troubles in California's child welfare system, state lawmakers are considering an $81-million plan to improve oversight and care for abused, abandoned and delinquent children. Among the areas targeted for attention is the over-medication of some of the 15,000 children housed in the state's network of group homes. A state task force has also proposed an increase in funding for more frequent social worker visits to ensure that children are receiving proper care.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
July 13, 1991 | MICHAEL CONNELLY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Religious cult leader Tony Alamo, appearing in a courtroom packed with longtime followers, was ordered Friday to be moved to Arkansas to face charges that he threatened to kidnap and hang a federal judge.
NEWS
November 10, 1991 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The number of child custody fights have risen sharply in recent years, as have pressures on families and awareness of domestic violence and child abuse, experts said. The number of custody mediation cases jumped 24% over the past three years, according to a new survey by the statewide Office of Family Court Services. "I think more people are suffering," said Larry Lehner, coordinator of a training conference for mediators from throughout the state. "Families are under a great deal of stress."
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
February 22, 1991 | TINA ANIMA
Susan Jarreau did not remember being sexually abused until more than 10 years after it happened. By then, she found, there was little she could do about it. Jarreau, 36, of Encino, said she was abused from the age of 6 until she was 14. After the memories surfaced in her early 20s, the wife of singer-songwriter Al Jarreau sought therapy.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 26, 1998 | ANDREW BLANKSTEIN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
The case that exposed shortcomings in Los Angeles County's overburdened criminal justice and child welfare systems reached its conclusion Friday as a judge sentenced a Hollywood man to 21 years to life in prison for beating his 2-year-old son to death. David Helms, 37, showed no emotion as Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Sandy R. Kriegler handed down the maximum sentence for the 1995 slaying--a crime for which Helms' girlfriend originally was imprisoned.