Government Programs Orange County

More than a year after offering Californians advice on how to combat fire ants with chemicals and boiling water, authorities now warn residents against trying to control the pests themselves. Home remedies are more likely to worsen the problem, they have since discovered.

With California's coffers strained by $6 billion in electricity purchases, the governor has eliminated funding for programs considered to be the pillars of welfare reform, experts say. Most welfare directors across the Southland will likely abandon programs that took months, if not years, to develop. The programs, including child care, transportation and job skills, are considered innovative because they attack some core causes of poverty.

A new report on the collection of child support payments ranks Orange County among the worst in the state in terms of recouping money for children from their absent parents. The report by Children Now, a legal aid and advocacy group, placed Orange County 47th among the state's 58 counties. But the county's standing rises when compared to similarly populous areas. Among Southern California counties, Orange County is bested only by Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Orange County health officials are concerned that unsafe sex is on the rise, citing a recent increase in syphilis among gay men and a new survey of HIV-infected residents that shows a nonchalance about transmitting the virus. A survey of 513 HIV-infected county residents shows that many do not realize the seriousness of the virus and that nearly half had not discussed it with a partner before sex. One-third wrongly thought that because of new treatments, HIV no longer leads to death.

A pilot program to identify deportable immigrants at the Orange County Jail has been so successful that it will be expanded by the end of the year, officials said Thursday. Since the jail program began in late July, U.S. immigration agents have placed deportation holds on 103 inmates, including illegal immigrants and permanent resident aliens who can still be removed from the United States after serving their sentences.

County health care and probation officials removed dozens of recovering substance abusers from two Santa Ana facilities over the weekend, alleging the operator of the programs, Cooper Fellowship Inc., was no longer fit to handle such cases. "At this particular point, it is no longer an approved program from the Probation Department's perspective," said John Robinson, the agency's chief officer.

With California's coffers strained by $6 billion in electricity purchases, the governor has eliminated funding for programs considered to be the pillars of welfare reform, experts say. Most welfare directors across the Southland will likely abandon programs that took months, if not years, to develop. The programs, including child care, transportation and job skills, are considered innovative because they attack some core causes of poverty.

With powers never given to it before, the Board of Supervisors will help determine the future of welfare in Orange County. Local control is the cornerstone of welfare reform and stems from the recognition that local officials can better craft programs to move people off welfare than the state or federal governments.

Javier Villa loved fruit-flavored hard candies. So his father wasn't surprised when the staff at Megdal Dental Care told him his 4-year-old needed eight cavities filled. The elder Villa, a gardener who earns $200 a week, handed over the boy for treatment. "I thought they would take good care. It seemed like a friendly place, with pictures for the kids on the wall," he said. Instead, within hours, his son was dead.

Blindsided by a surprise cut in court funding, Orange County officials scrambled Thursday to fend off a new fiscal crisis, while utility districts confirmed that thousands of consumers will have to pay more for services such as garbage disposal and water. After anticipating for months that state lawmakers would cut local court funding by roughly $6 million, county officials are now faced with a reduction of $11.5 million as a result of a veto Wednesday by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Orange County's probation program for juvenile repeat offenders has been recognized among eight nationwide by a policy forum in Washington. The program, "8% Solution," identifies and treats juveniles most at risk of becoming chronic offenders. "We have long known that a small number of troubled youths account for the majority of all serious juvenile crimes," said Michael Schumacher, the county's chief executive and former chief probation officer.

For some Orange County aid recipients who have not found jobs, the next phase of welfare reform is going to force them into the kitchen for lessons in rolling sushi, barbecuing turkey and wood-grilling pizza. State law requires jobless welfare recipients to begin mandatory public-service work in March. County officials have set up a variety of job-training programs for these people, ranging from working in computer labs to test kitchens.

When police investigators served a search warrant at a Santa Ana trailer park recently, they found more than a methamphetamine lab. Behind a sheet that doubled as a curtain, under the dining room table, they found four sleeping children. Under a pilot program started in Orange County three years ago and now being copied "It's a holistic view of law enforcement," said Walter Allen, special agent of the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

When police investigators served a search warrant at a Santa Ana trailer park recently, they found more than a methamphetamine lab. Behind a sheet being used for a curtain, under the dining room table, they stumbled upon four sleeping children.

More than a year after offering Californians advice on how to combat fire ants with chemicals and boiling water, authorities now warn residents against trying to control the pests themselves. Home remedies are more likely to worsen the problem, they have since discovered.

County health care and probation officials removed dozens of recovering substance abusers from two Santa Ana facilities over the weekend, alleging the operator of the programs, Cooper Fellowship Inc., was no longer fit to handle such cases. "At this particular point, it is no longer an approved program from the Probation Department's perspective," said John Robinson, the agency's chief officer.

Hours after Sacramento brought the state's budget crisis to a close, government leaders here Wednesday began the daunting task of figuring how deeply the damage will be felt in Orange County. The initial assessment: heavy cuts all around, with no one certain how much it will cost residents in higher fees or reduced services. "Everybody at this point is just kind of numb," said William Hodge, head of the Orange County branch of the League of California Cities.

Orange County supervisors got their first look at a lean, bleak county budget Friday, one which gives them almost no room to increase services to meet the skyrocketing demands from the county's growing and increasingly diverse population. "We know there's a need," said Supervisor Don R. Roth. "But there just isn't the money. This is probably the worst of disasters." Supervisor Roger R. Stanton was also alarmed. "It's tight and it's getting tighter," he said.

It has long been known that close supervision can prevent drug-addicted criminals from becoming repeat offenders. That has spawned a national system of 600 drug courts that provide treatment and counseling to inmates as an alternative to regular jail time.

California's cash-hungry cities and counties all but embraced Monday's tentative settlement of lawsuits against the tobacco industry and the riches it promises, including $838 million for Orange County. Though officials aren't counting the money yet, they said the proposed tobacco settlement would bring in enough to wipe out all debts from the county's historic bankruptcy four years ago. "It's great news," said Jim Silva, chairman of the County Board of Supervisors.