There are now 11,745 young people aged 20 and younger in Los Angeles County custody, compared with 21,637 in 2020 — a decline propelled by an array of new policies and approaches. A variety of forces — a declining number of children born in the county, new state and federal laws, racial justice advocacy and closer connections with community-based service — are among the reasons the number of children and youth in foster care here has reached its lowest figure on record.
In dozens of interviews, CPS officials, attorneys, politicians, parents and advocates theorized on various reasons for the decline, many of which are detailed in this article. They offered no single explanation.
All agreed, however, that to date, Los Angeles County has slashed its reliance on foster care removals, without a sizable uptick in child fatalities or reports of maltreatment after children leave foster care. Child welfare leaders here also agree that the dramatic decline in the foster care population is no temporary trend, and instead reflects deliberate work to help families remain intact.
Leslie Heimov, longtime executive director of the Children’s Law Center of California, said the change is no temporary fluctuation. Her firm now represents roughly 12,000 Los Angeles County foster youth. For the past four years, the closing of dependency cases has outpaced the opening of new cases.
“In Los Angeles, there is no pendulum,” Heimov said.
