Los Angeles County - CalMatters

Amy and her adopted children inside their home in Pine Valley on Apr. 1, 2023. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters

California Divide

California child welfare agencies under fire for pocketing foster kids’ Social Security money

by Jeanne Kuang April 5, 2023April 5, 2023

A California grandmother fights to retrieve $30,000 taken by San Diego County from her grandchildren’s survivor benefits. Counties take millions of dollars in federal benefits from foster children, says a lawmaker trying to stop it.

Irma Cervantes at Atlantic Avenue Park in East Los Angeles on March 2, 2023. “It’s difficult to move because I do not have a job at the moment,” Cervantes said, who used to do janitorial work at the convention centers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. “I just want to find a way to pay the rent without getting harassed.” Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

California Divide

Evictions rise, tenants scramble for help as LA County protections expire

by Alejandra Reyes-Velarde March 21, 2023March 23, 2023

View of downtown Los Angeles from Ascot Park during sunset on Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

Los Angeles County entertains governmental reform

by Dan Walters March 5, 2023March 1, 2023

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Stress relief or toxic exposure? State cautions ‘rage rooms’ may deliver unwanted release

by Robert Lewis July 25, 2022July 25, 2022

Kristina Tanner at the Sacramento State campus on June 29, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

California Divide

California counties siphon Social Security benefits from some foster kids

by Jeanne Kuang July 22, 2022July 27, 2022

Edward Strickland receives a COVID-19 rapid test at Greater St. Paul Church in downtown Oakland on January 4, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Amid new COVID surge, confusing mix of rules

by Emily Hoeven July 19, 2022July 18, 2022

Long lines of people wait for over two hours for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 5, 2022. Photo by Raquel Natalicchio for CalMatters

California teeters on edge of more COVID shutdowns

by Emily Hoeven January 12, 2022January 12, 2022

People fill out forms before getting vaccinated at the Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, July 26, 2021. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Inside California’s confusing COVID numbers

by Emily Hoeven August 25, 2021August 25, 2021

COVID-19 patient Brian Parisi, 53, from Orange County, is treated by staff in the ICU at Providence St Joseph Hospital in Orange, on July 23, 2021. Photo by Omar Younis, Reuters

COVID patients have doubled in California hospitals

by Barbara Feder Ostrov and Ana B. Ibarra August 10, 2021September 28, 2021

electric grid

Temporary use of phased-out power plants could help keep the lights on

by Guest Commentary July 27, 2021August 3, 2021