L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger addressed some of the key issues facing the Santa Clarita Valley and beyond at Thursday’s 15th annual State of the County luncheon.
The event, hosted by the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt Regency Valencia, saw Barger touch on topics such as mental health, homelessness, fire protection services and a need for more law enforcement officers.
She touted the works of the numerous local nonprofits that have helped to combat some of those issues, such as Bridge to Home, Finally Family Homes, Family Promise, Carousel Ranch and City of Hope, just to name a few.
“Together we have accomplished many of our shared community goals,” Barger said. “My office is proud to work with each of you to ensure the Santa Clarita Valley continues to be the most exceptional community in Los Angeles County to both live and to work.”
As part of Barger’s thanks to these nonprofits, she announced that Christina Dronen, founder and executive director of Finally Family Homes, would be presented a check of $10,000 to help further the organization’s efforts to help college-aged people transitioning out of the foster system.
“As someone who has worked in this system for almost 40 years, I cannot thank you enough,” Barger said. “You inspire me and I know you inspire many in this area to do what’s right. I am truly grateful for the incredible difference you are making.”
To help detail how the county is helping to combat some of the issues it is facing, Barger held a question-and-answer session with three of the top officials in the county: county Sheriff’s Department Undersheriff April Tardy, county Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone and county CEO Fesia Davenport.
Homelessness
The county Board of Supervisors recently advanced the 2024-25 proposed budget of $45 billion that allocates about $728 million to combatting the rising homelessness crisis.
Davenport said $52 million of that funding is coming from the state, and “knock on wood, that is not going to get cut out” as state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom continue to nail down the state’s budget.
Barger, who chairs the county’s newly formed Executive Committee for Regional Homeless Alignment, addressed the issue by saying everyone involved needs to be held accountable. Specifically, Barger was referring to Measure H, a 2017 voter-approved tax authorizing the county to collect a 0.25% sales tax for 10 years in order to fun homeless services and prevention.
Barger’s issue with the funds collected is that not every city in the county has a voice in where that money goes. She said she wants more accountability from every organization, including the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and cities involved so that the funds can be distributed correctly and efficiently.
“The county blames the city of L.A. The city of L.A. blames LAHSA,” Barger said. “We both blame LAHSA, which is easy to do. And LAHSA blames the government that says that we all messed up. And there’s no accountability. And I realize with Measure H, the buck stops with the board … If it fails, it’s on us.”
Barger also said that while people need to do a better job, there also needs to be room to enforce homeless encampments so that those people can be helped to take the next step to having a home.
Mental Health
One of the big winners in the proposed budget is the Department of Mental Health, Davenport said. The department is set to have more than 450 positions added, the most of any department, which she said will allow for more direct, hands-on services.
Both Davenport and Barger touched on CARE Court, a statewide initiative that stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment, and is meant to get those who need mental health services into a legal setting to ensure they have the tools they need.
L.A. County is one of six or seven counties across the state that implemented the program last year, Davenport said. She added that it works somewhat like a conservatorship, but people in the program can’t be forced into a facility.
“The whole idea behind CARE Court is we understand that there are family members who are desperate. They have loved ones they don’t know exactly what to do,” Davenport said. “And the idea is if we implement a judicial process and require people to participate in programming, require them to receive or at least be offered the opportunity to have mental health services, and that is done and tracked on a consistent basis, the hope is that more people than not — we know it’s not going to work for everyone — but the hope is that more often than not, we will see those folks get the help that they need, be invested in their own family and hopefully get off our streets and reduce our homeless population.”
Barger said she likes the idea of CARE Court, but also said she believes there needs to be more capacity in hospitals for mental health patients and greater empathy overall for those people.
Fire protection services
Many SCV residents were surprised earlier this year with letters in their mailboxes telling them that their homes have been added to the state’s list of residences needing brush inspection by the Fire Department.
Marrone said that is due to CalFire, the state agency in charge of fire protection, expanding its list of areas that could be deemed to be in a high fire severity zone.
“One of the components during a massive wildland fire is the ability for a home to withstand that fire and not burn down,” Marrone said. “That component is brush clearance, having the brush cleared away from your home so the fire doesn’t impinge upon your home and burn it down, because that’s very expensive to replace.”
Barger mentioned the fact that due to the updated state maps, some people are losing homeowners’ insurance. She said the county is working with the state to see how that can be fixed.
Understaffed law enforcement
The issues the Sheriff’s Department is facing are not due to a lack of funding, Tardy said. Rather, she cited an overall lack of numbers across the county, positions the department is actively seeking to fill.
“We are down right now 1,200 deputy personnel,” Tardy said.
Locally, the SCV Sheriff’s Station is operating at about 65-70% capacity, according to Capt. Justin Diez, who was in attendance on Thursday.
To fill those gaps, Tardy said many law enforcement officers are working overtime shifts, something Barger said she wished did not have to be the case.
“But the reality is we need the bodies out on the streets,” Barger said.
The department is helping to fill positions by using the public to help recruit and looking for ways to positively promote law enforcement in the media whenever possible, Tardy said. She also mentioned the Board of Supervisors approving a further eight academy classes and a trip to Camp Pendleton as boons to the department.
“We went to Camp Pendleton within the last several days and we have signed up 26 Marines who are going to end be starting a process with us,” Tardy said.
