Much of the strategy for how California's community colleges respond to climate change revolves around one college in particular: West Los Angeles College, in Culver City.
What's special about West? In 2022 the California legislature established the California Center for Climate Change Education at West, providing $5 million to promote climate change education and establish internship and other learning-on-the-job opportunities for its students, among other goals. The federal government kicked in another $1.3 million.
First in: West is already the first community college in California to offer an associate’s degree in climate change studies in 2018. Through its new climate center, West is developing more climate change curriculum for community colleges in California to adapt to their own campuses. West plans to eventually educate students of all disciplines on climate change.
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Can Community Colleges Meet The Urgency Of The Climate Crisis?
According to California Community Colleges chancellor Sonya Christian, this is an urgent time for community colleges to respond to the climate crisis, coinciding with investments at the federal and state level.
Much of the strategy for that response revolves around one community college in particular: West Los Angeles College, in Culver City.
In 2022, the California legislature established the California Center for Climate Change Education at West, providing $5 million to promote climate change education and establish internships and other learning-on-the-job opportunities for its students, among other goals. The federal government kicked in another $1.3 million.
“This is the beginning of the involvement of community colleges,” Christian says about West’s new climate center and existing climate change studies program.
This June, under Christian’s leadership, West hosted the climate action summit for California Community Colleges to organize their climate response.
“President Biden has a very ambitious infrastructure agenda that the administration is investing in and so is the governor [of California],” Christian says. That agenda includes incentivizing private investments in clean energy production, such as wind and solar, and investing in infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging.
“Community colleges to me are really the vehicles for these leaders to be able to realize their goals,” Christian says. “You’re going to be seeing immediately community colleges playing a much more active and cohesive role in the infrastructure rollout.”
The inaugural climate action summit for California community colleges covered the reduction of carbon emissions from campus facilities and operations, training and educating the workforce for climate careers, supporting local communities, and funding resources for climate work.
“There is a lot of momentum here. Now we’ll stop working in our separate silos and this is the start of collaboration,” says Vered Mirmovitch, an associate professor of the biological sciences at West.
Modeling climate change curriculum
West was already the first community college in California to offer an associate’s degree in climate change studies, beginning in 2018, with coursework on environmental science and statistics, but also philosophy, which challenges the assumptions behind how humans relate to the environment.
From left to right: JB Baum, graduate of WLAC's climate studies program, Marilyn Chavez, student, Vered Mirmovitch, associate professor of biological sciences, and Keon Hendrickson, graduate of WLAC's climate studies program.
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Jackie Orchard
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LAist
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“It’s just given me an avenue to learn about something that I'm really interested in that I haven't had the opportunity to learn about on an educational level before,” says Keon Hendrickson, a recent graduate of the climate change studies program.
To Hendrickson, the most interesting course in the program was the philosophy class on environmental ethics. Rick Mayock, the instructor, asks why people assume “a certain amount of pollution is acceptable, a certain amount of species will die of extinction because of human ‘progress.’”
Through challenging these assumptions, Mayock says, “that's the way we began to change our thinking about our place in nature and our relationship with the planet and our relationship with ecosystems and other species and so forth."
Through its new climate center, West is developing more climate change curriculum for community colleges in California to adapt to their own campuses.
Eventually, the plan is for West to educate students of all disciplines on climate change, not just what people might expect of those studying environmental science.
For students studying math, they might learn statistics related to climate change; for students studying psychology, they might learn the concept of “climate change anxiety” — the feeling of powerlessness one might experience if overwhelmed by concerns about climate change.
I feel like if I can teach them, they'll teach their children, if they plan to have children, or friends or just anybody that they come across.
— Marilyn Chavez, student, West Los Angeles College
Marilyn Chavez is a student at West learning about climate change while focusing on the health sciences. She took a biological sciences elective in the climate change studies program.
“What I've learned recently here is that despite what career path you take, environmental education is so important because it's something you can apply to every field,” Chavez says. “Sustainability is so important and we can all do our part no matter what field and what path we take in life.”
Originally from Guatemala, Chavez says her Indigenous background shapes how she relates to the environment. For her, she considers humans part of the environment, which is to be shared with other species, not a separate entity for humans to control.
Teaching in the climate change program at West, Mirmovitch sees the value of teaching climate change to students in all disciplines.
“(Climate change is the) major crisis of our time. It’s not something that we can ignore anymore and we need as many people to be on board and to be part of the solution,” Mirmovitch says.
Mirmovitch adds that for change to happen, it is most effective when there’s a critical mass of people involved.
And other community colleges in California have not sat idle on climate-related education. For example, Long Beach City College has an underwater robotics program which can support monitoring ocean health. Colleges in the Central Valley are developing an Agricultural Technology program for farmers to adapt to climate change and water availability.
At West, president Jim Limbaugh wants to prepare students for high-paying careers in clean energy and climate technology, and not only related to solar energy.
WLAC President Jim Limbaugh outside the West Los Angeles Climate Center.
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Bonnie Ho
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LAist
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Solar energy has already reached a level of maturity in the state, according to an analysis from the University of California Riverside projecting the future of green jobs in California. That report finds that there is room for other green sectors to grow, including the zero emission vehicles industry, which already has a strong presence in Southern California.
“There's all this interest in electric vehicle charging stations,” Limbaugh says. “There's not enough training out there, not enough people out there to actually install them and work on them.”
Through the center at West, Limbaugh says in October community colleges will meet with industry representatives to determine their training needs. In the Los Angeles region, employers and community colleges have already been identifying emerging climate-related sector needs, such as marine aquaculture for domestic fisheries production.
The center is also to partner with local and regional entities to support training to modernize the electric grid, Limbaugh says. He foresees that students can work in a range of climate-related fields, from conducting research or working as a sustainably-oriented park ranger in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Ethics and ambition
JB Baum just graduated from West’s climate studies program this spring and attended the climate action summit. Baum says the speakers at the summit could have been more ambitious, instead of focusing so much on preparing students to meet industry demands or partnering with certain industries.
“Not all private industry should be treated the same, nor all jobs universally good,” Baum says.
Baum suggests that community colleges be intentional about which companies to link students to, particularly not oil or utility companies that have contributed to the climate problem.
For example, Kern Community College is partnering with industries that employ direct air capture technology to manage carbon emissions, a technology that has been considered controversial in its effectiveness.
When asked about the scalability of air capture technology, Christian said that the approach by community colleges will be dependent on regional attributes and community colleges need to have a seat at the table at the start of technological revolutions before they become commercial.
Can community colleges move quickly enough?
As recent wildfires in Canada severely reduce the air quality in the Midwest and Northeast; as extreme temperatures have blanketed California; and a heat dome covers regions in the South, it’s uncertain whether community colleges' efforts are moving quickly enough.
“I think some of these solutions (from the summit) aren't really tackling the immediate effects of climate change on students and talking about adjusting the academic schedule to account for the possibility of a heat dome every single September,” Baum says.
“What are we going to do when power doesn't exist on the campus anymore because of rolling blackouts?” he adds.
Santa Rosa Junior College, north of San Francisco, officially installed a microgrid system in 2022 to power priority buildings with solar energy and battery storage, and even support the existing utility grid. A microgrid, however, is a rarity among community colleges.
According to David Liebman, the manager of this project, other community colleges may not be as quick to adopt their own microgrid due to caution about the maturity of the technology, upfront costs, and available campus space.
On the community college level, actions being taken are deliberate, but results won’t be immediate. At West, the new climate center’s director, Jo Tavares, says they’re learning about their campus needs and what other community colleges are doing around climate change.
President Limbaugh expects that the first batch of courses with a climate change curriculum will be approved in the next year. He says 17 West faculty members are working on developing climate-change centered curriculum.
Chancellor Christian envisions “convening educators to come together is going to be something that we can count on on a recurring basis.”
Meanwhile, students from or in the climate program at West are making moves. Baum and Hendrickson are continuing their studies in Geography and Environmental Studies at UCLA. Students at West like Chavez are getting ready to take climate change classes in the fall.
Chavez plans to sign up for the environmental ethics class next. Speaking about her future plans, Chavez says she “would love to take more classes about environmental science” and “you know, just contribute as much as I can to the cause.”
As a parent, Chavez says she is teaching her children to help the environment, such as reducing the number of toys they purchase. “They'll see a toy, they'll want a toy, and we're like, you know, we have so many toys at home, we don't need to buy new toys,” Chavez says.
She hopes her children will learn to be self-reliant and sustainable, and that they pass these practices on.
“I feel like if I can teach them, they'll teach their children, if they plan to have children, or friends or just anybody that they come across.”
Lucas Brady Woods
covers the weather and disasters, among other climate and science topics.
Published September 23, 2026 5:00 AM
A longfinned big-eye was recently caught off the Venice Fishing Pier, the first time the species has appeared in California waters.
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Courtesy of Julius Cardines
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Topline:
A number of marine animals that don’t normally live here are showing up off the coast of Southern California because of El Niño's warm waters.
The details: The animals are mostly native to the ocean off the coast of Mexico, but scientists say they are following the warm waters that fuel El Niño north to Southern California. Scientists expect the climate system to have a dramatic effect on our marine ecosystems over the next few months.
The creatures: An endangered olive ridley sea turtle was seen laying eggs in the sand near Seal Beach on Sept. 16. A fisherman also recently caught a longfinned bigeye from the Venice fishing pier, a bright red-orange fish that normally lives off of Mexico and Baja. Other sightings include a whale shark off the coast of Malibu, hammerhead sharks and possibly a yellow-bellied sea snake.
Native species: The warmer waters could pose a threat to native marine life by disrupting food sources and fueling toxic algae blooms. Marine mammals like seals and sea lions are especially susceptible to the changes. If you see a sick or stranded animal, keep your distance and contact authorities.
Read on … to learn more about these unusual ocean visitors.
Unusual creatures are visiting Southern California’s coastal waters.
One of them, a sea turtle, nested near Seal Beach last week for the first time in California history.
And they’re here because of El Niño.
Forecasters say there is more than a 90% chance that this year’s El Niño is going to be very strong, and most Southern Californians are bracing for record-high surf and heavy rains that usually come with the climate pattern.
But the region is also starting to see a lesser-known effect of El Niño: sea creatures that don’t normally live here showing up in our waters.
Scientists say they are following the warm waters that fuel El Niño, which are likely to have a dramatic impact on our marine ecosystems over the course of the season.
“ Animals like a certain range of temperature, just like you're setting the thermostat at home to a certain temperature that you like,” said Bill Ludt, a curator of ichthyology, or the study of fish, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
During an El Niño year, the normally cool waters off the California coast warm significantly. As that happens, animals that normally live in warmer, tropical waters off the coast of Mexico, like sea turtles, move north.
Unusual visitors
The endangered olive ridley sea turtle crawled out of the ocean near Seal Beach on Sept. 16, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It dug a hole and laid its clutch of eggs inside before burying it and shuffling back into the sea.
A turtle was also seen nesting near the Huntington Beach Pier. Officials have fenced off both nesting sites.
The Seal Beach turtle is just one of a number of unusual creatures that have been spotted off the Southern California coast lately.
A whale shark was spotted near the Channel Islands, off the coast of Malibu. There have also been reports of hammerhead sharks and other large fish like mahi mahi and bullet tuna.
Like the turtle, some creatures have never been recorded in California waters before. A fisherman recently caught a longfinned bigeye from the Venice fishing pier, a bright red-orange fish that normally lives off of Mexico and Baja California.
“It is a wide-ranging species, just not typically in California,” Ludt said. “So it will occur in Baja, as well as other parts of the world. But for California, this is a first.”
Ludt and his colleagues at the Natural History Museum collected the longfinned bigeye and are preserving the physical specimen in the museum’s archive.
“We just want to document things that are rare along our coast, as well as the common things,” Ludt said. “Our goal is always to just document life and how it changes over time on our planet.”
According to Ludt, the creatures Southern California is seeing so far are just the beginning of what’s to come this year.
Animals like the sea turtle and the sharks are what scientists call pelagic animals, meaning they live mostly in open oceans, often migrating in search of food.
Ludt said it will take longer for sea life to show up that doesn’t normally migrate over long distances, like smaller fish. He said we could eventually see colorful reef fish, such as damselfish, angelfish or pufferfish, similar to those one might see living among corals in Hawaii.
A yellow-bellied sea snake, recovered from a previous El Niño event, is preserved at the L.A. County Natural History Museum.
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Edgar Chamorro Gonzalez
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Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
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Sea snakes are also likely to move into our waters. There was a report of a yellow-bellied sea snake washing up at Crystal Cove in Orange County, but scientists have yet to confirm its authenticity.
Yellow-bellied sea snakes have also been seen here during past El Niño events. They are venomous but don’t pose a threat to humans unless handled.
These warm-water animals will likely retreat south, and some may die and wash ashore when waters cool down again later this winter.
Stress on native wildlife
While the newcomers thrive in warm waters, California’s native sea life does not.
The heat can affect their immune system and metabolism. That, in turn, means less food is available for other animals that eat fish, including seals, sea lions and dolphins.
Another danger is algal blooms. Warmer water allows more algae to grow, and at times, the algae can be toxic, especially to marine mammals.
Scientists say these stressors will likely leave some animals sick and stranded.
“They'll beach, and they'll be acting up weirdly, sometimes maybe more aggressively than they normally would,” said Jorge Velez-Juarbe, curator of marine mammals at the L.A. County Natural History Museum.
Velez-Juarbe added that we could also see more deaths of marine mammals over the next few months.
El Niño’s warming trend is also a window into the effects of a changing climate. Velez-Juarbe said it's an example of how ongoing ocean warming due to climate change can affect Southern California’s marine environments.
Thankfully, Velez-Juarbe said it's unlikely El Niño will cause long-term damage to native species populations. They will likely rebound when ocean temperatures fall later this winter.
If you see a sick or stranded animal, the best thing to do is to keep your distance and call authorities. He also recommends reporting the animal to NOAA’s stranded animal hotline at (866) 767-6114.
If you come across an unusual sea creature along the shore, you can also email the team at the Natural History Museum at nature@nhm.org.
Kehlani will perform with Durand Bernarr, TheARTI$t and Waseel at the Intuit Dome on Thursday.
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Scott Legato
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Getty Images
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In this edition:
The Lucas Museum opens, free pancakes at Redbird, Watts Towers festivals and more of the best things to do this week.
Highlights:
The big day is finally here: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened its doors in Expo Park on Tuesday. But have no fear if you missed the big, celeb-studded bash last weekend; the museum is here to stay.
Speaking of the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Redbird is offering a free short stack for your table; just show a ticket from your visit to the newest art museum in LA. And don’t worry: If you’re brunching pre-museum, just use the passphrase “may the force be with you” to secure the sustenance.
Two festivals are on at Watts Towers, with both days featuring music and culture at Simon Rodia’s ship-shaped temple of tile. Saturday is the 44th Annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival, and Sunday brings the 49th Annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival.
The big day is finally here: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened its doors in Expo Park on Tuesday. But have no fear if you missed the big, celeb-studded bash last weekend (I’m just here scrolling through the Vanity Fair photos of Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry, too, my friends); the museum is here to stay. Keep those reviews coming, and I’m planning to work remotely from that gorgeous reading room one day soon.
Through Feb. 2027 Marciano Art Foundation 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire COST: FREE WITH ONLINE RESERVATION; MORE INFO
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Tacita Dean
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Marciano Art Foundation
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One of my favorite things about writing this column every week is that over time, I get to see how art and culture are on a continuum in L.A. This was one of those weeks. I went to the opening of the new Tacita Dean installation, Film, at Marciano Art Foundation. Dean is a British artist and champion of analogue film (it’s no surprise that she counts Christopher Nolan among her many fans and friends). In April, her work was shown at the now-closed Marion Goodman Gallery, and it’s been a joy to get to know a new-to-me artist this year who has such deep ties to film and L.A. culture. While you’re there, the Foundation also has an enjoyable new exhibit from Belgian artist Pierre Leguillon on artists and advertising.
The Women of Lockerbie
Through Sunday, Sept. 27 The Actors’ Gang 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City COST: FROM $28; MORE INFO
This play, first produced in the early 2000s, looks at one woman's search for her son's remains years after he was killed in the attack on Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Presented loosely as a Greek tragedy and inspired by true events, the drama looks at the ties that bind people through loss and stars Actors’ Gang regular Kate Mulligan.
Free pancakes at Redbird
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27 Redbird 114 E. 2nd St. Downtown L.A. COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Redbird
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I hope these pancakes look like Leia’s buns! To celebrate the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Redbird is offering a free short stack for your table; just show a ticket from your visit to the newest art museum in LA. And don’t worry: If you’re brunching pre-museum, just use the passphrase “may the force be with you” to secure the sustenance.
Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival + Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27 Watts Towers Arts Center 1727 E. 107th St., Watts COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The Watts Towers will be the backdrop to two festivals this weekend.
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Carolyn Cole
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Two festivals are on at Watts Towers, with both days featuring music and culture at Simon Rodia’s ship-shaped temple of tile. Saturday is the 44th Annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival, and Sunday brings the 49th Annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival.
Mr. Wash’s First Decade Bday Bash
Saturday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. HVW8 Gallery 661 N. Spaulding Ave., Fairfax District COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Art by Wash
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President Barack Obama granted clemency to Mr. Wash in 2016 after 21 years of wrongful incarceration. Self-taught while in prison, Mr. Wash has seen his work shown and collected across L.A. at the Hammer Museum, LACMA and the Huntington Library; his latest work is on view at David Zwirner Gallery. Celebrate his first decade out and support his Art By Wash Studio and Community Center in Compton, which will offer all-levels art classes and workshops, creative residencies and “reintegration resources for individuals returning home from prison” at the HVW8 party.
Catch Me If You Can
Through Sunday, Oct. 18 Colony Theatre 555 N. Third St., Burbank COST: $60; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Colony Theatre
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The Colony puts on consistently fun, solid shows, and Catch Me If You Can is no exception. This version of the musical adaptation of the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio movie is directed by Colony regular Michael Donovan, who most recently directed the theater’s The Wedding Singer. The original musical about con artist extraordinaire Frank Abagnale scored four Tony nominations.
Art of Storytelling in Admissions
Friday, Sept. 25, 6 p.m. Zibby’s Bookshop 1113 Montana Ave., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Zibby's Bookshop
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It’s that time of year again, and Zibby’s Bookshop in Santa Monica has gathered some student-essay-writing experts to help your teenager through the application process, whether that’s a personal statement for college, a local private or boarding school or any other application. The art of the essay is in self-discovery, so bring your budding writer and strap in.
35 Years of Speed: The Sonic Art Exhibit
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ARK/8 115 S. La Brea Ave., Inglewood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy fortyseven communications
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I’ve missed iam8bit’s shows, so I’m delighted to see this new partnership with SEGA for all the other '90s gamers out there. It celebrates 35 years of Sonic the Hedgehog with 35 Years of Speed: The Sonic Art Exhibit, and will feature original works from more than 30 renowned artists who pay homage to Sonic’s journey throughout the years.
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CA bill could bar police from working for the feds
Julia Barajas
is following the impact of President Trump's immigration policies on Southern California communities.
Published September 22, 2026 5:55 PM
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez spoke in support of the bill at a press conference outside L.A. City Hall.
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Julia Barajas
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LAist
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Topline:
State and local lawmakers are joining immigrant rights groups in urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would bar California law enforcement from moonlighting for ICE.
Why it matters: If implemented, the bill would ban California police, sheriffs and other law enforcement from taking on second jobs that involve “arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people.
What police unions say: The Peace Officers Research Association Of California, which represents officers across the state, has spoken out against the bill, arguing that “policies like this don’t improve public safety.”
What the bill’s supporters argue: Pointing to multiple deaths involving federal immigration agents in recent months — from Minneapolis to Houston— and to a recent shooting in Austin, supporters like José Madera, who directs the Pasadena Job Center, say: “We don't need our local police to be part of that violence.”
What's next: Gov. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.
State and local lawmakers are joining immigrant rights groups in urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would bar California law enforcement from moonlighting for ICE.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who represents Angelenos from South L.A. to Mar Vista, introduced AB 1537 in January. If implemented, the bill would ban California police, sheriffs and other law enforcement from taking on second jobs that involve “arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people.
The bill has made its way through the state legislature and is now on the governor’s desk. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.
At a press conference outside L.A. City Hall on Wednesday, José Madera, who directs the Pasadena Job Center, pointed to multiple deaths involving federal immigration agents in recent months — from Minneapolis to Houston— and to a recent shooting in Austin. “We don't need our local police to be part of that violence,” he said.
“ICE is a lawless, rogue agency that is terrorizing our communities, separating our families and kidnapping our neighbors,” said Bruno Huizar, supervising policy manager at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “Governor Newsom must sign AB 1537 into law to protect Californians.”
L.A. City councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, whose own parents were undocumented, said it pained him to see immigrant parents go to work and to church in fear of being separated from their children.
“If you’re a public servant, you should be serving the public — not helping ICE tear families apart,” he added in a follow-up email statement.
The bill, dubbed “No side jobs for ICE” by its proponents, would also require officers to report secondary employment offers relating to immigration to their employers.
“If a law enforcement agent gets a conditional offer from an immigration enforcement agency, that will be part of their employment records. And that will be subject to a public records act request,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, a licensed attorney at the California Immigration Policy Center. “This is aimed at bringing transparency, so that we know how many officers are actually getting offers to work as an ICE agent or a Border Patrol agent.”
The Peace Officers Research Association of California, which represents officers across the state, has spoken out against the bill, arguing that “policies like this don’t improve public safety.” The Los Angeles Police Protective League did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
The bill is part of a growing effort to bar local law enforcement from engaging in the ongoing mass deportation effort. The L.A. City Council approved a motion in March, barring city employees from holding second jobs with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
In Santa Ana, the City Council recently adopted a policy that prohibits employees from obtaining outside work that involves federal immigration enforcement activities.
Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published September 22, 2026 5:02 PM
Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale, died after being abused by his mother and her boyfriend.
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Gina Ferazzi
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused. The law, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez— an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend.
The backstory: Gabriel died in May 2013, after months of abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. His mother and her boyfriend were both sentenced. A teacher had reported signs of abuse to the county, but social workers did not remove him from the home and ended the investigation.
Keep reading: To learn more about what the law changes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.
The law, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend.
“It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn't gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”
Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of high-profilechild deaths at the hands of their parents.
The new law requires social workers to make sure a child gets emergency medical care when needed, and it makes it easier to prosecute social workers who knowingly falsify records.
Officials said there had been warning signs about Fernandez’s abuse, but social workers with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow up on them. The high-profile case prompted internal reforms in the agency.
What happened to Gabriel
Gabriel died in May 2013, after months of abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. He was found with a number of injuries, including a fractured skull, broken ribs and BB pellets lodged in his body. His mother and her boyfriend were both sentenced.
A teacher had reported signs of abuse to the county, but social workers did not remove him from the home. Then they ended the investigation. Prosecutors charged the social workers with child abuse, but the charges were later dismissed.
“He was literally tortured. And there were many, many, many documented events, and there are many encounters that he had with people that lacked follow-up,” Lackey said.
What does the law change?
Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child.
“ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said.
It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.
Why did the law take so long to change?
Lackey’s previous legislative efforts related to Fernandez’s case failed over the years. He introduced at least fivedifferent pieces of legislation that failed to advance.
“I'm not even saying that I blame the pushback and the concern, because if you're too aggressive, there's a tendency to accuse people of wrongdoing when they are not guilty of wrongdoing, so we wanted to make sure that the balance was reasonable,” he said.
Lackey terms out this year. “We're trying to do something as a community to not only pay tribute to [Gabriel], but to prevent it from reoccurring,” he said.
