Rina Palta

L.A. County's proposed budget rose to $26.9 billion this year. Most of the slight increase will go to jails, public health, and foster care.

The L.A. City Council Wednesday is slated to vote on expanding a model for rapidly housing homeless individuals. The "coordinated entry" system began on Skid Row.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department wants to hire 77 employees as part of an anticipated agreement with the federal government on improving jail conditions.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to loosen restrictions on who can apply for Section 8 rental vouchers. Parole and probation are no longer forbidden.

Traditionally, services for the homeless have been concentrated in L.A.'s Skid Row. But service providers are making a push to the suburbs, where many homeless live.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether to lift restrictions on who has access to public assistance for housing to allow ex-cons.

It's been almost a year since a blue ribbon panel declared a "state of emergency" in L.A. county's child welfare system. A new report says there's been some progress since.

A research team found youth in L.A. County's juvenile justice system had fallen through cracks in the county's social services — something that could be prevented with better data sharing.

A county official said the Housing Authority is hoping to add hundreds of housing vouchers for homeless veterans a day after KPCC reported the county was falling short.

Drug courts have been heralded as a successful and humane option for drug addicts. But when Proposition 47 made possession a misdemeanor, it limited eligibility to enroll in drug courts.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has proposed requiring hotels that accept homeless housing vouchers to take measures to prevent sex trafficking in their rooms.

The past few months, legislators have proposed a series of bills to address what some child welfare advocates believe are the system's biggest flaws.