L.A. County is shutting down troubled centers for foster kids with nowhere else to go [LATimes.com]

he waiting rooms for foster youths with nowhere else to go opened with great fanfare several years ago.

Known as Youth Welcome Centers, they were hailed by Los Angeles County officials as an important way to address the chronic shortage of foster homes, especially for children hardest to place. They were the only facilities in the county system with a no-refusal policy and quickly became a place for youths who would otherwise be homeless.

But in the next few days, the county plans to close both of its centers, acknowledging they didn't work as intended.

As The Times reported last year, the waiting rooms had become makeshift medium- and long-term shelters where some youths spent days or weeks at a time — well beyond the 24 hours allowed under state law. In some cases, young residents were recruited into the sex-trafficking trade by other youths at the facility.

To continue reading this article by Garret Therolf, go to: http://www.latimes.com/local/c...-20160301-story.html