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Head Of LA Child Services Says 'Crisis Is Brewing'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The head of Los Angeles County's child welfare service says a crisis is brewing because of a backlog in abuse investigations.

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KNX 1070's John Brooks Reports

In a report this week, Chief Executive William Fujioka said shifting workers to handle the backlog of more than 10,000 cases has pulled them from other duties such as foster care placement.

Fujioka says that appears to be creating a crisis for some critical tasks in the Department of Children and Family Services.

The Los Angeles Times says nearly half of the child abuse probes have exceeded the state's two-month deadline.

The department handles 170,000 child abuse hotline calls a year. Nearly 70 youngsters have died of abuse or neglect since the beginning of 2008 after being referred to the department.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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