Testing the County’s Heart

The Orange County social-service network, along with the rest of the people of the county as well, is being put to a test on behalf of Jesus, 13; Esau, 10; Denny, 9; Tommy, 7, and twins Eileen and Vivian, 5.

The children are orphans--brothers and sisters who want to stay together, and should stay together. The problem is, where? They are now at the county’s Orangewood shelter, and plans to have them adopted by relatives have thus far not worked out. Placing one older child in a home is often difficult to do. Placing six is that much harder. But it is a test that the county and its people must not fail.

Putting all six children in one home has become a monumental challenge for Harold La Flamme, a court-appointed attorney. He is trying to carry out the wish of their dead mother, who, fearing the worst, once asked a social worker to “keep the kids together” if anything happened to her.

Something did happen to Bertha Cuevas, a battered wife who had moved several times trying to escape the attacks of her husband. Last February she was was shot and killed by her estranged husband, who then committed suicide.

Her death was a senseless tragedy. Separating her children from each other would only compound their misery.