Gerald D. Zaslaw, 63; Longtime Leader in Children’s Mental Health Services

Gerald D. Zaslaw, 63, a leader in the child welfare field, died Oct. 7 in a boating accident near Santa Catalina. Zaslaw was president of Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services in West Los Angeles from 1987 until 2002. After retiring he lived on a sailboat docked at Marina del Rey between long sailing cruises.

During Zaslaw’s years at Vista Del Mar, the facility opened the state’s first high-security residential psychiatric treatment center for children. The center continues to serve severely mentally ill and emotionally disturbed children.

Zaslaw also oversaw the expansion of Vista Del Mar’s child adoption program, now a leader in the field of international adoptions.

Earlier in his career, Zaslaw was executive director of the San Diego Center for Children, which offers mental health services.

He also worked as director or executive director of treatment programs for disturbed children in Oregon and Idaho.

Born Dec. 23, 1942, in Minnesota, Zaslaw moved to Southern California with his parents as a child and was raised in Pasadena. He received a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a master’s degree in social work from USC.