County uses $170 million for children, jails

With $178 million left unspent from the budget adopted earlier this year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to allocate $27 million to keep jails open, prevent child deaths and set aside money in a "rainy day" fund. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The county ended 2008-09 with a $178 million fund balance. Of that amount, $151 million will be needed to pay for programs and projects not completed in 2008-09.

Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka said the remaining money will be used to keep jails open and some will be set aside in a "rainy day" fund. A total of $5.2 million was allocated to the Department of Children and Family Services to hire 33 workers to improve child safety.