Nonprofits to Honor Yaroslavsky

El Nido Family Centers and the United Way North Angeles Region will honor Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky today for his dedication to social service agencies in the San Fernando Valley.

A reception will be held at 8 a.m. at Airtel Plaza Hotel, 7277 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys.

Sharon Kaplan and Shirley Better, members of El Nido’s board of directors, and Marilyn Brainard, a member of United Way’s local board of directors, will present Yaroslavsky with a plaque for his service to the community.

In addition, a former El Nido client will discuss how the agency helped her earn her high school diploma and find employment while dealing with a teen-age pregnancy, El Nido officials said.

Yaroslavsky “has been very supportive of social service programs” in the Valley, said Gail Buckley, associate director of El Nido, which has centers in Pacoima and San Fernando.

“We operate many programs in his district. We thought a reception would be a way for him to get to know better the social service agencies in the Valley and, hopefully, gain his support,” Buckley added.

El Nido is one of six social service agencies in Los Angeles County administering the state’s new Cal-Learn program, designed to encourage teen-age welfare mothers to stay in school by linking public assistance benefits to academic performance.

The program, a key part of Gov. Pete Wilson’s welfare reform program, provides monetary bonuses to teen-age mothers who maintain at least a C average. Another bonus would be awarded upon graduation. Mothers who have failing grade-point averages would suffer deductions from their assistance.