There are thousands of Orange County children at risk of falling through the cracks – and end up cycling through the revolving door of the criminal justice system.

They are struggling through no fault of their own, the children of a single parent fighting to survive, children drowning in a sea of adult problems and adult temptations that make a life of crime and gangs the easy way out of an empty stomach, an empty wallet, and a cramped studio apartment filled with brothers and sisters sleeping on the floor.

This is Orange County, with its 42 miles of pristine beaches and billions of dollars of economic impact driven by some of the world’s most desirable tourist destinations, including the Happiest Place on Earth.

The sunshine, and the glitz and the glamour of reality television isn’t everyone’s reality.

But these children aren’t alone. At least not yet.

Since 2007 the OC Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, led by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, has rescued more than 20,000 Orange County children from falling through those all too real cracks, and put them on the path to success – in school and in life.

Mentors matter. Leadership matters. Showing up matters.

And for years, OC GRIP mentors in the form of Orange County District Attorney prosecutors and investigators, probation officers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers have shown up for struggling children.

They are there through sickness and in health. Through incarceration, through death, and doubt. They believe in these kids when sometimes it seems like no one else does, not even the kids themselves. But they keep showing up, because we all know what happens when kids fall through the cracks.

Earlier this year, the Orange County CEO directed every department as part of a budget exercise to identify “discretionary programs,” distinguished from the mandatory responsibility each department bears.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office had no choice but to identify OC GRIP as a discretionary program – at a cost of $3 million out of the District Attorney’s $233.2 million recommended 2026-2027 budget. And with that, OC GRIP ended up on the County budget chopping block.

Yet, these children, struggling to survive, are not discretionary.

And the work to save them cannot be measured in numbers on a budget sheet or dollars and cents. It is measured in self-confidence, renewed responsibility, accountability, and pride.

Eighty-seven percent of OC GRIP students in 2024-2025 reported they were better able to participate in school and extracurricular activities. Ninety-five percent reported an increase in coping skills to build resiliency as measured by pre-post results using the Youth Resiliency Survey and 88% reported that they are better able to manage daily life as measured by the Perceived Impact Exit Survey.

It is measured in an 81% increase in school attendance, in better grades, and even better behavior.

It is high school diplomas, graduation caps, and college acceptance letters that often have to be translated into a different language to parents who never dreamed their child would be the first in their family to go to college.

Sam Perez was one of those kids, struggling to survive in a cramped Orange County apartment sleeping on the floor with his brothers and sisters while his parents worked to barely scrape by.

OC GRIP grabbed Sam from falling through the cracks and snatched him from a life of gangs and crime.

Today, he’s a firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, protecting Orange County.

Because showing up matters. Our kids matter. And OC GRIP matters.

It is time for the Orange County Board of Supervisors to invest in what matters, and that is the future of Orange County, and the future of Orange County is making sure no one falls through the cracks.

Todd Spitzer is district attorney of Orange County.