Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Last week's headline sounded bad enough: trustee for foster kids steals their money. Now Christina Villacorte of the Daily News has the more human story of the pain caused by those thefts, via Samuel Sago — a foster child under the care of Los Angeles County from the age of three.
He had saved up some money working at Starbucks - about $300 a month over a 17-month period - and turned it over to his county case manager for safekeeping in a trust fund. That was required by the county's Transitional Housing Program, which helps house youths for three years after they leave foster care at age 18 and forces them to save money for their future.As he approached 21 and it was time to start paying his own rent for the first time, the county Department of Children and Family Services offered him a check.
The grand total: $713.
Sago was stunned. What happened to the rest of it - nearly $5,000 - he wondered. He fought with county officials for months, and was offered one runaround and vague excuse after another, but no check.
In fact, it was only after reading a story Friday in the Daily News that he learned the full, awful truth: His case manager, Deputy Probation Officer II Andre Toliver, had allegedly pocketed his cash, along with funds from at least 10 other youths he was supervising.
The thefts were discovered in March, after Toliver died of a heart attack. Not until Friday did Sago get the rest of his money: $4,664.10. Only Monday did Jackie Contreras, acting director of the county's Department of Children and Family Services, offer an apology.