Abused, Neglected Children Depend on Surrogate Parents

The other kids at Vine Street Elementary School’s fifth-grade graduation ceremony eagerly scanned the crowd for parents and grandparents.

From her spot on the stage, though, 11-year-old Shari nervously searched the school auditorium for Jean Wagner.

Shari is a resident of Hollygrove Children’s Home in Hollywood, where Wagner is a staff educational liaison. And at Shari’s graduation from elementary school six months ago, Wagner was her surrogate parent.

On back-to-school nights, at parent-teacher conferences, at winter holiday pageants and at spring concerts, Wagner and colleague Michael Sutton are “parents” to children who live at the 120-year-old former orphanage--the court-ordered home for 68 abused or neglected youngsters.

The pair are there to cheer the kids on during happy events such as school plays. They’re there to gently prod when necessary too.

Shari soon spied Wagner in the audience and shyly waved. Wagner waved back. The little girl finished the ceremony with a smile on her face.

“I got my diploma on stage, and afterward Ms. Jean gave me roses!” Shari said. “She also took lots of pictures that I have in my photo album.”

Although parents often hope their kids will stand out at school events, Wagner and Sutton are anxious for the Hollygrove children to blend in. They don’t want their children to be the only ones without a parent looking on.

“It’s incredibly important that they be regular kids in school and not stick out,” Wagner said.

Sutton and Wagner accompany each Hollygrove child to school on their first day and attend parent-teacher conferences. Although most children at the home attend Vine Street Elementary and Le Conte Middle School, about a dozen other campuses draw Hollygrove youngsters with special needs.

“It’s very important to the child to see our face at school, knowing we’re a presence in their lives,” Sutton said. “And we can stay up to date on their academic progress and their behavior and stress the importance of learning to them.”

Hollygrove wants to expand the surrogate program with extra staff members because Sutton and Wagner are stretched thin.

Tim Ryder, Hollygrove’s executive vice president, said donations to the Los Angeles Times Family Fund could help finance one or more additional surrogates. The fund contributed $7,100 to Hollygrove in June. That came from the $35,787 that the holiday appeal and matching funds from the McCormick Tribune Foundation generated last year for five charities in the five-county Southern California region.

The Holiday Campaign was established last year after the Los Angeles Times merged with Tribune Co. It is a part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, which includes The Times’ long-running Summer Camp program.

The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match the first $500,000 in donations at 50 cents on the dollar, and The Times will absorb all administrative costs.

The personal touch provided by the educational liaisons pays off. A 13-year-old named Annie attests to that.

A year ago, she was barely passing, or even failing, classes. This term, Hollygrove’s child advocates had her moved to a new school. It worked.

“I just got four A’s and two Bs on my progress report. Actually, I got an A-plus in my math class. It’s my favorite subject,” Annie said.

That kind of report makes a parent proud. Especially a surrogate parent.

HOW TO GIVE

Donations (checks or money orders) supporting the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign should be sent to: L.A. Times Holiday Campaign, File 56491, Los Angeles, CA 90074-6491. Please do not send cash. Credit card donations can be made on the Web at: https://www.latimes.com/ holidaycampaign. All donations are tax-deductible. Contributions of $25 or more will be acknowledged in the Los Angeles Times unless a donor requests otherwise. For information about the Holiday Campaign, call (800) 528-4637 (LA TIMES), ext. 75480.