SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Over a 13 year period, a former employee allegedly stole nearly $2 million from the state Department of Social Services.
Now a panel of South Dakota lawmakers will dig into how that was able to go on for so long.
Wednesday, the Government Operations and Audit Committee met in Pierre and decided to spend a full day in October looking into the case.
Earlier this month Lonna Carroll was indicted on two felony charges of grand theft. She’s scheduled to be back in court on August 27th.
A local non-profit has a lot of concerns about that case.
‘People’s Reach Out On Foster Care’ wants people to know they are not associated with the Department of Social Services and any money you donate to its cause will go directly to help foster kids go to college.
Being in foster care isn’t always an easy path to be on.
Approximately 20% of youth who age out of foster care become homeless within the first few years.
Katheryn Hickey, President and Founder of ‘People’s Reach Out On Foster Care’, wants to change those numbers.
“As most people know I spent pretty much my entire life in foster care,” Hickey said.
Hickey speaks from her own personal struggles in foster care where she moved from home to home and was beaten and even shot.
That’s why she started her non-profit to make sure foster children can go to college once they are out of the system.
“When a normal person graduates and they go onto college they have a family; whether it’s aunts or a single mom or single dad wherever they are, they have somebody to go back to if life goes a little too hard on them and they fall down,” Hickey said.
So they want to establish a place that’ll act as a safety net if you will.
“We want to have a facility that we can house them while they are going to their schooling that can be like their family home,” Hickey said.
Tammy Craig is the treasurer. She says they know they have a big hill to climb, but wants to assure people who donate the money will all be accounted for and will go directly to helping foster kids who turn 18 and are no longer in the system.
“It’ll go straight to the school or to the daycare or if they need food cards or whatever there will be a paper trail and accounted for every year,” Craig said.
Foster care can be a complex issue, but this non-profit has a simple outcome.
“Our goal is to help those kids through their process through the whole college, until they are out and able to be on their own,” Craig said.
People’s Reach On Foster Care is going to be holding a big fundraiser at the Yankton Mall in August. To learn more about People’s Reach On Foster Care and how to donate, click here.
