Surrogate Parents Fill Needs of Special Kids; Children with Learning Disabilities Gain Extra Help from Volunteers

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Byline: DEIRDRE CONNER

When children become wards of the state, a flood of new people come into their lives - investigators, caseworkers, psychologists, guardians and foster parents. But when those children have learning disabilities, none of those people can make important decisions about their education or ask for testing that would get them extra help.

Their family lives in upheaval, facing multiple moves and sometimes multiple schools, all foster children are at risk of falling behind in school. Throw in the possibility of having a learning or other disability, and it can be a recipe for disaster.

Enter the "surrogate parent."

A relatively new phenomenon in the field, a surrogate parent is appointed either by the school district or a dependency judge to advocate for the education of children with special schooling needs. They don't take the place …