Kodi Moneymaker with John and Holly Carney

Lost And Found
When it comes to her 16-year-old niece and goddaughter Kodi Moneymaker, Holly Carney gets right to the point. "We focus on the glory, not the gory," she says with hand-over-her-heart sincerity.

The glory is that after putting herself and her family through the ringer, Moneymaker bounced back from what is surely every parent’ s worst nightmare. The gory — drugs, running away, getting in trouble with the law — aren’ t worth mentioning in detail. Moneymaker won’ t ever forget that period in her life. Neither will John and Holly Carney, her legal guardians, nor Moneymakers’ cousins, Luke, Keely ("Kiki"), and J.D.

"Kodi was in turmoil," says Holly. "She brought a dark cloud with her. She was like a wounded bird that we brought into the nest."

Sitting next to Holly in sweatpants and black Converse, nails painted Day-Glo orange, Moneymaker looks like any other teenager. She’ s pretty, like a young Hilary Swank, and she hams it up during the photo shoot with goofy faces and rabbit fingers. It’ s hard to believe that she’ s been in and out of the juvenile court system and schools for years.

Holly says the trouble started when Moneymaker was just three years old and her father — Holly’ s older brother, David — was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’ s lymphoma cancer. He spent the next decade gravely ill. Moneymaker’ s mom had skipped town after her daughter was born, and life with a single sick parent was shaky for the young girl. "She always worried that she’ d come home and find her dad dead," says Holly. "It was a lot for her to handle. It devastated her."

Holly and her brother agreed that the Carneys would take in Moneymaker when he passed. The families had spent a lot of time together, and Moneymaker was close to her aunt and uncle John, the pro football player (Chargers, Saints).

But when Moneymaker was 14 years old, her behavior became increasingly angry and rebellious. She was acting out. While her dad was still sick, the Carneys — who spent the football season in New Orleans and the off-season in San Diego — sent Moneymaker to Florida’ s Lighthouse, a private, $50,000-per-year lock-down boarding school for troubled teens.

Holly credits Lighthouse with saving Moneymaker academically. But David passed away in May of 2006 and Holly couldn’ t bear to keep her teenage niece so far from home and family. She brought her newly full-time charge back to San Diego.

Moneymaker started running with a really bad crowd. She went to juvie — what Holly calls "baby jail" — four times. Last year was the low point. When she was barely 16, Moneymaker ran away from the state-run Julian Academy and was gone for two-and-a-half months, living in a sketchy situation. When she called Holly and asked her to pick her up, Holly was there in a heartbeat.

That low point became a turning point. Moneymaker was sent to Girls Residential Facility (GRF), a state-run rehabilitation facility attached to juvie. It was just what the teenager needed — structure, accountability, caring.

"The staff are exemplary," says Holly. "The system worked. The system saved our child."

"I was really depressed with everything," says Moneymaker, who holds her aunt’ s hand and fights back tears as she considers all she’ s been through. "I have respect for myself now."

Moneymaker currently attends JCCS (Juvenile Court & Community Schools) North in San Marcos, where she’ s become an excellent student and has managed to stay out of trouble. If all goes well, she’ ll be back at a public school by next fall.

Holly and John visit JCCS near daily to check on their niece’ s progress. The school keeps Moneymaker on track with probation officers, psychotherapists, and drug counselors, but having super-involved guardians with means really helps too. Unfortunately, not all kids are so lucky.

Holly and John have raised money for troubled teens through the charity event Dinner with the Pros, but they also sing the praises of a program that specifically benefits JCCS. Dollars for Scholars offers college funds to any graduate of JCCS, giving kids a fighting chance when they age out of the juvenile system.

"Many of our students aren’ t eligible for scholarships," explains Leilah Armour, principal of JCCS North Region (one of eight in the county). "Forms are heavily dependent on having a parent you can rely upon for tax forms. We also have immigrants who don’ t have legal status, so they can’ t apply for federal aid."

What it boils down to is giving all kids a chance to turn it around like Moneymaker did. Success is relative when it comes to troubled teens, says Armour. "But we have students who learn valuable lessons and move on in life."
— AnnaMaria Stephens, photo by Kristy Ann Mann

The Juvenile Court & Community Schools Scholarship Foundation

Year Founded: 1986

Overall Mission: The Juvenile Court & Community Schools (JCCS) Scholarship Foundation, popularly known as Dollars for Scholars, was created in 1986 to provide scholarships for JCCS students. The JCCS program serves at-risk students, homeless teens, youth in foster care, and young adults with special circumstances. The JCCS Dollars for Scholars Foundation provides a way for these students to continue their education after high school. Awards enable selected JCCS students and graduates to continue their education at community colleges, universities, and vocational schools.

Current Funding Objectives: To secure generous donors/sponsors to help launch an endowment fund to provide scholarship support and to support the golf tournament, gala, and The Scholars Walk.

Donation Administration Cost Ratio: JCCS is an all-volunteer board. All funding goes directly to the operation of the program and the scholarships.

Organization’ s Biggest Challenge: JCCS continues to build the organization and is actively seeking to increase its base of contributors and volunteers. Donations are much lower than in the past, and JCCS aims to recreate the publicity and the empathy to raise monies for its kids.

Contact Information: Deen Elder, 619/300-9915 (SDCOE); Leilah Armour, 760/761-5132 (JCCS North Region)