10+ Year Case Ends In A Touching Adoption

Background

In Fall of 2013, at just four years old Christopher* entered the child welfare system. There were multiple reports of abandonment, physical neglect and abuse, and mental abuse from both of his parents and a few relatives. He was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and faced developmental delays. He struggled with aggressive behaviors and health issues. By four years old, Christopher had already endured more hardship than most face in a lifetime.

Support from a CASA

Within the first few months of the case, Christopher was assigned a dedicated CASA who visited with him often, and tracked his many services. Despite spending a year in foster care, his parents continued to struggle with addiction and housing insecurity. Eventually, their parental rights were terminated leaving Christopher to remain in the system.  

During this time, Christopher remained in the same foster home. His CASA never left his side and and steadfastly advocated for services and schools that could meet his higher needs.

Years of Hurdles

In Fall of 2016, Christopher was hospitalized due to his mental health needs. An adoption recruitment team, including the CASA, began to work on finding an adoptive family for Christopher. In Spring of 2017, a potential family was identified and they began visiting Christopher during his hospitalization.

Christopher was hospitalized for a year in a psychiatric unit. At just eight years old, he was placed in a residential treatment center. Through every placement and hospitalization, his CASA remained committed to supporting Christopher. The CASA regularly visited him, tracked his medication and services, and continued to work closely with the adoption recruitment team.

Having spent over a year in his residential treatment center, Christopher began weekend visits with his prospective adoptive family. In Fall of 2018, he completed a trial placement in the family’s home. Unfortunately, the trial placement was short-lived. His behaviors proved too much for the family and he was hospitalized again. Christopher was back to square one. 

The adoption recruitment team and his CASA worked diligently to find a permanent home for Christopher. Identifying a new family became an elusive challenge. When a CASA is assigned onto a case, they typically stay on until it is closed out by the court. However, due to a serious illness, his CASA of five years had to withdraw from the case. A new one took over in 2019.

There were long periods of time when the CASA and his Department of Family Services (DFS) practitioner were his only visitors. Christopher often told his CASA how deeply he wished for a family of his own. Through medication, one to one monitoring, and intensive therapy, Christopher made significant behavioral improvements at the treatment center.

A Glimpse of Hope

In Spring of 2022, when he was 12 years old, he moved to a less restrictive group home. He continued to struggle with his impulsive and aggressive behavior, running away and hallucinations. But overall, he improved with the help of his treatment. His CASA continued to visit him and brought Legos and board games to give Christopher something to look forward to.

Later that Fall, the Department of Family Services made contact with Christopher’s grandmother. She expressed interest in reestablishing contact with Christopher. His grandmother worked together as a team with his group home. Soon, she began visiting him and building a relationship again.

Eventually, his grandmother applied to formally adopt him. After having spent over 10 years in foster care, with six different DFS workers, he finally had a permanent home. He celebrated his fifteenth birthday shortly after the move. The adoption recruitment team, DFS, and the CASA continued meeting Christopher’s grandmother to ensure she had the necessary support services for Christopher’s high needs including a therapeutic day school, in-home therapy, and medication support.

A Beautiful New Chapter

Christopher was ecstatic to have a family again and be connected to his extended relatives. All lived close by and celebrated their reunification. His behaviors settled enough to be able to safely remain in his grandmother’s home. She utilized the therapeutic support system when needed. Once the trial period ended and the adoption application process was completed, Christopher was formally adopted by his grandmother. His extended family and former case workers celebrated his adoption in a beautiful ceremony.

We are happy for Christopher. Through dedicated advocacy, proper resources, and support from his grandmother and everyone involved in his case, his wish of having a family and permeant home came true.

There are many children in the system just like Christopher who longed to have someone to stand by their side no matter what. Help make advocacy possible or children like Christopher by making a donation today. Now through the time we reach $10,000, every dollar will be doubled—thanks to one of our generous volunteers who has pledged to match all donations.

*Name changed for confidentiality purposes.