A Family Reunited: Success Story

Background

In the summer of 2022, three young siblings, Gabriel, Michael, and baby Adriana witnessed their father strike their mother several times while under the influence. This event began a new chapter in their lives filled with fear and upheaval. After the incident, their father took baby Adriana and left the house. The police were notified of the incident by a neighbor. When their mother called their father to ask for the return of baby Adriana, he threatened to leave her in an unknown location. The children’s father eventually left baby Adriana at his mother’s house and was arrested by police.

Court Intervention

As a result of this incident, the Department of Family Services (DFS) became involved and Child Protective Orders were put in place on behalf of Gabriel, Michael, and baby Adriana. The court ordered the father to leave the home and complete services and assigned a CASA to the three children. Extremely guarded, the children and mother refused to provide any information with the professionals assigned to the case. The oldest child, Gabriel, appeared the most fearful.

Separation

One afternoon, the DFS practitioner arrived for an unannounced visit and found an empty apartment with no signs of the family. The landlord confirmed the family had left. CASA was able to make phone contact with the family and gained the mother’s trust through several video calls. She allowed the CASA to see the children virtually and confirm their well-being, but would not reveal their location. The DFS practitioner asked them to return promptly. However, the mother indicated they had left the state to get away from the children’s father. The family was eventually located, and they agreed to return for a hearing. Upon arrival, the court learned that their parents violated protective orders and the decision was made to separate the children from their parents and placed them in foster care.

Support from their CASA

Most of the professionals on the case changed when the children went into foster care except the CASA. The CASA continued to be consistent and reliable in her visits, truthfulness, and compassion. The CASA fostered great relationships with the children who began to feel comfortable confiding in their CASA. Gabriel exhibited multiple signs of trauma and fear while in foster care and talked at length to his CASA about his fear of his father. Michael had many behavioral incidents and struggled with impulse control and emotional control. The children, deeply attached to their mother, struggled with the separation.

Steps Towards Change

Their mother, was spurred into action by the removal of her children. She found a place to stay and a job, and worked diligently to get her children back. The mother attended every visit, every assessment, every therapy session, and completed all of her domestic violence services. She proved to everyone that she could protect the children and stay away from their father. The children’s mother actively worked towards reunification. She was able to progress to unsupervised visits and obtained an apartment large enough to fit the whole family. Both the mother and the oldest child, Gabriel, frequently reached out to the CASA with questions and relied on the CASA as a source of support.

The children began a trial home visit with their mother in recent months and there were tears and hugs all around upon their reunification. All is going so well that both the CASA and DFS will be recommending that the case close out at the next hearing. This sweet, bonded family will finally be back together again after more than two and a half years in the system.