CASA LCTX Reunification Story
I stepped into the middle of a case of a baby girl born in a drug den, surrounded by needles and drug paraphernalia. Mom did not know the father of the baby, she said she had sex with too many men to count. She was an addict since she was a young teen and had over 13 pregnancies and maybe 3 living children. Mom did not stick around for the case. The baby girl was named by the hospital nurses. There were no viable options for family placement. The grandmother already had an older child in her care. We worked to connect with family with no success. The little girl was placed in a loving home and at the end of the case was adopted into that home.
Another baby was born to this same Mom, a little bundle of joy. Mom and Dad refused to participate in the new case. Safe, appropriate family was not an option, so the baby was placed with the sister from the previous case. Mom was not completely absent this time, we saw a glimpse of hope for her, not necessarily a hope for her to have reunification with her children, but a hope that maybe one day she herself could be restored. At the end of the case, the baby was adopted into the home with the sister.
Mom was once again pregnant and about to deliver another little baby. This time, Mom was clean. On her own, she quit drugs when she found out she was pregnant. Because of her history, the baby was placed in a foster home. The family that was absent in the first two cases, now came forward to support Mom and her child. Her sister gave the baby a home while Mom worked on herself. She worked her services, she stayed clean. She said this was the first time she was sober in over 20 years. For a year and a half, we watched Mom begin the healing process. We watched as she began to have a clear mind. We supported her as she was welcomed into her Mother’s home. In that home she was given a safe place to welcome her baby back into her arms. We were able to offer support and resources as she learned to be a Mom for the first time. She is also on the journey of restoring her relationship with her oldest child.
The CASA advocate was the same throughout all three cases. She loved each of these precious babies as they came into the world. Along the way she had the opportunity to pour love into the Mom as well. It was a long struggle of watching someone walk away from their children over and over again. It was an impossible situation in the beginning. No one would have thought reunification was possible. But a CASA with the faith of a mustard seed, knew that the impossible can become possible with a possible God.