CASA Success Story – October
M was 7 years old when she and her 2 brothers came into care, in 2013. The siblings were separated and had little or no contact with each other. Parental rights were terminated and there was no other family to be found at this time. M was diagnosed with complex trauma and PTSD due to physical abuse, loss of family contact and going into the foster care system at such a young age. Because her trauma was not properly addressed, M’s behaviors were so severe that she could not be placed in a foster home. She stayed in at least 6 RTC’s and several mental health facilities.
During the 8 years M has been in care, she has had only 2 main CASA advocates, but has been allowed to stay in contact with everyone she has known from CASA. In 2020 CASA contacted a maternal aunt we found on Facebook and she was placed with her in another state. She lived with the maternal family until her father was found in 2021. CASA has made every effort to help educate M’s family on trauma informed care. She has been with her father, step-mother and their large supportive family for about 4 months and things are going well. She continues to talk with her aunt often. M’s brothers have been placed in a foster to adopt home and both placements have agreed that the siblings should have visits.