You found me!

Her final wrap up

An Ottawa County grandmother has been busy refurbishing dolls and stuffed animals to give away to children in foster care.

From Michigan CASA Board Member and Livingston County CASA Volunteer Amy D’Aprile.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will keep children at risk of neglect safer by making sure their parents are connected to department programs that can meet their basic needs.

Back to school is a time for children and youth to be excited about their futures and to reconnect with stability, as they look forward to seeing their friends, teachers, staff, and return to their extra-curricular activities. The start of a new school year can be hectic for all types of families, but it is especially challenging for children in the child welfare system.

A Muskegon nonprofit is opening a home for survivors of child sex trafficking in West Michigan.

A glimpse of the relationship between Karl (CASA volunteer) and Jack (name changed) 15 year old male who was placed in the foster care system.

We ask our CASA volunteers to remain the child’s advocate until their case closes with the court.

Billy was born with complications related to his mother’s opiate addiction. Family reunification was the goal until his mother gave birth to a little girl, Stella, sixteen months later. Like Billy, his sister Stella was also born with medical issues related to her mother’s drug use during pregnancy.

An infant girl is found in her crib by a babysitter, not breathing. The baby’s parents had left an hour earlier to go to work and no one else had access to the baby’s room. There are four other young children in the home.

Daniela was removed from her home three days after her birth and placed in foster care.

The following is a school paper written by a young man about his CASA Volunteer, Tracy:

“My teacher asked our class, “Who is your hero?” When I was little, my hero was Superman and the Hulk. But now, my hero is a lady that loves me all the time. Tracy had to come to my house because my mom wasn’t home at night.

The Robinson family became involved with the family court and the CASA program when the children stopped attending school. When Kenneth, the youngest child, missed a week of kindergarten his concerned school counselor visited the home. What the counselor found was a house without food, not enough beds for all six children, and unsanitary conditions including mice and raw sewage backing up in the bathtub.

Children living in foster care have experienced traumatizing abuse or neglect. A comforting, consistent, caring adult, like Henry with a bright smile and a big heart, is just what these children need at what could be the saddest time of their young lives.

Joe and Bob were initially removed from their home when they were very young due to physical abuse by a father who struggled with alcoholism. Their mother was addicted to opioids and disappeared a year after the boys entered foster care.

The pages lay strewn before him on his living room floor. Mounds of documents – he pored over every detail promising to leave no stone unturned.

And then, there it was. On one sheet, buried deep in the volumes, was the key to Brady’s future.

Reflections of a Former CASA Youth

From a grandmother: “I want to write a note and recognize our CASA Volunteer, Bill L. Bill has been a life saver in our home. We took custody of our grandchild, Joey, two years ago. At the time, we had not seen Joey for almost 4 years due to his mother disconnecting from the family because of a mental illness.

I was born in 1989, and by 1994, I was in the family court system in Kent County. I have six brothers and sisters. From 1994 to 2002, three of my siblings and myself lived with my grandparents. It was a chaotic and unhealthy time.