Finding a Family for Two Brothers
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. Joe and Bob were then adopted when they were in elementary school by a family who seemed to provide a stable home.
Unfortunately, their new family struggled with domestic violence and the boys had to be removed several times from their new adoptive parents as a result of physical abuse. After several failed reunifications with their adoptive parents, the boys were placed in a new foster home where they could remain until they turned 21 and aged out of foster care. During this time their adoptive mother surrendered her parental rights, freeing them to be adopted once again. By this time the brothers were adolescents and had been hurt and rejected so many times by the adults in their lives that neither had an interest in being adopted.
Luckily for Joe and Bob, a Family Court Judge concerned with their well-being appointed a CASA volunteer on their case. Our CASA began visiting with the boys regularly and established a trusting relationship over visits to the local pizza shop. She found the boys polite but guarded when it came to expressing their feelings and wishes for the future. Bob told his CASA that he didn’t think about a future beyond next week because all his plans always failed. One of the first things our CASA did when she was appointed on the case was to review the brothers’ case file. While reading through the file she found a reference that apparently no one else had seen to an uncle that had expressed interest in adopting the boys many years ago. When our CASA asked the caseworker about the suitability of placing the boys with their uncle the caseworker agreed but the CASA would first have to find him and then see if he would still take in two teen boys. The CASA knew she had to do all she could to locate Joe and Bob’s uncle. She spent hours searching through the case file for contact information and then on the internet. Eventually she located their uncle, who was living out of state. The uncle was very upset to hear what the boys had been through and was still very interested in welcoming them into his family. Six months later, and days before Thanksgiving, Joe and Bob were adopted by their aunt and uncle. Two years later they are thriving in high school and going on college tours with their new family. Both boys are now able to see a future with many possibilities thanks to our CASA finding their forever family.
“Luckily for Joe and Bob, a Family Court Judge concerned with their well-being appointed a CASA volunteer on their case.”