February Story of Hope: Luis

Advocate Impact Story

Luis was 4 years old when he had to be removed from his mother by CPS. A neighbor notified the police that the child was playing by himself outside and was almost struck by a car. When the police/CPS investigated the situation, they found his mom in a situation where she was clearly unable to continue to care for her child. It was later discovered that mom had a previous CPS and criminal history. The father was not in the picture at that time. 

Due to these circumstances Luis had to be removed by CPS and placed with his maternal aunt and uncle. At the removal hearing the judge granted temporary custody to the state. Two months after the legal case started CASA was appointed to the case. Kathleen ‘Kitty’ Lange was the CASA volunteer assigned to advocate for Luis’ best interests. The first court hearing CASA attended was the six-month hearing and things were not going well from the parents’ perspective. Mom had not engaged in any of the services, other than visitation, and had either tested positive for drugs or no-showed to most of her drug tests. The father was just going to start therapy six months into the case and had not even provided proof of employment or residence. The child was doing very well in his relative placement, but unfortunately the placement informed CASA that they were not able to commit to provide long-term placement for the child. 

When Kathleen observed parent/child visits she noticed that there was indeed a bond between mother and child. She also noticed that father and child also displayed a strong bond and fortunately the father had tested negative on all of his drug tests. She started to communicate with the parents and expressed to them the importance of that bond and to use that bond to motivate themselves to turn their lives around and regain custody of their child. All parties communicated to the parents that since the relative placement was not going to be permanent, if they were not successful in their services, their child could end up in foster care.

This reality lit a fire under the parents, especially Mom. She started engaging in all of her services and started testing negative on all her drug tests. A year after the case was open and when it was time to go to trial, instead of a termination (which seemed likely six months earlier) the judge ordered the child to be placed with the mother. Kathleen had cultivated such a positive relationship with the parents that she even convinced them of the importance of co-parenting. Sixteen months after the legal case started the court was dismissing the case and Luis was successfully reunified with his mother, with liberal visitation and joint custody with his father. It was a very unlikely outcome early in the case, but Kathleen conveyed to the parents early on that she was not going to give up on them. With their eventual efforts they demonstrated that they did not give up on themselves either or their relationship to their child and Luis was able to obtain permanency with his biological parents.  

Story of Hope: Brennan Holland

By bfines • February 13, 2025
Brennan Holland was assigned to Sarah in December 2022. Sarah entered foster care with a history of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, yet she remains incredibly resilient. Throughout her time in care, she has experienced multiple placements. Brennan quickly learned that Sarah has a strong passion for neuroscience and dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon. Determined to pursue her goal, she graduated early from high school and is now enrolled in the College Bound Docket program, attending her school of choice—UTSA. However, the path to achieving her dream has not been without challenges.\ Sarah received a discharge notice from her current placement and was denied Supervised Independent Living (SIL) until she turned 18. It felt as though no one was giving her a real chance. CASA stepped in to advocate for Sarah’s independence, pushing for her to live in a dorm on her own. Not everyone on her team supported this idea due to concerns about her age, limited independent living experience, and fears that she might run away, be influenced by older peers, or engage in risky behavior. CASA, however, continued to stand by Sarah, even offering financial assistance to help her move into a dorm until she became eligible for SIL.  At Sarah’s next court hearing on January 24, 2025, her attorney ad litem filed a motion for her to live in a dorm at UTSA. CASA once again advocated for the court to approve this plan. The judge, quoting Brennan’s court report, stated, “Brennan said it correctly: You are going to succeed or fail based on your decisions.” Ultimately, the judge authorized Sarah to live in the dorms on campus and ordered CPS to cover the cost of SIL. CASA recently assisted Sarah in moving into her very first dorm room, and we are excited to see what the future holds for her. Since being placed on campus, she has built a strong network of supportive adults to help her thrive. The impact of CASA facilitating these vital connections is crucial in ensuring that young adults like Sarah have the support they need to successfully transition into adulthood.

February Advocate Spotlight

By bfines • February 13, 2025
Emily White
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