Story of Hope: Miranda Robles

For her first case as a new CASA advocate, Miranda Robles chose to advocate for Jessie and Jeremy after she learned about the severe neglect, medical neglect, and abandonment they both suffered. Throughout the case, Miranda advocated diligently for 3-year-old Jessie and 1-year-old Jeremy focusing on their medical, psychological, and educational needs. Both kids were placed in separate homes. Jessie was placed with her biological father and Jeremy was placed with foster parents. When Miranda first saw Jeremy, he was small and still getting over withdrawals from being born drug positive for methamphetamines.

Miranda advocated for Jessie and Jeremy to get therapy and treatment, especially Jeremy considering his development. Miranda visited Jessie and Jeremy in person once every month in each of their placements, one of them being almost an hour away. During her visits, Miranda made sure to get updates from the children’s placements, daycares, and the caseworker. Miranda saw Jessie was not speaking as much compared to an average 3-year-old, but throughout the visits, Miranda started to see Jessie speak more and retain information such as the colors and counting with her biological father. Jessie’s speech also improved more when she started going to daycare and was speaking more with her teachers and interacting with other kids.

For Jeremy, Miranda knew he needed a lot of services and made sure his placement was on top of getting those services put in place. As each month passed, Miranda saw Jeremy grow bigger and healthier. When Miranda called his daycare, they said he was learning quickly. Jeremy was able to grab items with his hands, pick them up with his fingers, and started crawling as well. Each month, Jeremy showed progress in his therapy, physically, emotionally, and developmentally. Miranda saw the foster parents genuinely cared for Jeremy and made sure he had all the supplies he needed. Throughout the case Miranda became more and more confident that both kids were healthy and safe in their placements.

Jessie showed love for her father and her sister who stayed with them. Jessie did also show a connection with her biological mother despite her mother’s negation to get clean. Jessie’s father would not do anything to put her in harm’s way, even if that meant keeping her from her mother. As for Jeremy, the foster parents loved him and would do anything to protect him. Miranda saw they were open to letting his biological parents write him a letter and present it to him when he is older. The foster parents were also open to having sibling visits once both children are a little older. Miranda made sure throughout her case the children were safe and taken care of in the homes they were currently in.

This was Miranda’s first case that resulted in both reunification and adoption, she did an amazing job making sure they found their forever homes.

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Story of Hope: Staff Advocate Yvonne and Zoe

By bfines • February 17, 2026

In December 2024, the Department requested TMC for a youth, Zoe, who was found to be homeless after both parents refused to accept parental responsibility. The mother had an extensive CPS history, and the alleged father had CPS history and a criminal history. While in care, life became challenging as Zoe made decisions that jeopardized placement; choosing to skip school, run away from placement, and get arrested for a misdemeanor charge. As a result of these behaviors, the Department placed Zoe in a facility out of state. In August 2025, Staff Advocate, Yvonne, accepted the Crossover Court Case involving Zoe. During the initial Zoom meeting between Yvonne and Zoe, the youth shared her love for sketching, singing, and making people smile. Zoe further shared her hopes and dreams with Yvonne; stating that if parental rights were terminated, she hopes to be adopted by a loving family and wants to pursue her dream of having a career in law enforcement. Recently, Yvonne had the opportunity to visit Zoe at her out-of-state placement, where their conversations were not limited by time on a video call. When Yvonne met Zoe in person, she shared that she couldn’t sleep the morning of Yvonne’s arrival because she feared that Yvonne would be another adult who did not show up for her. Yvonne was able to lay that worry to rest by simply keeping her word, a small act that means the world to the children CASA serves. During the visit, Zoe shared that she wanted to make her CASA proud by improving her school grades, staying out of trouble with peers at placement, and staying busy with extracurricular activities. Yvonne was happy to hear Zoe share her aspirations and encouraged Zoe to continue on this positive path. The conversations about Zoe’s day-to-day happenings in life led her to share the more traumatic events with Yvonne. Yvonne listened and provided a space for Zoe to share what she was comfortable with. Yvonne encouraged Zoe to continue processing her trauma and grief with her therapist and find peace, past the pain of being estranged from her family and individuals whom she trusted. Despite the setbacks Zoe has endured in efforts to restore family connections, Yvonne continues to show up and support Zoe in self-advocating for her educational and placement needs as she approaches adulthood. Zoe’s educational goal is to attend her senior prom and walk across the stage at a public high school to receive her diploma. Most importantly, Zoe hopes to be placed in a Texas foster home where she will be protected, loved, and trusted. Regardless of where life and the case takes Zoe, Yvonne will be there at every turn.

February Advocate Spotlight

By bfines • February 17, 2026

Maquisha Nunn

Story of Hope: Miranda Robles