Aria & Josiah’s Story

“I honestly do not think this would have been the outcome had we not had [staff attorney] Lauren there for us to help us, coach us and walk us through what we needed to do.  Thank you so much Lauren & Advokids. My husband and I truly appreciate you!”

Yvette and Joseph were foster caregivers to Aria (age 3) and her brother, Josiah (age (4) when they called the Advokids’ Hotline concerned that the children were facing yet another move. The children had already experienced 3 failed placements in the previous 6 months due to their difficult behaviors and now they were to be moved once again to be closer to their mother who had just been released from prison. The children came to Yvette and Joseph with a host of medical and dental conditions from parental neglect and also exhibited many serious behavioral indicators of stress from early childhood trauma and abuse. After 4 months with Yvette and Joseph, they had become happy children who would hug and snuggle because they had learned to trust that they were loved and would be kept safe. 

Yvette and Joseph were concerned that if the children were moved once again, they would regress after all the progress the children had made in their home. They would lose their trusted caregivers and their medical and therapeutic providers. Advokids’ Hotline staff taught Yvette how to petition the juvenile court, share all of the children’s vulnerabilities and needs, and seek a court order to prevent another placement disruption. Yvette and Joseph also promised to do whatever was needed to keep the children connected to their mother. In response to the petition, the county child welfare agency withdrew their notice of removal of the children. The children continue to thrive and catch up developmentally. Their medical and dental health issues continue to be addressed and they are maintaining visits with their mother by Zoom. Find out more about the role of resource families in a child’s dependency case.