In late spring, I received a referral for a mother whose children were all under the age of four. As I began to understand the many needs of the family and outline the situation that had landed the children of this woman in foster care, my heart broke for her.
In early spring the father of the children was caught abusing one of the children while the mother was at work. The children at that time were placed in foster care and no contact was allowed between the father and the family.
Healing from this terrible ordeal could finally begin for this Mom and her children. Mom enrolled in all the services she could, not only my services but she sought out a counselor and began therapy. She enrolled in ISD to complete her GED. She took her driver’s test. She did all the things she knew she had to complete to get her and the boys into the same home.
At the same time, she was getting her home in order and making all the appointments for her children. She made sure they were enrolled in therapy and getting the proper help they needed to heal from this disaster. Soon this Mom was receiving unsupervised visits in her home with the children. The family was thriving and in a better place than they had been in their entire lives.
A Family Team Meeting (FTM) was held in the summer. The caseworker was so proud of the progress this Mom had made in such a short amount of time, that Mom was granted overnight visits with her children.
A month later, Mom was notified at a court hearing that her children were going to be reunited in early fall. Everyone in the courtroom cried tears of joy. It was honestly such a beautiful sight. For the first time in her life, she was out of a domestic violence relationship, had a license, and was working on bettering herself with education and therapy.
I believe I made a difference by using the Parents As Teachers curriculum and helping this Mom realize her self-worth and gain the confidence to go after her dreams.
