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.
Harrison came into care in January 2021 due to abuse and neglect in the home. The department attempted to implement a few safety plans but to no avail. Ultimately, the parents were unable and unwilling to provide him with a safe and stable home environment, and Harrison was placed into foster care. In June 2025, Staff Advocate, Michelle, was assigned to the case, and he was living with his aunt in Laredo, TX. From day one, Michelle has been dedicated to getting to know Harrison, establishing rapport, and building trust. She would take the time to listen to him and get to know his likes and interests. When she first met him, he was timid and shy but as he gained confidence and became more comfortable, he started to open up to Michelle. He started advocating for himself, asking for a new charger for his laptop to do his schoolwork and started to disclose more important topics such as sensitive issues he was facing with his family. In October 2025, while Michelle was heading to Laredo to visit Harrison, he called her to let her know that he was no longer allowed back into his aunt’s home. There was a placement breakdown happening due to a verbal/physical altercation with his aunt and other family members, and his aunt gave notice to the department that day. Upon arrival at Laredo, Michelle immediately called Harrison’s case worker and attorney to let them know what had just transpired. Due to Harrison being 18 and not officially in extended care, Michelle was met with some pushbacks; however, she persevered and asked what his options were, if any, and how we could help him. Harrison’s team worked together and was able to get the extended care paperwork drafted and completed and Michelle was able to brainstorm with Harrison to find him a temporary home with a close friend until his caseworker could bring him back to San Antonio. Michelle took Harrison to his aunt’s so he could pack his belongings and stay with his friend temporarily. Michelle was so thankful that she could be there for him in his time of need. A few days later, Harrison was back in San Antonio. Harrison is currently thriving in his Supervised Independent Living (SIL) placement and is on track to graduate high school in May. He has plans to attend college for Cosmetology. He has had a tremendous change in his overall mood and is coming into his own as a confident young adult. When asked by Michelle how he feels being at his current placement, his response was “safe” and that’s all Michelle needed to hear to know she was making a positive impact.
Jennifer Lassahn
