Inside CARE House: A CARE House “CASA”Helps Make Dreams Come True
There are times in life when you can’t do it alone. You need someone to help you, someone to guide you, someone to be your advocate.
For kids in Oakland County in the process of exiting the foster care system, CARE House connects them with Court Appointed Special Advocate, or “CASA” to serve as a guide, mentor and voice. Many CASAs are volunteers from across the community.
For one girl, Scarlet, now 13, her CASA works here at CARE House. Michelle Watson has proven how advocacy makes a difference.
Michelle first met Scarlet when she was 11, after she had been in the foster system since she was a baby in Oakland County, making her way to at least three foster homes. She was living in a children’s facility in West Michigan and was exhibiting negative behaviors after years of abandonment.
“I asked her to close her eyes and imagine the best place she could be,” Michelle remembered. “She said, ‘With my Aunt Erin’ and then drew a picture of her.”
Michelle returned from her visit to the Oakland County Courthouse and went through files to find Scarlet’s mother’s sister, Erin, whose name had never been mentioned in any previous hearings. They had not seen each other in four years. Michelle located Erin and met with her and her husband, then went to court to testify on Scarlet’s dream – to be with her aunt.
After a series of legal proceedings and background checks lasting a year, Scarlet got to visit with Erin and her immediate family overnight and go on family trips. Six months later, there was a petition for adoption that finally ended two years after Michelle met Scarlet.
“I’m still in awe right now that I have my child back and nobody can take her away,” Erin said.
“Nobody fought harder for her than Michelle,” Erin added. “She jumped in, has been with her and promised she’d never leave...Scarlet trusts her.”
Michelle also helped the family become a part of the Suite Dreams project, which renovated Scarlet’s bedroom into a warm, comfortable, safe place as part of the family home.
“She loves it. It was a dream come true… They came in and just made it beautiful… She’s so much happier now. She has things of her own and a sense of permanence,” Erin said.
CASAs stay involved even after court cases close, as long as families would like. CASAs act in the best interest of families, to help kids thrive while navigating systems.
“It’s so good for her mentality…I’m beyond words what this has meant to us,” Erin said.
For more information on CASA Oakland County and how we advocate for children in the foster care system, visit this page.
CASA Staff Brenda Baker-Mbacke (left), Michelle Watson (middle left), and Chris Bieszczad (right) with Retired Director of Michigan CASA Patty Sabin (middle right.)