OHIO: Carrie* and her siblings were temporarily removed from their mother when her mental health became unstable, and they were found sleeping in a car. Carrie’s mother recovered enough to secure housing through a program for homeless women and children, and things were looking up. However, Carrie’s siblings were caught stealing from a local store, violating the program rules, and Carrie and her siblings re-entered foster care. Once in the system, the children were separated, split between foster homes and a relative. Later, it was discovered that Carrie had additional siblings who were cared for by a grandparent.
Carrie’s case was sent to ProKids, an organization that helps abused and neglected children. There, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) on the team used our Family Connections software to map the large extended family that included Carrie and her siblings and multiple fathers. ProKids was able to have multiple people work together on Carrie’s case. The Family Connections map was beneficial in keeping all the information organized and documenting the many branches of her family tree. Connect Our Kids tools saved the ProKids team hours in organizing, tracking, logging, and sharing vital information about Carrie and her family. ProKids attempted to reach out to Carrie’s father, who was incarcerated. After a few months of no response, the case was closed. Some connections were documented, but Carrie had no placement options.
A few months later, ProKids received a call from Carrie’s paternal grandmother in another state, “I’m [Carrie’s] grandmother. My son got your letter and then reached out to me. We both thought she was with her mother and assistance wasn’t needed. I want to help out here.”
ProKids reopened the case and facilitated the process to clear Carrie’s grandmother for permanent placement. After a series of successful weekend visits, Carrie will be moving in with her grandmother this summer. Carrie’s grandmother is open to continuing contact with Carrie’s siblings.
Thanks to the incredible work from ProKids, Carrie will not have to continue her life in foster care. The ProKids team said, “The Family Connections software has been an invaluable piece of the puzzle in our new family-finding program. We can work as a team and make the connections our children long for! Thank you, Connect Our Kids!”
Connect Our Kids is a non-profit dedicated to leveraging technology to find families, build
connections, and create a community for children in the foster care system. Want to help more
children like Carrie? You can today by donating HERE.
* Names have been changed to protect privacy.
