Shanita and her siblings came into foster care when their mother died. They were placed with an uncle who was declared legal guardian. He failed to care for them and was abusive. Shanita vowed that when she became independent, she would free her siblings from her uncle and become their loving guardian. She was and had always been their stable, reliable caregiver.

Shanita called the Advokids’ telephone hotline seeking help, hoping to have the children removed from uncle’s home and having her declared legal guardian... no easy feat, as Shanita was only 19 years old. Advokids counseled Shanita and reached out to our colleague, Robbi Cook, who volunteered her legal services and petitioned the Juvenile court. Shanita was declared guardian and is now raising her siblings, attending UC Berkeley, and living in UC Berkeley family housing!

Shanita’s words of thanks…
Advokids understands the importance of family and what it means to have one of your own. My siblings and I express an emotion that goes beyond the word grateful, appreciative, or thankful. It is a word that has yet been put into a language but it is shown everyday through the smiles, laughs, and silly face expressions of my siblings. Now we are assured that through our struggles we have someone to turn to. Thank you Advokids for standing in the gap so that our family would not fall through and thank you for standing a distance where we could reach you.

Arriana was born in prison and placed in a "foster to adopt home" at 3 days old. Her mother had lost 4 previous children to foster care. After living with her foster family for a continuous 12 months, the county recommended that Arianna be moved to a prison program 300 miles away where her mother would care for her in an institutional setting. Arriana’s foster parents turned to Advokids for assistance. With support from Advokids, the foster parents were able to direct the court’s attention to Arriana’s need for security and stability.

One long and grueling year later, the court ordered that Arriana be adopted by her foster parents. She is loved and adored and thriving in her adoptive home.

"When we called Advokids we had been told our one year old foster daughter, Annie, whom we’d had since birth, was going to be removed the next morning. We had no time and no idea how to stop this move and prevent the trauma it would create in our daughter.

"We knew she was going to be reunified with her birthmother in 6 weeks’ time, but we felt moving her from our home to her cousin’s home, for only 6 weeks and then have to move again to her birthmother’s home was not in her best interest. We wanted to fight for her stability, but didn’t know how.

"Advokids’ advice and recommendations were indispensible and because of them we were able to stop the move. We now feel peace knowing we provided a stable, loving home for Annie in the time we had her and that she didn’t become a victim of the system because no one stood up for her rights. Thank you Advokids! You are making a difference for children that have no voice."

Six month old Alexander and twenty month old Michael were placed in Ceci’s home by their mother who was struggling with drug addiction and also struggling to raise her two older boys. The two older boys were later removed from their mother and placed in foster care with an uncle and his eight children. Despite reports of abuse and neglect suffered by the older brothers in their uncle’s care, Michael was removed from Ceci, his stable and caring "mother" figure for over one year and placed with his older brothers in the care of his uncle.

Ceci called the Advokids’ hotline for help. Advokids counseled Ceci and taught her how to be the "voice of the children" and to petition the court on behalf of all of the boys. Advokids supported Ceci throughout the painful five month period when Michael was not in her care. She kept close contact with the brothers placed with uncle and tirelessly advocated for them. The uncle was ultimately charged with child abuse and now all four brothers are thriving in a safe and loving adoptive home with Ceci.

Emma was medically fragile due to drug exposure and was placed in a specialized foster home at birth. Her three-year-old autistic brother was placed in a temporary foster home in another county where his foster mother was caring for 5 children under the age of five.
When Emma was 9 months old, her foster mother discovered that Emma’s social worker was planning on moving Emma to the temporary foster home with her brother to await an adoptive placement. A lateral move to another temporary foster home would compromise Emma’s development and her emotional health. Her foster mother called Advokids requesting help with maintaining Emma’s placement until an adoptive home could be found.

Advokids taught her about California state regulations that require a grievance review process which would allow her to present her objections to the proposed move. Advokids also recruited a pro bono attorney to help the foster mother present evidence about Emma’s emotional and developmental needs at the hearing. The county reconsidered their decision to move Emma, and Emma remained in her specialized care placement for an additional four months until she was gradually moved to an adoptive placement with her brother.

Jael came into the foster care system at 18 months old and was placed in the care of his grandmother. Due to trauma and neglect suffered during his infancy, Jael had special developmental needs and his grandmother was determined to provide him with all the help he needed to be healthy and successful.

Grandmother reached out to Advokids for help with understanding and navigating the funding streams and the bureaucracies of the numerous county agencies responsible for providing Jael with developmental support. After nearly four years, Jael will finally be adopted by his grandmother who is now confident that he has all the support services he needs as he starts Kindergarten.

Randall’s mother was developmentally delayed. His father lived in a homeless shelter. When Randall came into foster care at 9 months he was showing signs of severe neglect and developmental delay. He was placed in a specialized care foster home to assist him with his development. His foster mother called Advokids concerned with the visitation arrangement that had been put in place. Randall alternated placements daily, spending one night with his developmentally delayed mother, the next with his father in a homeless shelter, and the next with his foster mother, never spending two consecutive nights in the same crib with the same caregiver.

The foster mom, who had a degree in Developmental Psychology, knew that this arrangement was not good for Randall and asked Advokids to help her communicate her concerns to the Juvenile Court. Advokids taught the foster mom how to be a voice for Randall. We solicited the written opinion of a child psychiatrist to accompany a "Caregiver Information Report" to the court, describing the visitation schedule and the serious "attachment" impediments it presented for Randall. The judge was grateful for the foster mother’s report, voiced his grave concerns for Randall’s emotional and developmental health and ordered that the overnight visits be immediately suspended.

Jonathan was born in jail. Shortly after his birth, the child welfare agency placed him in the care of his grandparents. At thirteen months of age, he was returned to his mother’s care in a drug rehabilitation facility. Jonathan’s grandmother, Debra, had many concerns about his emotional health. She knew that he was suffering from the loss of his close relationship with his grandparents and she was also concerned that her daughter was not yet capable of caring for Jonathan.

Debra fought for visitation with Jonathan and for regular drug testing of her daughter. She felt like a lone voice advocating for Jonathan’s emotional health and physical safety. After six difficult months, Jonathan’s mom was re-arrested and Jonathan once again entered the dependency system. He was immediately placed back with his grandparents, but it would take years of Debra’s continued advocacy before the courts freed Jonathan for adoption by his grandparents.

Advokids taught Debra how to access the Juvenile Court, how to fight for the right to visit Jonathan in the rehab facility, and how to request "de facto" parent status in order to advocate for Jonathan at every step of the legal proceedings.

"I am happy to announce that with Advokids help, knowledge and legal referral, we successfully adopted our grandson. It was a 3 year legal battle. Advokids helped us with legal referrals and the lawyer we hired was awesome. Several ups and downs, but Advokids listened and helped with information regarding California laws regarding foster care and adoption rights of grandparents. I am very grateful and cannot recommend them enough. Bless their work."

Nate came into foster care at the age of 5. His mother and father struggled with drug addiction and were unable to care for him. He was placed in a foster home with Lory, a schoolteacher. Lory was Nate’s second foster care placement and he arrived with a serious case of scabies, vision problems that needed correcting, and he was struggling socially and academically.

After 6 months in Lory’s care, the county planned to reunify Nate with his father, who due to his incarceration had spent very little time with Nate. Lory sought Advokids’ advice about how to make sure that Nate was returned to his father’s care gradually and safely.

"Because of the advice Advokids gave me, I was greatly able to manage his situation for the best. Instead of being torn quickly from my home to return to his biological dad with whom he had very little contact in the past, the court allowed transition visits. It was a much more humane plan. He has reunified with his family but I am happy to say we are still in touch and the family seems to be doing quite well. I speak with him on the phone occasionally and get to send him lots of love and presents. It would not have happened that way without Advokids’ guidance."