The Importance of a CASA

A nine-month-old baby is brought to the doctor by her mother and grandmother with a broken arm, a broken leg, broken ribs and a bruise under her eye. These are not accidental injuries, they are the product of deliberate and recurring abuse. This is how CASA advocate Mary Pagucci’s recent case began.

While similar cases often involve substance misuse as a root cause of the abuse and neglect, that wasn’t the circumstance here. This was the story of two young parents, both with good jobs and supportive families. At first, suspicion fell on the mother, however, the father quickly admitted to hurting his child when she was crying. Mary says his admission to the abuse quickly changed the focus of the case to helping the mother become a better parent.

While the father never became engaged or participated in taking the steps necessary for reunification, the mother did everything she was supposed to do. She participated in parenting classes, visited her child and brought diapers, food, clothing, and toys, and she developed a relationship with the foster family that continues to this day.

Through all of this, even though she had two generation’s worth of family resources at her side, the mother still turned to her CASA Mary for support, encouragement during the tough times, and objective guidance.

The reunification of this mother with her baby happened about a year after the abuse was discovered, which Mary says was a fair time period. Mary had closely witnessed all of mom’s hard work and progress, and advocated that it was time that the child be allowed to return home. The foster parents and parent aids agreed with Mary’s assessment, as did the judge, who allowed the baby to go home with the mother the day of the permanency hearing, which determines where the child will live. Mary knows that judges really value and rely on the CASA’s input and she knows she truly is listened to, which was evident in the judge’s decision.

Mary played an important role in helping the child and the family through a terrible time, and became an objective voice giving a helpful, outside perspective. “To this day the family thanks me for being there, because I was a good support for the mother when she was stumbling or needed support. She would call me and we would talk things through. It was a great experience for me, and it was a great outcome.”

Mary is still in touch with the family and says the child is thriving. She even receives pictures and videos from the child’s day care provider, showing how well she’s doing. “Time will tell if she has any long-lasting trauma but she has a great family, so hopefully she won’t have lasting effects for the future.”