For Iris, marching band meant everything. Her band friends saw through the fact she was in foster care to the kind, nurturing girl underneath. Iris' Dallas CASA volunteer Kathryn advocated for Iris to stay in marching band, even through multiple placement changes and a challenging cross-town commute.

For many families, their first encounter with the child welfare system is a life-changing one. They receive support services, and the children experience positive and hopefully permanent changes in their home lives. For other families, reports to Child Protective Services (CPS) add up over the years, with reports accumulating and little real change occurring. What can Dallas CASA volunteer do to support families on repeated involvement with the child welfare system?

For Bryson and Kason, ages 10 and 11, home life was chaos. They dreamed of the simple summer pleasures of childhood - swimming, backyard games and freedom. When their Dallas CASA volunteer Ashley found a sleepaway camp that would take them for one week, the boys jumped at the chance. Could a week away be the break everyone needed?

For 18-year-old Kyle, childhood had been a series of losses. First, his mother died and his father was unable to parent due to drug addiction. He moved in with his aunt, but then she developed terminal cancer. Foster care had been one placement after another. But something felt different with the Hansons, a couple in their late 20s looking to foster a teenager. Even though he was now legally an adult, could he have found his forever family?

Twins Josh and Jake were born early, addicted to illegal drugs and with lots of medical needs. After a year in a foster home, they were placed with a family member who quickly became overwhelmed by their medical needs. The boys' Dallas CASA volunteer Wathenia was there to recommend the boys be allowed to return to the home where they'd been for a year.