Four-year-old Ezra came into protective care after Child Protective Services found him hungry, living with his mother, her boyfriend and various other adults in a filthy apartment. He wasn’t potty-trained, got spanked when he asked for food and his bed was covered in roaches. Crystal meth was stored in a bowl on the coffee table.
He was placed in foster care that night, and Dallas CASA volunteer Karen was assigned to his case.
“I noted right away that despite the challenging circumstances of his home life, he and his mother shared a very tight bond,” Karen said. “His mother wanted better for him, but she was caught in a cycle of drug addiction and didn’t know how to get out.”
Ezra was first placed in foster care, but with Karen’s help he was soon moved to his great-grandmother’s home near where his mother lived.
“He was such a joyful, active and energetic boy,” Karen said. “He would crawl all over me, giving me hugs and rolling upside down. I may have seen him upside down as much as right side up in those first few visits!”
His mother chose to move her case to Dallas’ Legacy Family Court, which seeks to support parents dealing with substance abuse issues. There, she would receive more support, but more was also expected of her. In addition to inpatient and then outpatient treatment, she was required to submit to frequent, random drug testing as many as three times a week and attend court every other week.
“Court is a usually procedural event, with orders issued and reports made,” Karen said. “But with the Legacy Court, it feels like a team. Every single person was focused on what was best for this mother facing drug addiction.”
Over the next 18 months, Ezra bloomed at his great-grandmother’s home as his mother worked on her addiction issues. When she slipped up and had a positive drug test, the Legacy Court team encouraged her to focus on herself and look forward. When her car died, the Legacy Court Foundation helped with funds to repair it so she could get to work and to her drug testing appointments.
“There’s so much more encouragement and direct guidance from everyone in the family court, including the judge,” Karen said. “It was incredible seeing how much the judge cared about this mom, and it was incredible having mom’s extended family, including aunts, great-aunts and her great-grandmother, right there telling her she could do it.”
In the end, Ezra’s mom “graduated” with Legacy Court with a celebration, custody of her son and a new lease on life. There wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom except maybe Ezra’s, who was ecstatic about getting home.
“I was just so thrilled and happy and content with the outcome of this case,” Karen said. “That little boy is exactly where he needs to be.”
