CASA of Central Oregon - Sample CASA Case

Sample CASA Case - The Harris-Price Case

The following case is taken directly from the National CASA Volunteer Training Manual. The names and story are fictional.

CHARACTERS :

KATHY PRICE Mother	ROSE PRICE 9 month old daughter	BEN HARRIS 14 years old son	ROBERT PRICE 9 year old son
CAROL HILL Kathy’s sister	ERNIE PRICE Robert’s father, Rose’s putative father	JASON HARRIS Ben’s father	ANITA DASHEE Robert’s grandmother
JIM GOODEN Police Officer	BOB JOHNSON CPS Caseworker	Norma Jackson CASA Volunteer	ALBERT ROMERO Family Court Judge
ANNE FRANKLIN Foster Mother

KATHY PRICE’S STORY

Every day I wake up at 5 a.m. so I can get Rose, my baby, dressed and fed and get Ben and Robert up and ready for school. I take Rose to daycare and make sure the boys leave for school. Ben’s a big help—sometimes he has dinner ready when I get home. I work long days. I clean at a motel and I also wash dishes at the restaurant around the corner. I get minimum wage. My jobs aren’t so great, but I need every penny and can’t miss a day. Sometimes after the kids go to sleep I have a drink or two. It helps me sleep and is the only thing that helps my aching back—cleaning is hard work. My sister nags me about it, but it’s not like alcohol is illegal or anything.

The day Child Protective Services (CPS) took my kids was awful. The night before, I had run out of formula for Rose, so after I put her to bed I went to get some. The boys were watching TV and Ben was in charge. That formula is really expensive. I was out of vodka, too, and so I stopped to buy some. After that, I didn’t have enough money for the formula. So I took a can—no big deal. But the lady saw me and they called the cops. They arrested me—for a can of formula! Worst of all, I was already on probation, so I’m really afraid they’re going to throw the book at me.

BEN’S STORY

That night, Mom left to go to the store and didn’t come home. I didn’t know why. I went to bed, but when I woke up she still wasn’t there. I knew I would be in big trouble if I missed school, and Mom would be in trouble too. But I couldn’t leave Rose at home alone! I called the school and pretended to be my dad and said I was sick. It was true—I have asthma and I was having trouble breathing. I know I’m supposed to take some stuff for it, but Mom can’t pay for it. I don’t think my dad helps her out at all.

Anyway, that morning Rose was crying and crying. I tried to change her diaper, but I don’t think I did it right and we didn’t have any formula for her. I tried giving her some of my cereal, and she ate a little. I was really scared. I didn’t know where Mom was.

ROBERT’S STORY

I was scared that day, too. Ben was mad about missing school, but not me. The other kids tease me a lot—probably because I’m "mixed.” My mom is white and my dad is black. My dad is a soldier and just got back from Iraq. I think he’s living with my grandmother.

OFFICER GOODEN’S STORY

We got a call from a neighbor who said there was a lot of noise in the downstairs apartment. When I got there, it was pretty sad. Both the boys were crying and scared and the baby was hollering like crazy. She stank—her diaper was dirty. I felt sorry for those kids. I know their mom, and she just disappears sometimes. She always comes back though. There was nothing I could do for them, so I called CPS.

BOB JOHNSON’S STORY

I’ve been a CPS caseworker for five years. Officer Gooden called CPS because three kids were in an apartment without an adult. He told me their names, so before I left the office I checked our records. We had a file on them. Earlier in the year Kathy Price had signed an agreement that she wouldn’t leave the baby without an adult present. While I was at the apartment, Carol Hill arrived. I knew from the file that she was Kathy’s sister. Kathy had called her from jail and asked her to come over to get the kids. She said Kathy was still in jail because they’d also charged her with violating probation by having the vodka. Carol had a home study the last time we took the kids, so she took Ben with her.

CAROL HILL’S STORY

I was happy to be able to take Ben—he’s a good kid. I couldn’t take the others, though. I’ve got two kids of my own and we live in a small place. Kathy’s trouble. She drinks too much. I only hear from her when there’s another crisis.

KATHY’S STORY

I got out of jail and found out that CPS had taken my kids. I went to the motel to report for work, but that jerk of a manager fired me for being late again. Then, the next day, I had to go to court. That judge wouldn’t let my kids come home with me! I couldn’t believe it. He said I could visit them. My own kids!

JASON HARRIS’S STORY

Ben is my son. He’s a good kid and all, but I have a new family now—my wife and I have a new baby. I can’t get involved in Ben’s life and support my wife and baby. They have to come first. I know it’s not Ben’s fault that his mother is so messed up, but I want to steer clear of anything having to do with Kathy.

ERNIE PRICE’S STORY

I just got back from being overseas. I sent money to Kathy while I was gone—to help her out with Robert. She moves so much, though, that it came back to me. I didn’t know where else to send it. I’ve been looking for work since I got back, but it’s hard to find a job. I’m living with my mother.

I don’t even know if Rose is mine. She has my name, but this is the first I’ve even heard about her. Kathy and I divorced a year and a half ago—about the time I left to go overseas.

I love Robert, though. He’s my boy. I want him to come live with me and my mom. If Rose is mine, I’ll take care of her, too.

NORMA JACKSON’S STORY

My supervisor at the CASA/GAL program called to tell me about the Harris-Price children and to ask if I could take the case. She said a hearing was coming up right away. I agreed to do it and was appointed as the CASA/GAL volunteer at the first hearing. At that same hearing Judge Romero found that reasonable efforts had been made to prevent the need to remove the children from their home and that, given Kathy Price’s current circumstances and past history, there was sufficient reason to remove the children. The judge ordered a home study for Anita Dashee’s home—Ms. Dashee is Ernie Price’s mom, and he’s currently living with her. The judge also ordered a paternity test for Rose. He left Ben in Carol Hill’s home for the time being. Judge Romero also ordered that all the parents fill out forms containing their financial information and return them to the court in ten days.

After court I introduced myself to CPS caseworker Bob Johnson and the various attorneys. I got permission to meet with the children’s parents, and set up a time to meet with Mr. Johnson to talk about the case.

When I approached Ben’s father, Jason Harris, in the hallway after court, he didn’t even want to talk to me—he said he wanted a new life. He told me he had gotten clean and didn’t want anything to do with Kathy or her kids.

I set up separate times to meet with Kathy Price, Carol Hill, and Ernie Price. I also need to get in touch with Anne Franklin, the foster mother, to set up a time to talk and to meet with Robert and Rose.

When I met with Bob Johnson a few days later, he said that his first priority was trying to get Kathy Price sober. I brought up the fact that she’d been working pretty steadily and always had an appropriate apartment. Still, Bob said, her drinking was causing problems. He’d gotten police reports where she’d been arrested for public drunkenness, and this wasn’t the first time she’d left the kids alone. The night she was arrested, she hadn’t told the police the kids were at home alone—it was abandonment, he said. And he pointed out that she’d failed to get medical care for Ben’s asthma. He also said that she hadn’t filled out the forms to get the kids on Medicaid and to get child support from the fathers. I asked whether she was literate, and he said, "Barely.”

When I met Kathy, I asked her what had happened the day CPS took her kids. I also asked her about Ben’s medication. She told me that she had taken him to the clinic, but after she’d taken a whole day off work and taken two buses to get there, the people at the clinic told them they needed to change the appointment. Kathy doesn’t have a phone, so the clinic couldn’t reach her ahead of time. She and Ben couldn’t get in to see the doctor that day or get the medicine. She said she couldn’t afford to lose work time like that.

When I met Ernie, he reported that he had just received a job offer as a car mechanic. His mother said she’d help Ernie with Robert and with Rose, if she’s his daughter. He expressed his excitement at getting to reconnect with Robert. The home study on Ernie Price and Anita Dashee turned out fine.

I met Robert and Rose at the home of their foster mother, Anne Franklin. When I got there, Robert was coloring at the kitchen table. He seemed nervous and wouldn’t talk to me at first. I explained who I was and why I was there, and I asked him if he liked seeing his father. His face lit up and he immediately said yes. He said he missed Ben a lot. When I asked him about his visit with his mom, he said it was okay and wouldn’t say anything more.

When I asked Anne Franklin how the kids were doing, she said they were doing okay. She reported that Rose had terrible diaper rash when she arrived at her home, but it’s clearing up now. But Ms. Franklin is worried about Rose—she is 9 months old, but she isn’t sitting up or crawling, and she never makes a sound, except when she’s crying.

Next I went to see Ben at the home of his aunt, Carol Hill. I explained my role to him, and he wanted to know if I was going to make him move back with his mom. I asked him if that was what he wanted. He said he loved his mom and wanted to see her, but it was hard for her to take care of them and he liked living in the country with his aunt. Ben was afraid he wouldn’t get to see Robert and Rose, so I explained that the judge said he was allowed to visit his brother and sister. Ben also said he worried about not being able to stand up for Robert when other kids picked on him at school. Then Ben said he was tired and wanted to go to his room.

I asked Ms. Hill how she thought Ben was adjusting to the new arrangement. She said he seemed to like the open space where she lived and he got along well with his cousins. She said she’d taken him to her family physician and he had started to take the medication that had been prescribed a while back. So far, it had helped his breathing but made him feel jittery. She related that Ben was going to start at a new school next week. When I asked her about Kathy, she said Kathy never contacted her unless she was in trouble.

After meeting with all these people, I called my supervisor to discuss the case, ask her a few questions, and talk about my recommendations.

My recommendations for the next hearing are as follows:

Robert should be placed with his father and grandmother.
Rose should be placed with her father and grandmother, if the paternity test shows that Ernie Price is the father. Otherwise, Rose should stay in her current foster placement, and CPS should attempt to identify her father.
Ben should stay with his aunt.
Kathy Price should undergo a substance abuse assessment and follow the recommendations made.
Kathy Price should attend parenting classes.
Ernie Price should attend parenting classes.
Sibling visits should occur, at least weekly.
CPS should arrange a developmental assessment for Rose.
Kathy Price should have access to the children’s educational records and be apprised of events, but Carol Hill should be the educational decision maker for Ben and Ernie Price should be the educational decision maker for Robert.
Jason Harris should pay child support for Ben.

I called Bob Johnson at CPS to discuss the case again. The CPS case plan goal for Rose and Ben is reunification with Kathy Price. The concurrent plan for Ben is adoption or guardianship with his aunt. The concurrent plan for Rose is placement with Ernie Price, placement with biological paternal family member (if Ernie Price is not the father), or termination of parental rights and adoption. The case plan for Robert is placement with his father.

After the next hearing, and in preparation for the future hearings, I will continue to monitor a bunch of things in the case. I plan to call my CASA/GAL program supervisor and ask for her help in creating a list of people to talk to in order to keep track of what’s happening in the case.

My current list of things to monitor in this case includes the following:

Sibling visitation/separation issues
Robert’s placement with his father and grandmother
Both Kathy Price’s and Ernie Price’s compliance with the case plan and court orders
Results of Rose’s developmental assessment
Results of paternity test for Rose
Ben’s and Robert’s educational progress

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