CASA Volunteer Instrumental in Young Guatemalan Child Being Reunited with Her Mother

Moving to the U.S. with her father, Maria was a three-year old from Guatemala who was taken into foster care due to allegations of neglect by her father. CASA volunteer Mary was assigned to advocate for Maria’s best interests and worked alongside the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), attempting to reunite Maria with her mother, who resided in a remote village in Guatemala. Even though Mary was uncertain at times whether Maria should leave a safe and secure life in the U.S. for an uncertain future in a remote area of a foreign country, she ultimately concluded that it was in Maria’s best interests to return home to her mother. Mary was instrumental in enlisting the aid of appropriate government officials to reunite Maria with her mother in Guatemala.