Avery's Story

Allison was a foster parent, and Mary was Allison's childcare provider and friend. Together they fought for Avery who spent over 7 years in and out of the foster care system, experiencing multiple temporary placements and separation from her brothers. Allison and Mary were Avery’s only consistent source of love and safety. They never gave up or lost touch and Advokids was by their side. 

Allison:

Avery entered the foster care system with her older brother when she was just eight months old . Her mom was a teenager and the children were exposed to domestic violence in their home that was deemed unsafe. Avery and her brother were placed in a temporary shelter facility before being placed with me. 

Like so many children in foster care, her journey became a series of placements, losses and trauma. Things no child should have to experience. After almost two years in my care, Avery and her brother were reunified with their mom and their new baby brother who was born while they were in foster care. Mary and I didn’t know if we would ever see the children again, but we had built a supportive relationship with their mom.  I helped her find housing in Mary's apartment complex, so the kids could go to Mary's home daycare.

Mary:

The kiddos came to my daycare and we could keep an eye on things. Soon, though, I saw things slipping, going downhill. So I said, “Allison, buckle up. It's gonna happen again.”

And it did. The children reentered foster care. 

Allison:

Avery was three when they were removed from their mom the second time. They went briefly to Orangewood, a residential facility, then were placed in another foster home. I called Advokids again seeking help with having the children placed back in our home with people they loved and trusted. Margaret walked me through specific steps and stressed how critical it was to engage the children’s attorney. With that guidance, we were able to advocate effectively, and within two weeks, the children were placed back in our home, with my children who they considered siblings.

Mary:

One year later,  when Avery was four, the county placed Avery and her brothers back in the care of their mother. The children remained in my daycare. Allison and I stayed involved. We babysat, hosted sleepovers, and supported their mom during crises. 

About six months after being returned to their mom, they became homeless. They all lived with my family for a time until mom  was able to find housing in a neighboring city.  The kids moved homes, schools, and bounced between daycares, but they were together. 

Mom had another baby boy. Avery called him “her baby.” When Mom couldn’t find child care for him, she brought him to Mary's daycare. What we didn't know at the time was that there were new, serious allegations of child abuse in the home.

When Avery was 7, she and her brothers were removed for the third time. The boys were 9, 6, and 9 months. This time was different.

The two youngest boys were placed with me. But Avery and her older brother remained at Orangewood. When Avery learned her little brothers were with Mary, she told Allison, “ They just disappeared and the worst thing was we didn't even get to say goodbye, and we didn't know where they were.” Her six-year-old brother, who was with me, cried every day. “I miss my Avery. I want Avery.” He once said he was going to “open a portal in Minecraft to find her.” For a short time, sibling visits were allowed. Then a new social worker stopped them. As I think about everything Avery had endured, Orangewood was the most traumatic up to that point in her young life.

I called Advokids and spoke with Tabatha. She helped me file a JV-285,  The Relative Information Form, a form used for relatives or family friends, to get information before the juvenile court. The judge ordered the county to assess our home for placement, but left the decision to the county. 

Avery and her older brother spent six long weeks in Orangewood.  Eventually, they were placed in a foster home. In less than a week, her older brother was exhibiting aggressive behaviors and was returned to Orangewood. Avery remained, alone. The breaking of Avery continued. She was left in the foster home, away from her mom, her brothers, her home, her dog, her friends, everything she knew and loved. 

She began to appear detached, almost like she was dissociating. She seemed empty, lost, like the light had gone out of her beautiful, deep, sparkly eyes. She was not the same Avery.

We called Advokids again.

Allison:

Tabatha guided us through filing a JV-180, a petition to change a court order, asking the court to move Avery back to my home, where she could see her little brothers every day because they were placed nearby with Mary. Tabatha went through the petition line by line. “Give dates. Be specific. State facts. Get witness declarations signed under penalty of perjury.” She transformed emotional testimony into legal evidence. The night before court, minors’ counsel told Allison it was the best JV-180 he had ever seen. That was because of Tabatha.

The judge granted a hearing. I represented myself in dependency court, something almost unheard of. But I was prepared with exhibits, witness questions, and a legal strategy, because Advokids had taught me how.

The judge ultimately ordered weekend visits in my home, but denied the placement change. Avery’s attorney, who had never actually met her, said she was “happy where she was.” That conclusion came from the attorney’s young investigator in her 20s who had met Avery only twice. Avery’s court appointed attorney had never met her. Avery said she was happy because she was terrified of going back to Orangewood. 

But she was not well in her foster home. She began having panic attacks. An ambulance was once called for chest pain. She pulled her hair out and screamed at home. We were devastated. But we weren’t done.

Mary:

During this time, my family moved into a larger home. Avery’s six-year-old little brother told me, “Now you can go get Avery. We need Avery.” I told the social worker that now that we had a larger home, we wanted Avery placed with her brothers in our home. Instead, she said two words, “absolutely not.” 

Once again, we called Advokids.  Tabatha helped us file additional JV-180 petitions asking the court to order Avery to be placed with her brothers in my home. This time, we also filed petitions on behalf of Avery’s younger brothers. The strategy was to force their attorney to finally stand up and fight for their right to be with their sister or acknowledge a conflict of interest, so the boys could get their own attorney who would fight for them to have their sister back.

The Advokids website was also an invaluable resource, arming us with the specific California laws and case precedents that supported keeping siblings together. Advokids didn’t just give encouragement. They gave strategy. Legal language. Direction. Confidence. Before the court hearing on the petitions, we had a meeting with social services regarding Avery’s placement. We expected the same wall of resistance. 

Then everything changed in what we now call the “miracle meeting." The supervisor announced that siblings being together is a legal mandate and they were going to move Avery. 

The following month, Avery began a transition into our home. Today, the children are together. They laugh like siblings. They fight like siblings. The other day, Avery told her brother, “You better be nice to me because when you didn’t have me, you were crying.” The healing has begun. What made the difference was access to the court. Access to information. Access to advocacy…Advokids.

Advokids taught us how to fight for Avery and her brothers. Without Advokids, they would not be where they are today. Avery might still be separated from her brothers. The damage might have continued. Instead, she is home. Thank you for standing with children like Avery.