CASA volunteer helps support the reunification of mother and son<\/p>\n
When Karen Roussos began volunteering with Dallas CASA five years ago, she never expected to find herself in a courtroom filled with applause. But that\u2019s exactly what she discovered after a case led her to Legacy Family Court.<\/p>\n
Roussos, a longtime Preston Hollow resident and child advocate, was working with a young boy whose mother opted into the specialized court program designed to reunify families fractured by substance abuse.<\/p>\n
In her role as Court Appointed Special Advocate, she served as the child\u2019s voice in the legal system while the 4-year-old\u2019s mom received support for sober living and healthy parenting.<\/p>\n
What Roussos found at Legacy Family Court was different from the courtrooms she knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourt is usually procedural, with orders issued and reports made,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this felt like a team working together toward a common goal. It\u2019s incredibly supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n
That atmosphere of encouragement is by design, explained Judge Tamika Jones Abendroth, who presides over the Legacy Court in the 302nd Judicial District Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal \u2026 is to facilitate recovery from substance addictions and reunify parents with their children in safe, healthy environments. Ultimately, it\u2019s about creating healthier, happier families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
With direct guidance from the judge, CASA, and family supporters, mom and son were able to maintain their close bond, recounted Roussos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was incredible seeing how much the judge cared about this mom, and it was incredible having mom\u2019s extended family, including aunts, great-aunts and the great-grandmother, right there telling her she could do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Legacy Court program is intensive and requires significant commitment from parents who choose to participate, mom never missed a drug test, Roussos recalled, even when it meant an hour on the bus each way, often three times a week. \u201cShe never complained, completing parenting classes all while working and seeing her son almost every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As all remained focused on the goal of reunifying mother and child, the real joy came from witnessing frequent exchanges between the tightly bonded pair. \u201cThey each lit up in their eyes every time they were together and just the mention of her coming to visit would brighten his mood immediately,\u201d the CASA volunteer said. \u201cAnd, she recognized the only way she would have a better future with her son was to take care of herself \u2014 so she could take care of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even when she experienced setbacks, mom was dedicated to the program, said Roussos. \u201cHer grit and determination were second to none. And no one gave up on her. They just kept focusing on the goal of getting her and her son back together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eighteen months after entering the program, the two were joyfully reunited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As family, friends, and supporters erupted in applause \u2014 something not common in many courtrooms \u2014 there wasn\u2019t a dry eye among the onlookers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis mother and child are right where they need to be,\u201d Roussos said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CASA volunteer helps support the reunification of mother and son When Karen Roussos began volunteering with Dallas CASA…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":227882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-227881","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115206519799709330","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}