2005 Recipient: Michelle Hays
Michelle Hays
Five-year-old Tanya and her brothers and sisters watched screaming and fighting between their mother and her boyfriend and other adults in and out of their home. They saw their mother crying and her boyfriend knocking over furniture. Tanya and her five siblings were taken from their mother because of chronic drug and alcohol abuse and violence in their home. There were also allegations of sexual abuse.
Tanya’s mother didn’t try to get her children back, she didn’t participate in reunification services, and she moved with her boyfriend to a motel. Four of Tanya’s brothers and sister were placed with their fathers or paternal relatives and her eight-month old baby brother is in the county’s custody with a plan to free him for adoption.
When Michelle Hays became the CASA for Tanya and her siblings, Michelle got to know the children and everyone around them. Michelle soon learned that there were no appropriate relatives to take custody of Tanya and mother’s boyfriend said they were in no position to parent as they were now using crack cocaine. Like so many children in the foster care system, Tanya lost everything; her mother, her home, her brothers and sisters. Tanya was a confused and fearful little girl.
Michelle has a way of earning people’s trust and was able to earn Tanya’s, despite the fact that Tanya’s trust had been violated by the people she should have been able to count on most. Michelle was able to understand Tanya’s needs better than anyone because of the relationship they formed. Michelle could see that Tanya desperately wanted to belong to someone and missed her siblings terribly, especially her eight year old sister, Brianna.
Tanya hadn’t seen Brianna for seven months, since they were taken form their mother. Michelle took Tanya to see Brianna, who was in the custody of her aunt, and advocated for regular contact between the brothers and sisters. Michelle gained the trust of everyone involved and became a bridge between Tanya’s foster mom and Brianna’s aunt.
Michelle spends time to get to know the adults involved with her cases. Even when she has advocated that parents should not get their children back, Michelle has been able to form good, honest relationships. So much so, that after cases have closed, parents have called her for help.
Michelle will do whatever is needed to find and maintain a safe, permanent, and nurturing home for her CASA children. She has gotten to know many, many aunts, uncles, grandparents and family friends in her quest to learn what is best for a child. She stayed overnight at Children’s Hospital for two nights with a baby boy suffering from a respiratory infection, so the foster parents could be home to address a crisis with the other children. The foster parents were overwhelmed and Michelle’s help kept them from giving up and prevented these children from moving to yet another foster home.
Michelle does everything she can to keep learning about how to serve her children best. She has flown to San Diego, Washington DC, and Atlanta to attend National CASA Conferences. Michelle also has participated in numerous Ohio CASA Conferences and the Attorney General’s Office Victims of Crime Assistance Conference.
More than anything, Michelle works hard to understand the individual needs of her CASA children. Michelle reconnected 5 year old Tanya with her 8 year old sister, Brianna. Michelle watched the sisters’ visits and saw Tanya thrive. When she learned that Tanya would be moved to a new foster care home due her foster mother’s medical issues, Michelle knew Brianna’s aunt could provide Tanya a loving, secure home with her sister.
When she asked about the possibility of Tanya moving in, Brianna’s aunt told Michelle she had asked the county to place Tanya with her in the beginning, but was told no because they were not biologically related. Michelle quickly worked to convince all parties involved that this would be the best possible placement for Tanya. As a result of Michelle’s advocacy, this loving family now has custody of both Brianna and Tanya.
Today Tanya is a happy, secure little girl who lives with such a loving family that when Michelle visits, she doesn’t want to leave.