Claudia was 31 years old and incarcerated when she gave birth to Mya. Upon Mya’s discharge from the hospital, Claudia voluntarily placed her with Casa de Esperanza. During the intake process, Claudia revealed that Mya’s father was also incarcerated for an unknown period of time.
Mya was initially placed in an intake home in the Casa de Esperanza residential neighborhood. Because of her parents’ incarceration and her anticipated longterm foster care placement needs, Mya was moved to a volunteer community foster home two weeks later, where she remained until her mother was released seven months later.
While Claudia was still incarcerated, she successfully completed a parenting course, received exposure to various vocational skills (i.e.; job interviewing), and participated in a preventative substance abuse treatment program. Through letters and pictures, Claudia also maintained contact with her Casa de Esperanza caseworker regarding her court/criminal proceedings and how Mya was progressing within her foster home.While Claudia addressed her immediate needs and complied with her plan of service, Mya thrived from being placed in a stable, loving environment where she could receive the essential care that is necessary in a child’s early years of life.
After serving her sentence, Claudia was released from jail and, with the help of Casa de Esperanza’s birth parent support program, checked into a transitional residential program where she could safely reside with Mya while completing the terms of her probation. Currently, Claudia continues to be successful with her transitional program and is actively parenting 10-month old Mya. Claudia expresses that she is very thankful for Casa de Esperanza and especially her caseworkers who helped her through such a difficult time in her life. She remains grateful for the peace of mind she consistently received in knowing that Mya was placed in a loving home.
