Renewed and Changed

Jacquline is a 17-year-old female who came into care with Kamali’i Foster Family Agency, Inc. after a tumultuous past. Jacquline had been in and out of foster care and temporary relative placements for years. When she entered our program, she had been AWOL for almost two weeks prior. Jacquline arrived at the home of Ms. P with a history of substance abuse, truancy and a criminal background. Jacquline had already completed a program for her substance abuse problems but was unable to return home due to parental substance issues and their inability to make Jacquline attend school. Due to these circumstances, Jacquline was referred to our agency in July of 2012. When Jacquline entered the home of Ms. P, she was registered in a credit retrieval program at school to help get back on track after consistently skipping school for years. Due to Jacquline’s truancy, she barely had enough credits to be considered a freshman when in actuality she should have been starting her junior year in high school.

During her time in Ms. P’s home, Jacquline and her mother worked diligently on their issues.  Jacquline learned how to follow instructions and deal with her emotions. She worked hard on her independent living skills and was able to complete all assigned tasks without issues. Jacquline also learned time management and was consistently getting herself up and ready for school on time. Jacquline was rarely tardy and worked extremely hard on her homework. Jacquline reached a level of maturity and responsibility where she was allowed to also begin seeking employment.

Jacquline was able to return to her mother’s care in January of 2013. Upon her discharge, Jacquline had no problems with going AWOL, truancy, or drug use while in the care of Ms. P. She is still behind in school but is now dedicated to her studies and takes ownership for the mistakes she made in the past. Jacquline’s mother is also on track and is taking on a more parental role in caring for Jacquline since she is now clean and sober. Jacquline’s mother has even taken additional steps in protecting her sobriety by putting safeguards in place to be sure that she does not regress back to her old drug using ways. Due to the hard work put forth by both Jacquline and her mother, and their ability to use the assistance of others, they are now able to be a family again.