Without a doubt, the best part of this work is getting to stand in a courtroom and watching a little girl smile from ear to ear while a judge declares what everyone in the room already knows:

They’re finally home.

Sibling separation in the child welfare system is its own kind of loss. For many children, a brother or sister is the only consistent relationship they have, the one person who understands without explanation. When that bond is broken, it doesn’t just create distance, it creates questions.

A termination of parental rights hearing is not just another court date. It is the moment when a judge determines whether a parent’s legal rights to their child will be permanently ended.