For over a year, Jeanna has worked with Beyond Legal Aid attorney Wally Hilke to return her child from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Jeanna was suddenly separated from her child after three months of regularly visiting her and caring for her in a hospital prenatal unit. After the separation, she endured discouragement, lecturing, and punitive practices from a child protection system that purported to be supporting her.

Despite this painstaking process, Jeanna remained active in her case, organizing a community-led convening of parents who had experienced similar hardships relating to family separation. At the same time, she remained devoted to her child, participating in a grueling schedule of DCFS-imposed programming. Through her experience with family separation, she learned the difficulties of navigating the DCFS system and the importance of parent-led advocacy. After several months of persistence, and with Wally’s legal representation, Jeanna was finally reunited with her child.

Family separation creates distress and trauma for everyone involved; the child, the parents, and their community. Jeanna took a proactive role in her case, building power within her community to approach the issue through discussion and collaboration. Beyond Legal Aid is proud of her initiative, and will continue to fight to keep families and communities together.