Misha's Story

In November of 2009, Misha’s grandmother learned about the Children’s Law Center through a support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren. Misha and her two half-brothers were removed from their mother’s care after being abused and neglected by their drug-addicted mother. Their grandmother agreed to raise them, the oldest being six-year-old Misha. For more than a year, the entire family thrived. Misha’s grandmother began the process of seeking child-support from each of the children’s fathers. It was only then that Misha’s estranged father sought custody of the little girl to avoid payment. The county social services department planned to blindly follow an existing policy that mandated that the biological father’s relationship and rights outweigh that of a grandmother, regardless of circumstance. Misha did not have a significant relationship with her biological father and the terrified little girl didn’t want to live apart from her two half-brothers. Neither Misha nor her grandmother had a voice in the matter, until Misha’s grandmother called the Children’s Law Center.

A CH2M Hill attorney, who recently completed the Children’s Law Center Volunteer Attorney Training, donated her time to represent Misha’s grandmother in her fight to keep her granddaughter. Last week, thanks to 40 hours of a volunteer attorney's time, they were victorious. Without the Children’s Law Center, and our volunteer attorney program, Misha would have been separated from her grandmother and the only healthy family structure she has truly ever known. Without pro bono attorneys willing to train and donate their time to make a difference in a child’s life, our work would not be possible. Become a volunteer attorney today.