Recovery court helps turn woman's life around
Judge Latecia Wiles, left, poses with recent recovery court graduate Kimberly Sanders and her son Matthew Yoder. After spending two years in the recovery program, Sanders is now sober, has regained custody of her son and is working toward a State Tested Nursing Aide certification.
Through a series of setbacks and obstacles, Kimberly Sanders found herself homeless, gripped by addiction, and her son was removed from her custody. But although she reached rock bottom, she still had hope of turning her life around. Recently, Sanders’ hopes were realized when she stood sober beside her son and received her graduation diploma from the Wayne County Recovery Court.
When Wayne County Children Services staff told Sanders it was possible to be reunited with her son, she vowed to do whatever it took to get him back.
The next two years of her life would be spent in recovery court under the auspices of Judge Latecia Wiles, her guardian ad litem Karin Wiest, and many others who would come and go through the program with the dream of a better life.
The program consists of weekly meetings with a multidisciplinary treatment team. It includes representatives from the court, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Wayne County Public Defender, Wayne County Children Services Board, OneEighty and A New Day. The team coordinates services throughout their respective agencies to provide ongoing treatment and support to parents seeking reunification with their children or who are otherwise working to address underlying concerns in their household.
“They gave me the steps to keep myself sober,” Sanders said. “I had to put in the footwork, and they held me accountable for my actions.”
The road to recovery wasn’t easy; there were times when Sanders felt like quitting. However, if she left the voluntary program, she would lose hope of being reunited with her son.
“At first, they really held my hand,” Sanders said. “Then in the next phase, they let me walk. In the end they let you go out on your own and take off. When I first started the program, I was very hard on myself. I had a tiny glimmer of hope that I could get my son back, and nothing would stop me from that.”
Wiles said there are many positive aspects of the program.
“The idea is that they progress through the phases and appear in front of me less frequently,” she said. “We help financially, and we also can get additional visitation rights if they don’t have their children with them.”
Wiles said she appreciates her students’ dedication to the program and applauds their success.
“I really get to know everyone,” Wiles said. “Kimberly has seen me each week for two years. I know her life and her struggles. I see what she has been through and how much she loves her son.”
Wiest also witnessed Sanders’ struggles. Her role as a guardian ad litem required her to report to the court what was in the best interest of Sanders’ child.
“I think it was in her son's best interest to be with his mother, and I am happy that she is healthy and is able to provide a home for him,” Wiest said. “This job can be very depressing sometimes, and it is extremely gratifying to have a successful reunification. Kim's motivation was her son, but she also wanted to do it for herself. She entered the sober living house earlier this year and worked hard on her case plan objectives and on her treatment court goals.”
Wiest is a testament to the effectiveness of the guardian ad litem program she has run since 1999.
“There can be bumps in the road as people go through recovery,” she said. “Sometimes hard decisions have to be made about permanency for the child as a case nears the two-year mark. In these cases the court sets an annual review date so parents have one year. There can be two six-month extensions after that if there is substantial progress. Ideally, every child in the custody of children’s services should have a guardian ad litem, and we are always in need of people to fill that role.”
Dan Starcher is the public communications coordinator for the Wayne County government.