Volunteer of the Month December 2025

I am honored to present Paige Babin as December’s Volunteer of the Month. After her pre-service training, Paige was assigned her first case with another Advocate Supervisor on March 2, 2023, and successfully worked on her case until the children were reunified with their mother. Fortunately for me, when her Advocate Supervisor resigned, I was assigned the case she was currently working on and became her New Advocate Supervisor.

During my first meeting with Paige concerning her case, she updated me on the issues she wanted to focus on. I learned that two children, a four-year-old girl and a five-year-old male, came into foster care when they were left with their grandmother, who was ill and living in poor conditions. Both parents were incarcerated. I was impressed by Paige’s compassion and determination to advocate for a permanent, loving home for both children together. Paige shared that the two children, Roger and his younger sister, Sara, were placed in loving but non-adoptive homes, and more importantly, were in separate placements. Paige shared that the siblings were very bonded and wanted to be placed together.

Sara, the four-year-old, was in a home that, from the beginning, let the agency know they would take guardianship but not adoption due to their relationship with their father. They let the agency know they were not open to guardianship of Sara’s sibling, Roger. The DCFS case manager believed that Roger could be reunified with his father, even though he had a history of being in and out of incarceration. Despite the agency moving toward guardianship, Paige was determined to fight for the children to be in an adoptive home together.

In Paige’s first court report, she stressed to the court that Sara was too young to be placed in guardianship and not have permanence through adoption. She let the court know that Roger’s father was once more incarcerated in a Medium Security Facility due to multiple charges and was currently participating in an Intensive Substance Abuse Program. Roger and Sara’s mother was also incarcerated and had a release date of 2026.

At every court hearing, Paige spoke up, stressing the children’s bond and the need to keep them together; however, the agency went forth with guardianship for Sara, and the court granted the foster parents guardianship. They agreed to allow the siblings monthly visits. Prior to this decision, a family was located that wanted to adopt both Sara and Roger; however, the agency was not willing to move Sara, stating she was bonded with the foster parents and guardianship was in Sara’s best interest.

Once the new family presented themselves as an adoption option, Paige advocated for them to be considered as Roger’s placement. After Roger had been in care for 1,040 days and the father was reincarcerated after being released, the agency finally held a TPR trial,

and both parents’ rights were terminated. Roger was eventually placed in the adoptive home and flourished there. Finally, Roger had a permanent home and was adopted on 11/20/2025.

There is no doubt that Paige’s advocacy is what kept Roger’s plight at the forefront, not only with DCFS but at court, and this is the reason he finally has a permanent home. Paige had no problems speaking the truth in court about Roger’s 1,040 days in foster care and need for a permanent home. I give Paige the credit for Roger now being in his forever home, that is, meeting his needs and going above and beyond to meet all his needs.

When Paige applied to be a CASA Volunteer, she said she wanted to do something meaningful for her community when she saw news stories about children being abused and abandoned. She also stated she wanted to be a voice for a child who does not have one. I can honestly say that Paige has met that goal. She is the reason that the children in her two cases have found permanence and are doing well. Thanks, Paige, for your passion and integrity in working your cases!

Susan Murrell

*All case names changed for confidentiality reasons*