Ms. Archer came to the United States from Peru through a college, foreign exchange program. At the time she moved to Florida, she only knew her boyfriend and a couple other exchange students.

Ms. Archer soon gave birth to a baby girl named Eliana. The baby was born with a facial deformation and had surgery when she was only one month old in an effort to fix the deformation. Pre-surgery, the surgeon told Ms. Archer that Eliana was to stay in the hospital for four days and then be discharged with Tylenol.

After the surgery the doctor told her that the surgery went okay. However, at about 3 a.m., Eliana began to show signs of distress. The baby was experiencing internal hemorrhage. A second surgery was then performed on Eliana the morning after the first.

After the second surgery, the surgeon reported back to Ms. Archer that Eliana was in coma, and she was brain dead. The family was given the option to disconnect Eliana from the machines, which kept her alive.

Ms. Archer and Eliana’s father refused to give up hope.

The family’s hope seemed to win out when Eliana awoke from the coma. But, the baby required constant care and was still in a vegetative state from that moment forward. Ms. Archer was unable to work, as she had to provide constant care and supervision for Eliana.

Ms. Archer never received counseling after this incident, and she later had a second child, Francy.

On Feb. 3, 2010, the Department of Children and Families received a report alleging that the family’s current environment was dirty and that Ms. Archer was depressed and exhausted.

Then on Feb. 24, 2010, a report alleged that Eliana died the night prior. Eliana’s sister, Francy, was sheltered on Feb. 25, 2010, due to concerns that Eliana had not been to the neurologist and reports cited medical neglect.

Upon receiving the case, One Hope United Family Case Manager, Yonaery Hernandez, immediately recognized the mother’s need for counseling and services after hearing of the family’s traumatic ordeal with Eliana’s surgeries and ultimate death.

Yonaery spoke to Ms. Archer about depression and she understood that the removal of Francy was yet another loss for the already troubled family. The distressed mother needed to know there was hope for the future.

Yonaery arranged twice a week visitation with Francy for Ms. Archer. Staffings were set up to occur between all parties to discuss what the mother needed to complete in order to heal and learn from the experience, so that the family could be permanently and safely reunited.

One Hope United also provided family team conferencing services to the family. One Hope United Family Team Coordinator, Ida Rivera, was an advocate for Ms. Archer through the services and assisted the mother in identifying and establishing a support system.

Francy was successfully reunified with her mother on April 2, 2010. Ms. Archer still attends weekly counseling sessions. Francy attends fulltime child care while Ms. Archer is searching for a job in the art field.

Family Case Manager, Yonaery, never stopped advocating ensuring that this family was safely reunited and that the mother was given the hope she needed to provide for her family. Together, Yonaery and Family Team Coordinator, Ida, collaborated to ensure Ms. Archer didn’t lose yet another child and worked diligently to make sure the family was reunited with Francy in a nurturing home environment.