CPS programs Case Scenario
Family:
The household includes Jasmine (25), Ian (27), Isaac (10), Jaxon (6), Matthew (2), and Ricky (8 months).
Christopher (33) (father of Isaac) and Jennifer (28) (mother of Jaxon) are not in the household and do not have custody of their respective children.
Family characteristics:
Jasmine, Isaac, Mathew and Ricky have native heritage (Blackfeet Nation). She is enrolled, but has resided in WA and OR her whole life.
Ian and Jaxon are White.
Family receives benefits (food, WIC, medical, Jasmine receives SSI, TANF). Recent homelessness – lived with friends, and then in a shelter. Have been housed about 3 months. Ian has been periodically unemployed.
Case Summary:
The school called intake reportingthat Isaac told a teacher he was afraid for his brothers. He said that Ian is drinking and using drugs is mean to his mom. He said that Ian calls his mom stupid and makes fun of her “because she’s slow.” He said he spanks and hits Jaxon and that he tries to stay in his room when Ian is home so he won’t get mad at him. He said he’s worried Ian will hurt the babies, and that he doesn’t want his mom to leave them with Ian when she goes out to do things.
Isaac confirmed this in an interview with the assigned CPS Investigator, and also said Ian slaps and grabs the older boys, and has slapped the baby. He described a time when Ian took his mom’s cell phone and wouldn’t give it back and said his mom cried a lot. He also said Ian had held his mom against the wall and spit on her. He said Ian has dragged her by her hair and it hurts her and she screams and yells. He said he wants someone to help his mom. Jaxon put his head down during the interview and said that he wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone and that his dad “doesn’t mean to be mean.”
The assigned worker went to the home hoping to speak to Jasmine alone but Ian was there. He reported he’d just lost his job. He refused to allow the worker to enter the home or speak to anyone. LE was called to allow access to the babies. Ian initially said he was not going to allow anyone in, and made reference to “going to jail” tonight and also referenced that they would have to kill him to get in. LE de-escalated Ian to the point that he allowed Jasmine to come outside, and bring out the children. An interview was attempted but Ian periodically would come out of the house and interrupt. He would yell that CPS had no right to be there, that he would sue CPS, that his kids could not speak to CPS, etc. Law enforcement asked him several times to remain in his home and told him he was obstructing their ability to assist with the investigation, but this did not impact his behavior. The mother was asked if she needed shelter and would like to leave. She said that she would not live in a shelter again.
History of CPS Intervention:
Both parents were CPS involved as children in their own families of origin.
2 Prior reports on Jasmine as a caregiver, about associating with men who are in gangs and/or selling drugs.
3 prior reports on Ian as a caregiver. One related to domestic violence in the presence of Jaxon, who was a baby. Two related to drug and alcohol use by him and Jennifer.
Report from 7 months ago alleged that Jasmine had left 1 month old Ricky in the car alone while she met with a social worker to apply for housing. They asked her to get the baby out of the car which she did. The bottle she used to then feed him looked very dirty.
This intake was opened to FAR. The family was living in a shelter. They accepted referrals, new bottles, transportation assistance. Parents reported that the allegation was a misunderstanding, that Ian had been in the car with the baby but did not come into the appointment. Neither parent nor any of the children reported concerns about violence within the home. Shelter staff were not interviewed.
Report from 2 months ago that Jaxon is always coming to school with bruises and cuts. He usually says Matthew hit him or threw something at him. Today he had a black eye. He didn’t want to talk about it. Last week he held up his shirt and showed a bruise on his side. He said he’d fallen.
Parents stated that the children are rough with each other and play sports outside. Ian reported the kids have bruises all the time. Jasmine said she thought Jaxon might have been hit in the face with a soccer ball.
Isaac and Jaxon were interviewed separately. During the interview, Jaxon said that his brother had hit him, then later said he was “not supposed to tell about how he got hurt” and then again later repeated the story about his brother.
Parents agreed to take Jaxon to the Dr. but waited 4 days to do so. The doctor documented 6 bruises on Jaxon’s body and stated that this could indicate abuse but also that the bruises could have occurred accidentally, there was no way to know for sure. The Dr. was not able to see the black eye as it had healed by then.
Since the incident was reported, Ian went to the school and demanded that no one pull either child out of class to speak to them. He also ended Jaxon’s counseling, which had been occurring at school via a community based counseling program. He reports that this is because adults are “scaring” the boys by repeatedly interviewing them and trying to get them to say they are being abused.
The parents were offered FVS services but Ian stated they would not agree to further meet with CPS or to allow the children to meet with CPS alone.
Individual characteristics:
Jasmine – reports “learning difficulties” and a previous head injury. She says she receives SSI because of this. She reports experiencing child abuse as a child (and there’s a documented history of physical abuse and neglect in her home). She became pregnant with Isaac at 15, when Christopher was 22. Reports that she did complete high school.
Ian – Reports that he did not complete high school, reports criminal history (convictions for theft, DV assault, forged checks, and disorderly conduct) and has served time in prison. Reports that he has full custody of Jaxon, and states he’s just been hired at a chain restaurant. Documented history of experiencing physical abuse and neglect as a child.
Isaac has an IEP related to learning difficulties. He can be challenging with his behaviors at times but consistency is very helpful with him and school has seen huge progress since he started.
Jaxon is in kindergarten. He has a one-on-one aid due to significant behavioral difficulties. He has a lot of difficulty regulating his emotions, and will be physically and verbally aggressive with peers and adults. He also seeks attention and affection from adults often, and is an engaging and funny child when he is in control. He cries often at school when he perceives a slight from an adult or when rejected by peers. The school seems very invested in Jaxon as he’s clearly trying but has significant needs.
Matthew appears to be a typically developing 2-year-old, with no identified medical or developmental concerns, but slower than typical language acquisition. He is beginning to use language more, but still mostly uses just one word sentences and gestures.
Ricky is described as “a happy baby” by the parents. He is up to date on medical appointments.
Other additional information:
Ian is the subject of a protection order prohibiting him to have contact with Jaxon’s mom, Jennifer. He has 2 convictions for DV assault against her. He has full custody of Jaxon. Jennifer has supervised visitation (which has not happened in more than 2 years) and is supposed to attend drug and alcohol treatment per the parenting plan.
Ian has a diagnosis of bipolar depression, has not been in any type of treatment for several years. Unknown how much this is currently impacting him.
Christopher is the subject of a protection order prohibiting him to have contact with a woman. He has a conviction for DV assault for assaulting a different woman.
Carrie (Jasmine’s sister) says she loves Jasmine but “she’s always picking bad guys.” She is not surprised that Ian’s behavior is a concern and reports that Christopher also used to hit Jasmine. Carrie has 3 children and is a single mom, and lives several hours away. She’d be willing to be at a meeting over the phone but can’t help much beyond that.
Jasmine’s mom says she’d like to help more but she has some chronic health problems.
Jasmine says she knows she needs to find a better situation but this isn’t the right time to go. She says she thought the kids would be fine when she left Ian with them, that she never saw him really hurt them, but he did sometimes lose his temper. She is interested in getting her own place, but not right now. She’s put some stuff for herself and the kids at her mom’s house, just in case she needed to leave Ian. Someone she met in the shelter told her this was what she did when she left her boyfriend. Her mom confirms this.