(Antonio) Case Study Critique
In October of 2003, investigators, alerted by a neighbor who saw a child searching through trash cans, found four undernourished males in the Jackson home. Three other children residing in the home appeared to be physically normal. At this time, all seven children were removed from the Jackson home and placed under the care of the state child welfare agency. Their mother and father, Vanessa and Raymond Jackson, faced charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The four malnourished males, Michael, 9, Tyrone, 10, Keith, 14, and Bruce, 19, all entered the Jackson home between 1991 and 1997. In 2003, when all four males were removed from the home, they weighed a combined 136 pounds. Bruce, the male who had been seen eating out of a trash can, was 19 years old and weighed only 45 pounds. Investigators found that of the four adopted males, five biological children, and three other girls (two adopted and one foster child), that lived in the Jackson home, only the four adopted males were in poor physical condition. The Jackson parents and biological children contended that the four adopted males had eating disorders. The four adopted males reported that they were only fed meager amounts of food while the other children in the household were fed regularly.

The Jackson children were home schooled and the family regularly attended a local church. Neighbors reported that the males seemed small and rarely came out of the house. Some neighbors stated they had considered calling authorities earlier but did not feel they knew enough about the situation. In addition, the Jackson parents received an annual state subsidy around $28,000 for the care of their four adopted sons.

As investigation on the case progressed, it was found that caseworkers visited the Jackson home 38 times in four years. Division of Youth and Family Services caseworkers visited the home once a month for two years to determine if the Jackson family was fit to adopt a 10-year-old foster daughter. The adopted males reported that caseworkers visited the house during a five-month period when power was turned off, that at one time a caseworker prayed with the family for financial relief to have the utilities turned back on, and at times a caseworker was there when the refrigerator contained nothing but butter and condiments.

Various levels of social service staff either visited the Jackson home or were involved in the case, including two Division of Youth and Family Services supervisors, a foster-home evaluator, three caseworkers, and a licensing inspector. None of these individuals reported anything negative. In addition, due to a lawsuit by a national child welfare advocacy organization, the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services was required to complete a safety assessment of all 14,000 children under the division’s care. As a result of the assessment, 31 children were removed from unsafe homes, but the adopted Jackson children were deemed safe. Nine Division of Youth and Family Services staff members were fired because of the Jackson case. In addition, other than a report by a school nurse from 1995 (previous to the children being home schooled) that stated she saw bruises on Bruce’s body, there were no records that indicated the four males received any medical or dental care within the four years in the Jackson home. By policy, adopted and foster children are to receive annual medical exams.

After removal from the Jackson home, the four adopted males were hospitalized until their conditions improved and were then placed in other foster homes. They all grew in height and weight after removal. Raymond and Vanessa Jackson had spent two weeks in jail when the pastor of their local church posted their bail. While awaiting trial, the adoptive father, Raymond Jackson, died of a stroke.

In November 2005, Vanessa Jackson struck a plea deal admitting to one count of child endangerment. In February 2006, the four adopted males testified in a court proceeding against Vanessa Jackson. Bruce, then 21, weighed 100 pounds and had grown 15 inches since his removal from the Jackson home. Bruce physically attended the sentencing hearing to testify. All three younger boys testified via video that was recorded previous to the sentencing hearing.

Vanessa Jackson was sentenced to a prison term of seven years with possibility of parole after two years. Mrs. Jackson’s attorney argued she should have received a shorter sentence because she was caring for adopted children that had “complex problems” (“Mother sentenced for starving kids,” Feb 10, 2006). In addition, the four adopted Jackson sons received a state settlement of $12.5 million for the state’s failure to protect them from unsafe conditions.

Since the Jackson case, the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services has implemented several changes to their policies. Adopted and foster children are no longer allowed to be home schooled, and caseworkers must now interview all children during home visits to determine if the homes are suitable for foster and adopted children. In addition, they planned to increase foster family stipends and hire more than 1,000 new employees.

Questions

After reading the case study, write a 200- to 350-word response answering the following questions:

1. What are some of the possible reasons caseworkers were not aware of the conditions in the Jackson home?

2. From the information presented in the case study, should the nine members of the Division of Youth and Family Services staff have been fired? Why or why not?

3. Do you believe justice was served in this case? Why or why not?

4. Could this situation have been prevented? If so, how? If not, why?

 
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