David’s Sister Latanya Fulmer, age 23, African-American

Other

Former boyfriend of Janet Fulmer: Kenneth Jones, age 45, African-American

Presenting Situation:

One month ago, a report was made to DHR by Mr. Kenneth Jones, who said that Karen Fulmer was living in a home with four young children. The children were sometimes alone and their mother was using crack cocaine. Her husband had not been around for several months. The home had no utilities or running water.

When the DHR worker arrived at the home, the children were alone. Amanda explained that her mother had left the night before and had not returned. Amanda gave the DHR worker their grandmother's phone number. The worker called Janet Fulmer who asked that the children be brought to her home, several miles away. The worker contacted the police and the decision was made to place the children in Janet Fulmer's home. Ms. Fulmer was in agreement for the children to stay with her.

The worker talked with Janet and observed her home.

The worker learned that David, the children's father, is incarcerated for drug use and distribution. The worker sent a letter to David to explain that the children had been placed with his mother. The worker went to Karen's home several times but was unable to locate her. The worker sent a letter to her which was returned to DHR. The worker learned that Karen's landlord had evicted her after the children were removed and no forwarding address was given. Karen began getting TANF when her husband was incarcerated but had not paid her rent in several months.

Current Situation (One month after the report to DHR):

The children continue to live at their grandmother's house and DHR has begun the process of licensing Janet Fulmer as a foster care provider.

DHR has not been able to contact their mother, although it is known that she occasionally visits the children. She has not told her mother-in-law (Janet) where to contact her, saying "I live with some friends and they don't want Welfare to know." David, the children's father, spoke to the worker by phone and says that he is happy his children are with his mother. He will be incarcerated for at least 18 months more. The worker has been unable to find out anything about Karen's family.

Background Summary:

The worker asked Janet to tell him about herself and her family. He learned that Janet was raised in a small city consisting of approximately 40,000 people and her family had very little income. Mrs. Fulmer was hesitant to talk about her family of origin, saying only that she had a distant relationship with her father, that her mother died when she was ten, and that she does not know the whereabouts of her brothers. She left school at age 15 because she was pregnant. She moved in with Asa James and they had two children, David and Latanya. Asa left when the children were small (6 and 3) and she does not know where he is. She later married John Fulmer, who adopted the children, but left the family 12 years ago shortly before the birth of Michael and when the older children were 14 and 11. Shortly after this, all three children were removed from Janet Fulmer's home by DHR for a period of three months due to neglect. Janet worked with DHR at the time on homemaking skills and DHR helped her get part time day care. The children were returned and the case was closed.

Janet later had an off and on relationship with Mr. Ken Jones (the person who made the report to DHR), which lasted until about two years ago.

Mr. Jones was known to DHR because he had nine children (all by previous relationships) who were removed from his home by DHR. While Janet was in a relationship with Mr. Jones, her financial situation was better because he owned a construction business.

Janet tells the worker that her daughter Latanya also has a long history of drug use, is HIV positive, and has three children who are currently in DHR foster care with their paternal grandparents in another part of the state. She says she herself has struggled with poverty and drugs most of her life but has been clean for the past eight years, having received help from a church-based treatment program and ongoing support from her church. She has been able to keep her son Michael all of this time.

The worker asked Janet about how she has been able to overcome her own drug use. Janet explained that she began using marijuana with the older children's father and then used hard drugs with her husband John. She said that their drug use affected their ability to earn a living and that at times, children were being raised in abandoned housing with no utilities. Her living situation improved when she met Ken Jones ten years ago. He had a good income, but they also used drugs. However, eight years ago she entered drug treatment and has been successfully clean since then. Once Janet stopped using drugs she obtained Section 8 housing and after one year, was successful in obtaining a home. She has been living in this same home for the past seven years. She receives TANF and other financial assistance.

Janet told the worker, "I don't want my grandchildren to live with strangers. But the doctor thinks I might have arthritis and my money is tight. There's just no way I can run after these kids all by myself during the day or even after school. I'm going to need some help. Michael can help me some but he's got his own friends." Janet has plans to file for child support, but understands that this plan might prove futile because her son is in jail and her daughter-in-law has no money.

Janet also said, "In this job readiness program they got me in, I am learning to read better, something that didn't really stick back when I was in school. My jobs counselor said she thinks I can pass the GED in about six months. Then maybe I could get a job. But then I'll need a lot of day care if I still got the kids. I hope when David gets out of jail he will be clean like me -maybe he'll want the kids back and maybe he can do it. But I'm not counting on it. And Karen, I just don't know about her. I hear she's still on drugs although she tells me she's clean. Meanwhile, I want to keep them, but to tell the truth, they are trying to run all over me. They know I'm not up to keeping after them and they don't mind me. I need some help getting them to mind. Carl and Jonathon, especially. Carl bounces off the walls at school but he's better here. And Jonathon wants everything his way and fights all the other kids day and night. Carl's teachers told me that the school psychologist is going to take a look at him, he might need meds to calm him down so he can learn. He doesn't know his letters yet and the other kids in his class do."

The worker learned that the school has referred Carl for an evaluation as they are concerned he might have ADHD.

Safety Concerns:

The immediate safety issues for the children are that they are alone and that their mother is using drugs which contributed to her leaving them alone. Janet Fulmer's home is safe, however, and her neighborhood is not given the high incidence of drug use and gang activity. As part of the safety plan, Janet agrees that she will not let the children play outside unsupervised.