Janine Jones is a thirteen-year-old African American female. Janine lives with her mother, Mykala Smith, and her mother’s boyfriend, Jared Thomas. Janine’s father, Jeffrey Jones, is incarcerated. She recently was referred for services by the school social worker due to self-harming behavior. Janine has small patches of missing hair on her head along with open sores. In addition, her eyebrows are almost non-existent and sparse eyelashes due to her constant pulling. She is currently in the eighth grade and has struggled academically over the last few years. She has difficulty focusing on her studies in class and often falls asleep during class, which is impacting her academically.

During intake, Janine shared that she had been struggling academically and now self-harming due to being sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. Janine stated, “the touching happened a few times a week since I was like nine I think.” When questioned about this information, the mother stated that she was unaware of the sexual assault. Mykala believed that Janine was self-harming because she had taken her phone away.

Janine is a 13-year-old female who is struggling academically. She has difficulty focusing in class and has even fallen asleep on occasion. Her teachers stated that she is lethargic and often does not eat her lunch. She is well-liked by her classmates but has gone from a smiling, outgoing individual to withdrawn and rarely engages in class activities unless called upon. Recently, Janine began showing signs of self-harm. She repeatedly pulls out her own hair and is unable to stop. At first, her teachers noticed that she would wrap her hair around her finger and attribute it to ‘growing pains and it was a ‘coping mechanism’ to deal with the new school year. Recently, these behaviors progressed to other parts of her body. Last month, Janine came to class with no hair remaining on her left eyebrow. When asked, Janine stated that she singed her eyebrow while straightening her hair. Concerned, several teachers spoke with Ms. Davis, the school social worker. 

Janine met with Ms. Davis last week and the meeting went well. Ms. Davis found her to be reserved and quiet, but respectful and open to talking about her struggles in school. Janine was carrying a heavy burden of blame for not being able to stay awake in class. She stated that a few years ago, without even noticing at first, she began picking at her scalp and tugging her hair. When one of her teachers asked her about pulling her hair she was surprised that she did it. She said that eventually, she realized it often happened when she was called upon and had not been paying attention. She tried to break the habit several times, but each time it only progressed and became worse. She tried talking to her mom, Mykala, but she simply reinforced that it was a choice and Janine could stop the behavior whenever she wanted. 

Upon this week’s meeting, Ms. Davis noticed that Janine’s behaviors progressed to her eyebrows. When asked if there was something besides school or additional academic issues causing her additional stress Janine became very quiet and asked to go get a glass of water. When she came back, she sat with Ms. Davis for several minutes and then said that she had been struggling with something for a long time. She said she thought she needed to talk to an adult, but was scared about getting her mom in trouble. Ms. Davis stated that she was there to help her and that her office was a place for Janine to share what was troubling her. 

Janine sat for a moment and then stated, “My mom’s boyfriend has been touching me when my mom isn’t home or is asleep” and that "he put his hands over my mouth to keep me quiet." Through her conversation with Janine, Ms. Davis learned that the mother’s boyfriend, Jared Thomas, had been sexually assaulting Janine approximately two times a week for the last several years. According to Janine the abuse began at the age of nine. 

Ms. Davis explained that what Janine had experienced was not Janine’s fault and that Ms. Davis wanted to ensure Janine’s safety going forward. She continued to explain that by law, and for Janine’s safety, she was required to report the assault to the authorities. 

The authorities and Janine’s mother, Mykala, who has full custody of her while her father is incarcerated, were notified. When Mykala was questioned about Janine’s self-harm and statement concerning the sexual abuse - Mykala stated that she was unaware of any abuse in her home. She stated that she did notice Janine’s hair-pulling and attributed it to ‘typical’ teenage behavior. She stated that she believed it was Janine’s response to having her cell phone taken away due to her poor grades.

When questioned further, Mykala explained that Janine’s father had been incarcerated for the last seven years, since Janine was six, and that she was the sole provider for Janine. She stated that she worked two jobs to provide a good life for Janine. Mykala shared that she did work long hours and was often tired, but did her best to be a role model to Janine showing her the importance of hard work and not “taking a handout”. She stated that her boyfriend, Jared, offered to watch Janine beginning around the age of nine. He stated that it would save Mykala money, which would allow her to provide a better place to live for Janine. This was important to Mykala because she wanted Janine to be able to attend a good school and go to college, so she did not have to work two jobs.

Scenario A: Based on Janine’s statement she is immediately removed from the home pending investigation. She is assigned a sexual assault advocate. She is asked to consent to a physical examination, to which she agrees. Upon examination there is evidence of sexual penetration and damage to her vaginal area including a tear and scar tissue. A pregnancy test comes back positive.

Scenario B: Jeffrey has attended classes and had no disciplinary issues while incarcerated. He is eligible for early release and is granted parole. Upon release, he learns of Janine's trauma. He reaches out to Mykala but receives no response. Jeffrey contacts legal aid to petition the courts for custody of Janine. 

Scenario C: Mykala is unaware of the abuse but based on the length and the symptoms Janine displays the system documents parental neglect and endangerment. She immediately removes Jared from the house, begins looking for alternative housing, and reaches out to community resources to help her bring Janine back home. 

Once she moved in with Jeffrey she quickly realized what his job entailed. Jeffrey sold large quantities of marijuana to Indian reservations in central Florida. Mykala at first was upset and determined to leave Jeffrey even while she was pregnant. When she told Jeffrey that she planned to leave her - he asked for a chance to explain himself and his long-term plans. He stated that prior to her becoming pregnant that they were both recreational pot smokers and that Mykala herself has stated that it helped with her anxiety. Jeffrey stated that he was doing the ‘ground work’ to allow him to be prepared to open his own shop when Florida legalized marijuana. He stated that he loved Mykala and their baby very much. He stated that he had a five-year plan. He asked Mykala to give him five years to set-up his business. He was positive that Florida would follow other states and legalize marijuana. Mykala thought about it and agreed that although it may not be legal, she did not feel what Jeffrey was doing was unethical.

Janine was born and her parents could not have been happier. They doted on their little girl and worked hard to make sure she was engaged in social activities and experiences that increased her learning. She had playdates, attended dance class, and her parents took her every year to Disney World. When she was evaluated for pre-school placement, Janine ranked in the top 1% of 4-year-olds overall and tested at a first-grade reading level. 

Jeffrey’s business plan, however, did not align with Florida State laws. He was arrested at Janine’s school on the first day of kindergarten. After a year of legal battles, he pleaded no contest for drug distribution and tax evasion. He was sentenced to ten years with possible parole after seven years served. 

Janine’s father was placed in Calhoun County Correctional Facilities in Blountstown, FL - six hours from where they lived. Mykala brought Janine to see Jeffrey when he was first placed in CCF. At that time, Jeffrey asked Mykala not to visit again. He did not want her or Janine to see him incarcerated or Mykala wasting her money/time trying to visit. Mykala was devastated, but she understood. She often wrote to him but never received a response except on birthdays and Christmas when random packages would appear on her door along with a letter from him. Unfortunately, this was not enough to sustain their relationship, and eventually, they drifted apart.

Two years after Jeffrey was incarcerated, Mykala met Jared Thomas. She was working multiple jobs to support Janine in close to the same manner as Janine had experienced growing up with Jeffrey in the house. Fiscally it was challenging, but more importantly, Mykala was concerned about Janine growing up without a father figure. Although she did not have strong feelings for Jared - she felt he was good to have around for Janine’s sake. Over time Jared offered to watch Janine while Mykala worked to help out with the cost of daycare. At first, Mykala was nervous about him watching her. Over time she felt maybe it was her own skepticism that was an issue. When Jared explained that Mykala could move Janine to a better school if she did not have to pay for daycare, she agreed to allow him to watch her.

Mykala did notice that over time Janine was becoming more withdrawn. She noticed it first when Jeffrey was sent away, but as it increased Mykala chalked it up to Janine growing up and being a pre-teen.