CHAPTER 1
Thanks to a 14-year-old mama who wouldn’t give up her quarts of beer and crack cocaine, Monique Meak was born prematurely and with fetal alcohol syndrome in July 1991. The baby was small in size and microencephalic, meaning her brain and skull were strikingly smaller than the doctor’s fist. The hospital kept her for weeks in the NICU. She received surgery to fix a heart defect. The hospital weaned her from the drugs and waited to see if she would learn to breathe on her own despite her severe asthma.
In the meantime, her mama, Lana Meak, was arrested at the hospital and charged with child endangerment. But, after just two weeks she was released from jail because the District Attorney refused to prosecute her. Microencephaly is not exclusively a product of fetal exposure to alcohol and drugs. It can also be caused by disease or genetics. This meant Lana would probably not have been convicted. There was reasonable doubt about exactly what caused Monique’s brain damage.
Lana took Monique home from the hospital to the home of her mother, Rose Meak. Monique’s father, Demetrius Jackson, was age 19 and lived with his own mother, Sarah Thompson. Both families welcomed and fussed over the new baby. She would be raised by Lana and Rose, and sometimes Demetrius and Sarah would help out.
Monique hardly thrived and she was slow to develop. Early on she cried much of the time. Lana was told it was colic but no matter what she or Rose did Monique could not be soothed. She did not grow normally or gain weight. After months went by, Monique finally began sleeping at night, but she did not recognize faces, reward attention, smile or show love. By six months her eyes did not track together; rather, one or the other would roll outwards, giving her a google-eyed look.
The constant burden of caring for the unrewarding Monique took a toll on teenaged Lana and grandmother Rose. Lana did not like being chained to her daughter. She resented having to care for the child all the time. For these reasons Lana became depressed and starting drinking and doing coke again. Lana began to find excuses to leave Monique with Rose so she could get out of the house and find a life of her own. Lana got a cashier’s job at a Burger King. Demetrius was soon out of the picture, having fallen in with a street gang and getting arrested for armed robbery. Pretty much Monique was Rose’s baby to raise, with a little help from the other grandmother Sarah.
Monique did not learn to roll over and crawl until after the age of two years, nor did she learn to use any words that could be understood. Her balance and coordination were iffy. It took a very long time before she learned to pull herself up and toddle. She had no control over her impulses, and often injured herself by bumping into things, or falling or throwing herself to the ground. She did this several times per day. She did the same thing again and again, not learning from her experience. She was covered with bruises. It became plain that something was not right about Monique. Her brain damage made her irreversibly mentally retarded and hyperactive. She was still in diapers at three years.
Somebody, probably grandmother Sarah, called Child Protection and told them that Lana and Rose were neglecting Monique by not caring for her properly, and were abusing her by beating her for failing to listen. The OCS social workers went to Rose’s house and found it strewn with garbage ankle-deep. Nothing had been thrown out for months. There was a strong odor of dirty diapers and cat urine and feces coming from the garbage. A couple dead cats were found, and another dozen or so emaciated cats wandered about. The social workers had Lana and Rose fetch Monique. She was found in a soiled T-shirt and dirty diaper. Her head and body were covered in bruises. She was thin with a bloated belly and just barely surviving. When asked how the baby got the marks, Lana said she fell or knocked herself against the furniture. The social workers took Monique away and put her in a foster home.
To get a hold order from the Juvenile Court, the social workers prepared an affidavit in August 1995. In the affidavit, the social workers stated that Lana Meak had a history with OCS of several valid cases for abuse and neglect and had not straightened out despite receiving services from the Family Services Unit. The same affidavit complained that there was no food in the house, and Monique Meak seemed to have lost some weight since last seen by OCS. The affidavit said the New Orleans Police Department arrested Lana Meak for intentional non-support of her child.
A December 1995 psychotherapy evaluation concluded that Lana Meak was a troubled young woman.
Lana’s version of most all significant details of her life is markedly different from what has been reported. Clearly, she assumes no responsibility for her actions and, instead, blames others. There is nothing that would suggest any psychotic functioning, but her judgment and reasoning abilities are faulty and she has no insight into her behaviors. Lana is emotionally immature and seems to have had very little positive experiences in either receiving or delivering adequate parenting. She very definitely needs parenting classes to help her understand the needs of her child and she should continue in her independent living program. However, she is resistant and sees little use for such intervention. Despite her denials, continued participation in a substance abuse program also seems warranted. Even at this relative young age, Lana seems to already be displaying many characteristics of a Personality Disorder and seems to have had major difficulties in various areas of her life. Any additional interventions however, will only serve to lower the level of compliance as it seems highly likely that Lana will simply “do nothing.” In any event, much improvements in stability should be demonstrated prior to attempts at reunification.
The December 1995 OCS court letter recounted that Monique was found hungry, dirty, her hair uncombed and matted, her legs marked with sores, and she smelled of urine. At that time Lana Meak was incarcerated in Orleans Parish Prison.
Among other orders meant to reunite mother and daughter, the Juvenile Court told Lana Meak to comply with court-ordered visitation. Lana did not do this. The Taco Bell job she accepted in July 1996 conflicted with the visitation schedule. A year later OCS reported that Lana did not regularly visit Monique despite the foster parent’s willingness to accommodate the visit. Nor did Lana comply with the court ordered substance abuse counseling and monitoring. She quit both the BASIC and NOSAC programs after just a few sessions.
Monique reached age 4 apart from her mother. Lana did not get her daughter back because she was still using drugs and didn’t have an appropriate place to live. Baby daddy Demetrius was still in prison. Monique was on her third set of foster parents. The earlier ones gave Monique back to the state because she required too much constant care. That’s why the social workers chose Barbara and Charles White.
The Whites lived in a modest two story ranch-style brick house in an older subdivision of New Orleans East. The homes there were originally built for the white flight from the City during the civil rights turmoil in the 1960’s but, over the next twenty years or so, most of them were re-sold to working class black families. The Whites moved in not long after they were married, and had lived there seven years. They had two sons, Charles Jr. age six and Aaron age five. Aaron was adopted. Because of severe pre-eclampsia, Barbara’s tubes were tied and she would bear no more children. Barbara was a stay-at-home mother. Charles White drove a city bus. He left for work at 4 a.m. and returned home around 2 p.m. Their home was asleep every day by 8 p.m.
The Whites first became curious about being foster parents when they heard the financial benefits were good. A second income would be great, and Barbara would not have to leave home to earn it. A regular foster child came with a tax-free stipend of $850 per month, plus food stamps and free medical insurance, and with a beneficial income tax deduction. So the Whites tried it a few years and they did just fine. When they learned that more money was paid for children who needed extra attention, the Whites agreed to try. After a few training classes and a home inspection, the Whites were certified as therapeutic foster parents and were given Monique.
She turned the White household upside down. From the moment she awoke until she fell asleep at night, Monique was hyperactive and needed constant supervision. The Whites could not take their eyes off the child for even a few moments lest she hurt herself or get into something and destroy it. She repeatedly pulled down curtains and knocked to the floor anything resting on a table. She opened doors and emptied cupboards until the Whites installed child-proof hardware. She threw toys and beat on the dog. She ate out of the garbage can. She could not be taken anywhere without launching into repeated tantrums. Monique did these things again and again no matter the amount of warning or correction. The child would not learn. She had no appreciation for her conduct, no sense of right or wrong or action and consequences. Once she swung a broom around and dented the family’s big screen TV. Most disconcerting was Monique’s chronic diarrhea. She had six or seven stools per day. And she had a nasty habit of peeling off her diaper and smearing the contents on the walls, furniture, dog and floor. To keep the diapers on her the Whites would wrap them with duct tape.
After only three months Monique was removed from the Whites’ home because she was scalded in the bathtub. It happened on the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. According to the Whites, Charles and the boys were downstairs in the den preparing the new wide-screen television for the game. Barbara was downstairs in the kitchen. Suddenly Monique let loose with a loud, high pitched scream from upstairs. She could be heard in every corner of the house. Somehow she had gotten away from them. Somehow she had removed her diaper, put the stopper in the tub drain, turned on the hot water faucet, and then climbed in. Charles and Barbara ran to her and pulled the wailing child from the bathtub. They wrapped her in a sheet and, deciding not to wait for an ambulance, drove her for a half hour across town to Children’s Hospital. Monique could not be consoled; she sobbed all the way to the hospital.
