Fenty Describes Missteps Before Girls Died

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Fenty Outlines Government Role in Jacks Case

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty provides a timeline of government interaction with Banita Jacks and her family in a press conference on Friday.

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Fogle, Jacks and the four girls entered the D.C. General hypothermia shelter, where they stayed for four months. They applied for Medicaid, food stamps and other assistance, and the two oldest girls enrolled in public schools.

The first alarming report about their status came in July 2006, when the nurse contacted the child protection agency. Fogle had checked himself out of the hospital, and the caller was concerned that one or maybe both parents had substance abuse problems, Fenty said. The caller said the family was living in a van.

"Unfortunately, that call went into a CFSA hotline, and the hotline worker immediately closed the case because the family did not have a fixed address," Fenty said. "We have already investigated that as an incident that was not handled properly."

By that fall, the children were enrolled in charter schools -- Brittany, 17, at Booker T. Washington Public, and Aja, 5, N'Kiah, 6, and Tatianna, 11, at Meridian. On Nov. 30, 2006, the family's food stamp benefits were terminated.

After Fogle's death in February, things unraveled quickly. Brittany stopped attending school March 2; the younger girls were withdrawn March 21.

On April 27, a social worker from Booker T. Washington notified authorities that Brittany had missed 33 days of school. She said Jacks would not let her into the home when she went by to check on the girl. The next day, a social worker with the Child and Family Services Agency visited the residence and, when no one answered, left written information asking Jacks to contact her.

On April 30, the school social worker went back and spoke with Jacks but was not allowed inside. She called police and the child protection agency, saying that Jacks appeared to have mental health problems and that she feared Jacks was not allowing Brittany to attend school.

A police officer who went to the home found the children "well and healthy," Fenty said. Told that the children were being home-schooled, the officer saw books that she had for the children and informed her of the proper procedure for home-schooling, he said.

The school system's home-school office requires parents to fill out a form to obtain approval to withdraw their children from the schools. But the charter schools have no such policy.

"When a parent chooses to withdraw their student, a charter school must honor their request, and the charter school does not have the authority to certify the parent's capacity to home-school," said Nona Mitchell Richardson, spokeswoman for the Public Charter School Board. "The parent does not have to provide where the student is going when he withdraws."

According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the District and 14 states provide "low regulation" of home-schooling. Maryland and Virginia, like 17 other states, provide "moderate regulation."

Maryland requires parents to sign a statement promising to provide instruction and maintain a portfolio with the students' work that is subject to review. In Virginia, state law requires that home-schooling parents have a high school diploma and prove their ability to provide an adequate education.

The April 30 visit was the last time authorities saw the children alive.

Jacks told police that they died in their sleep.

Prosecutors say their end was more violent: Brittany had puncture wounds indicating that she was stabbed; Tatianna and N'Kiah had marks suggesting strangling; and Aja had blunt force marks on the back of her head.

Staff writer V. Dion Haynes contributed to this report.