Transcript of Social Worker's Phone Calls Seeking Action

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Monday, January 14, 2008; 6:38 PM

These are transcripts of two calls made by school social worker Kathy Lopes after a visit in which she tried to see Brittany Jacks, who had missed several weeks of school beginning last spring. The first call was on the day of the visit, April 27; she placed it to the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency's hotline.

Lopes: My name is Kathy Lopes, L-O-P-E-S.

Child and Family Services Agency: And where are you calling from?

Lopes: Uh ... I am ... the phone number? I am a social worker at Booker T. Washington Public Charter School.

CFSA: Okay. And where is that located?

Lopes: 1346 Florida Avenue Northwest, D.C.

CFSA: And your phone number?

Lopes: Uh, my work number is 202-232-6090, Extension one-seven.

CFSA: Okay. And what's your report today?

Lopes: Uh, we, as a school social worker, have some concerns about truancy of one of our students. We tried to contact them through the phone and were unsuccessful, so we just went to the home. The parent was home. She wouldn't open the door, but we saw young children inside the house, um, which were not in school, and her oldest daughter, who is our student, was home. She wouldn't let us see her. She said she's not allowing her go to school because she doesn't want her to run away and she didn't want the younger children to go to school because she didn't agree with the education, the curriculum, that the D.C. Public Schools was providing.

CFSA: Okay. How old is this child? The one that you're talking about?

Lopes: Our student is 16 years old, but there were [asking someone:] was it two or three? God, there are at least two other children in the home that were about 6, 7 or 8.