How Could You? Hall of Shame-Kathleen Jackson UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Niagara Falls, New York, foster mom of the year Kathleen Jackson, 50, “has been charged by North Tonawanda Police with assault in the second degree, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

According to police, the arrest — which occurred at police headquarters on December 19, 2018 — was the result of their investigation into an incident alleged to have occurred on November 29 of that year at Jackson’s home at …

According to law enforcement sources, Jackson’s alleged victim was a 2-year-old boy who — along with his 5-year-old stepbrother and 1-year-old brother — were placed into Jackson’s care in late August.

Removing the children

The three children were removed from custody of their mother, Katherina Adams, and her fiancé, Jameson Burgess, according to the couple who spoke with WGRZ-TV.

According to the couple, Child Protective Services workers from the Niagara County Department of Social Services, acting on a complaint, removed the children from their cramped, one-bedroom apartment in Niagara Falls after determining the squalid conditions found there were neither suitable nor safe for small children.

They claim the complaint was made by another couple, who had been living in a tent in the yard behind their 7th Street home, and whom they had invited to stay there but with whom they had a falling out.

Adams says due to her clinical depression, for which she is now being treated, and Burgess working two jobs, they were unable to keep up with the conditions in their home, which they also conceded had become roach infested.

“I did not disagree with the children being removed,” said Burgess, “but I disagreed with them continuing to keep them away.”

Burgess also remarked that he was lead to believe that the placement of the children in foster care would be temporary, perhaps only a day or two in length, while they worked out an acceptable plan to address the conditions of their home.

In addition, Adams says that it was indicated to her by CPS that if the couple did not fight the removal of their children, it would better the chances of their eventual return after they cleaned up their home, which they insist they had done within a day or two of their children being taken from them.

“But when the CPS worker came, they never even set foot in the house, they never looked and just came with the paperwork for us to sign,” Burgess said.

A silver lining?

If there was to be silver lining to the dark cloud of having their kids taken from them, it might have been in whose care they would be placed.

“We were not given a name or and address,” said Adams. “But the case worker told us it was to be with a woman that was awarded the number one foster home in May … that I had nothing to worry about and my kids were lucky to go there.”

The children were placed with Kathleen Jackson and her husband, who in May 2018 had been the subject of a laudatory article in the Niagara Gazette, upon their recognition by the Niagara County Legislature as the county’s Foster Family of the Year.

Something’s not right

Within weeks of the children being placed with the Jacksons, Adams and Burgess say the kids appeared to them during supervised visits to be sickly and possibly malnourished.

In addition, during one visit, the 5-year-old had a burn on his wrist, which appeared to have been neglected.

“We were told he had touched a hot stove … but the burn was green and had puss. We actually had to squeeze out the infection and have it treated during the visit,” Adams said.

She says a complaint to a CPS caseworker was largely ignored.

And then, during another supervised visit at the Niagara Falls office of the Niagara County Department of Social Services, they noticed their 2-year-old son bore what appeared to be telltale signs of abuse.

“He complained that his back hurt, and he had diaper cream from high up on his back all the way down to his ankles,” said Adams, who also noticed what appeared to be knuckle marks on the 2-year-old’s ribs.

Struggling to contain her emotions, Adams continued: “It looked very much like someone took a belt to my 2-year-old son and beat him with it.”

“If it were your child, how would you feel?” asked Burgess. “You would be irate to say the least.”

The couple was not allowed to go to the hospital with their children when they were checked out, but they were assured that CPS would immediately visit the Jackson home to investigate.

It appears that after that visit, the children were removed from the Jackson home and police began an investigation, leading to the subsequent charges against Kathleen Jackson.

Children doing better, but still haunted

Adams and Burgess still don’t have their children back.

The oldest now lives with his biological father and the younger two have been placed with another foster family, where the couple says they appear to be doing better.

“It’s hard to trust, but my kids seem to have experienced a turnaround,” said Adams.

At the same time, however, the 5-year-old appears to still be traumatized.

They recounted a recent incident where they were told by those looking after him now that he “freaked out” at the sight of a roll of duct tape, cowering in fear and screaming- “don’t put that on me, I can’t breathe if you put that around my mouth!”, leading them to suspect that he was subject to additional abuse while he was in foster care.

The system let us down

The couple’s dismay with social service officials is palpable.

“My kids didn’t deserve this,” said Adams. “They were supposed to protect my children after saying that I’m not safe for my own babies that I had, but then allowed this to happen to them.”

Niagara County Social Services Commissioner Anthony Restaino told 2 On Your Side that he is prohibited by law from commenting on the specific case at hand, but did confirm that Kathleen Jackson has been removed from the county’s roll of foster care providers.

“I get my kids removed for having a messy house, and I’m supposed to trust them? If I have to take accountability for having my children removed from me, why aren’t they taking accountability for the neglect that they have shown throughout my entire case?” asked Adams.

In an attempt to get her side of things, we also went to Jackson’s North Tonawanda home, and we were told by an adult male there that she was not home, would offer no comment, and that we were not welcome to return to speak with her at a later time.

Hoping for a reunion

Burgess and Adams are hopeful that they will someday be reunited with their children.

They insist have taken several steps to comply with the wishes of social services, but acknowledge they have work still to do, including the issues cited in their having lost them in the first place.

On Thursday, the front and side yards of the two-family home that contains their apartment remained littered with debris including mattresses, children’s toys, and trash. Inside, the couple appears to continue to struggle with maintaining the cleanliness of the four-room abode, which they soon hope to vacate for a larger apartment.

Working against them as well, is a continued lack of employment, as Burgess lost the two jobs he had previously due to a medical issue, and , according to him, was deemed by DSS to be unfit for work because he was found to have THC in his system.”

Foster Mom of the Year charged with child abuse

[WGRZ 2/5/19 by Dave Mc Kinsey]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:” Less than a year after David and Kathleen Jackson were recognized by Niagara County officials as their foster parents of the year, Kathleen Jackson, 50, allegedly told police she beat a toddler placed in her care after she lost her temper as the result of a potty training mishap.

Jackson, of Wheatfield Street in North Tonawanda, faces one count of Assault in the Second Degree (a felony) and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (a misdemeanor) following her arrest on December 19.

Jackson had been a foster parent for nearly 15 years according to Niagara County Social Services Commissioner Anthony Restaino, who noted that she previously had an unblemished record in that capacity.

In late August three boys, ages 1-5, were placed in Jackson’s care after they had been removed from the apartment of a Niagara Falls couple.

According to the couple, who spoke to WGRZ-TV, it was during a supervised visit with their children that their two-year-old son complained of back pain.

Upon further inspection, they found that his lower body was covered with diaper cream and that there was extensive bruising on his buttocks, backs, and ribs as well as a bruise to one of his eyes.

They provided photos of the injuries to 2 On Your Side.

Restaino told WGRZ-TV that foster parents are prohibited from administering any form of corporal punishment and that the three boys were immediately removed from Jackson’s care, and placed with another foster family.

Police Report Reveals Some New Info

Under the Freedom of Information Law, 2 On Your Side requested the police report and associated materials from North Tonawanda authorities.

In his response, North Tonawanda City Attorney Luke Brown provided some materials, but said that additional documents within the files of the police department would be withheld from the public “as they have been compiled for law enforcement purposes and their disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings or judicial proceedings”.

The materials provided reveal that Jackson provided a sworn statement to police and that her interview with detectives was recorded. Jackson’s husband also spoke with police.

However, while we were provided both the criminal complaint and a narrative of Kathleen Jackson’s interview written by a detective, neither Jackson’s actual statement nor the recorded interview was provided.

Still, the report provides some information not previously reported in our coverage of this story.

Several days after the child’s injuries were discovered, Niagara County Child Protection worker Pam Stevenson contacted North Tonawanda Police Detective Michelle Day on December 11 to report that a foster mother was suspected of maltreating a foster child in her care.

According to police, when Stevenson confronted Jackson about the injuries, Jackson told Stevenson she did not know how the child became to be bruised.

Jackson told Stevenson she was attempting to potty train the boy and would strap him down to a potty chair for 45 minutes to an hour at a time with a cloth belt.

Jackson told Stevenson that it was possible the injuries might have been sustained in a fall down some stairs.
North Tonawanda Police Detectives Day and Timothy Bakula then went to Jackson’s Wheatfield street home where they spoke to the defendant in an interview recorded on a body camera.

According to detectives, Jackson told them she initially didn’t even see the bruises on the child, and also showed them the potty chair with the belt attached and the stairs which she said the child might have tumbled down.
When detectives then confronted Jackson and told her the injuries sustained by the child were not consistent with her explanation she allegedly then admitted that she inflicted the injuries on the child.

According to detectives, Jackson told them that she had strapped the child into the potty chair and left him unattended in his room. She returned later to discover that he was “playing in his feces” and that “she lost her mind”

Jackson then allegedly confessed to police that she “picked the child up by his arm and hit him at least 5-7 times on the buttocks but does not remember exactly”.

Jackson continued to deny causing the injury to the child’s eye and speculated to police that “it was from playing with his siblings”

Jackson then came to police to their headquarters where she made a written statement which was not released with the police report and was subsequently charged on December 19.”

‘I Lost My Mind’: North Tonawanda foster mom facing charges

[WGRZ 2/15/19 by Dave Mckinley]

Update 2:“Kathleen Jackson, a North Tonawanda woman who was as a “foster parent of the year” in 2018, admitted Tuesday to striking a foster child last November.

Jackson was accused of striking a two-year-old boy repeatedly in the “buttocks and leg area,” causing bruising and pain, according to a criminal complaint filed by two North Tonawanda police detectives.

Detectives began to investigate Jackson when Niagara County Child Protective Services received a report on Nov. 30 indicating the boy experienced pain during a visitation session with his biological parents. The investigation resulted in Jackson’s arrest Dec. 19 for second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Jackson pleaded guilty in Niagara County Court Tuesday to a reduced count of attempted second-degree assault. She could receive up to four years in state prison when she returns before Judge Sara Sheldon Oct. 8 for sentencing.

However, Sheldon said that if the probation department’s pre-sentencing report on Jackson is favorable, she would likely place Jackson on interim probation, according to Sheldon’s court clerk.

The victim — along with his 5-year-old stepbrother and 1-year-old brother — was placed in Jackson’s Wheatfield Street home after CPS determined conditions were not safe or suitable in their parents’s one-bedroom apartment in Niagara Falls, according to WGRZ.

The parents told the TV news station their 5-year-old had an untreated burn on his wrist, and the 2-year-old boy had knuckle marks on his ribs.

“He complained that his back hurt, and he had diaper cream from high up on his back all the way down to his ankles,” WGRZ quoted the mother as saying of the 2-year-old.

Anthony Restaino, the county’s commissioner of social services, said previously the children had been removed from the home, and that Jackson was removed from department’s catalog of about 85 foster care providers.

The arrest was a sudden fall from grace for Jackson. Last May, Jackson and her husband, David, were honored as “Foster Parents of the Year” and presented the award before the Niagara County Legislature.

At the time, Jackson was caring for four adopted children — two girls, ages 10 and 9, and two boys, 12 and 18. ”

Former ‘foster parent of the year’ admits to child abuse
[Niagara Gazette 8/27/19]