A Dangerous Son Page #6

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in some after-school programs.

I think he needs to be

around other kids his age,

'cause he's never had

anything like that.

I think he needs

to be out more,

but I want him out

with some structure.

I don't want to just--

I don't want him just

out on the streets.

The reason I'm afraid is

because before I got help

and before

I got on medication,

I was like that.

I would just snap

and things would happen,

and I'm sitting

in jail like...

"Wow. How did I get here?

How did this happen?

What exactly did happen?"

Everything Vontae...

is going through,

I've been through that,

and I'm still kind

of going through it,

you know, but I'm older now.

You know? I am--

I'm older now,

and he's still young,

and I'm like,

"If I had've got

the help at his age,

I think I'd be okay today."

I think I'd be okay today,

but I can't get...

his mental health team

to step it up

or get him

into some programs.

They not hearing me.

"My name is..."

Both:
"Ethan..."

"And I am a great kid."

"Sometimes Mom,

Dad or my teacher

"will tell me to clean up

or do my work.

Sometimes

they will tell me..."

Ethan:

"What to do."

"Sometimes I get mad."

Mmm.

Yeah.

Ethan:

I'm going home

in three months.

It's up to the staff...

so, I don't go home

for a while...

'cause you know,

I'm never gonna go home yet

until, you know,

I keep working

on my behavior.

But, you know,

I'm still learning and...

Yeah.

I swiped my belt,

but then they took

my belt away.

At least they let

me keep my other belt,

but only if I'm safe.

Woman:

Why'd you swipe

your belt at the door?

'Cause I got

super angry and...

But that was

a long time ago, so...

Yeah.

What happens if you're good?

Can you go to heaven?

Even if you weren't,

can you go to heaven?

I mean, even if

you aren't good,

you still can go

to heaven?

Woman:

I don't know all the answers

to those questions.

Well, you could

go to hell...

when you don't behave.

I mean,

hell's underground.

Woman:

Is that something

you're worrying about?

Well, what do you mean?

I'm-I'm-- I'm not worried

about nothing.

Woman:
Okay.

So...

(knocks on door)

Come in.

(door opens)

Woman:

Hi.

It's two o'clock.

Are you ready to move on

with your schedule?

Creigh:
Gus was probably

the most capable person

I've-- I ever knew.

He was-- he was

able to do anything

he wanted to do

and do it at a high--

at a very high level.

He made movies

with his friends,

and he-he-- he could

speak any language he put

his mind to learning.

He could play

any instrument

he wanted to learn.

He-- he was--

he was unbelievable.

You go through pictures,

you look at things,

you think about things,

lots of times with Gus,

he-he-- he contributed a lot,

and he-- he impacted

so many lives.

Nobody else in the family

really thought there

was a problem.

In October of 2013,

you know,

I noticed on Facebook he--

he was just, you know--

he was concerned about...

professors gang--

ganging up on him,

and I was, um,

I knew that wasn't Gus.

But he started

cutting his friends off...

and then he just started

behaving erratically.

The next thing I know,

he's decided to come home,

to leave school.

Maybe I didn't accept

how sick he was.

I mean, I-I--

I know that I didn't...

but I--

I didn't expect violence.

Hi. How are you?

Is Mommy home?

(child speaks softly)

Can I talk to Mommy?

Can you go get Mommy?

(child speaks softly)

Okay.

Do you want

to go get her?

(child speaks softly)

Maria:
Thank you.

I'll wait. Go ahead,

go get Mommy.

(child speaks softly)

I think Cesar

spoke to you.

He went to the school

on the 28th of October,

and Ivanka

was still here.

Mm-hmm.

So what happened?

I know that

you were struggling

with him, right?

Yeah, that's it.

I just came downstairs

from with the manager,

because, you know,

since she found out who's

been lighting the fires...

Mmm. Uh-huh.

...now I gotta pay for all

the carpet that's been burned.

And when I talked

to another little boy

in the building...

Mm-hmm.

...he did admit that

Vontae was setting fires.

Wow.

So I'm like, "He can't

come back here.

We'll get evicted."

She already got a report

that's to the owner,

so I don't know what

they're gonna do with us.

We're gonna have

to pay for the damages,

which I don't have money

to pay for the damages.

What happened

with the therapist?

Was that even helpful?

Was she still

coming here? Uh-huh?

You know what they tell me?

They tell me 'cause

I been getting on they case,

I'm like, "You guys--"

'cause he started

spiraling down.

I'm like, "You guys gonna

have to do something."

I was like-- I been

really emphasizing

and really pushing them

to get him in some

after-school programs.

I was like, "He needs to be

in an after-school program..."

Right.

"...and he needs to be

in something to keep him

busy on the weekends."

I've been saying it,

saying it, saying it.

Nobody's doing anything.

Mm-hmm.

So when they come over,

when I start talking to them

and really pressing them,

they was like, "Well, we don't

know what to do with him,

'cause he won't open up to us,"

and you know, I'm like,

"Well, if you can't do it,

find somebody that can do it."

Mm-hmm.

You know, if you saying

you can't reach him,

he's not opening up,

then refer him somewhere else.

He has not seen

a psychiatrist.

Obviously,

he's crying out for help.

I'm not a professional,

so I can't give-- all I can do

is be a mother.

Right.

You know,

that's all I can be,

but he needs

more than a mother.

He needs some

serious professional help.

(sighs) You know,

I just learned right now

that, um, there was

a conference call

with the therapist,

and one of the recommendations

was to increase

his mental health services

and also a referral

to a psychiatrist,

and it doesn't seem

like it happened,

and so I'm gonna call

right now and find out

what happened with that.

Yeah. I'm calling

in regards to a minor

who I've been working with--

him and his mother.

It-- its been a while.

Probably about maybe

two months ago,

there was a--

a teleconference with one

of our supervisors

and Cesar in regards

to making a referral

to a psychiatrist.

So what happened

with that referral?

And see, if we would've

had that information,

it would've been very helpful,

because if we had to take Mom

to get the physical exam

that Vontae needed,

we would've done that.

If in the future,

you get a case

and you have

a problem with that,

please let us know,

and we'll do that,

because... it's been a year

and he hasn't been seen

by a psychiatrist.

That's pretty-- Yeah.

(phone clatters)

(sighs)

So it was all based

on the paperwork,

on a-- on a-- on a...

physical exam that was

never taken place.

Woman:

What do you mean,

"It was all"--

Well, I mean--

I mean that him being seen

by a psychiatrist,

it was--

they were just waiting

for a physical exam,

like the results

of a physical exam.

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