Momfightsback
Press Release
Indiana Mother Continues to Fight Department of Child Services’ False Narrative with Sole
Focus on Regaining Rights to her Children Following Blatant DCS Misconduct
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Katherine Jackson, an Indiana mother, refuses to back down to the Department of Child Services
after DCS has falsely framed her as negligent, denied her child’s legitimate medical diagnoses
and direct doctor’s orders, all amidst medical record deletions and unethical practices that have
resulted in her children being outside of her care for almost 3 years.
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Indiana – February 12, 2025 – Katherine Jackson is a mother from Indiana currently embroiled
in several legal battles because her two children were taken from her in 2022 under false
pretenses, in what has now turned into a blatant abuse of power and demonstration of pride by
the Indiana Department of Child Services. DCS has attempted to publicly and privately portray
Ms. Jackson as unfit and a danger to her children–a sentiment shared by media and followers of
the story, but one that is demonstrably false.
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In a scenario that has become concerningly familiar for a growing number of mothers around
the United States, a topic so rampant that even medical TV shows routinely portray this
harrowing experience, the Department of Child Services and local pediatricians are punishing a
mother for advocating for her child. Despite the reasonable expectation that her child, being
born severely prematurely at 23 weeks, may retain significant illnesses and a multitude of
developmental delays, medical professionals routinely dismissed and actively interfered with
Ms. Jackson’s pleas and advocation for her daughter’s incredibly rare disease and symptoms
simply because she is a woman and not a medical professional.
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This rare genetic condition, known as Pilarowski Bjornsson Syndrome (PBS) was a diagnosis
shared by only 10 individuals worldwide at the time of diagnosis and is now recognized in 46
individuals. In addition, the child suffers from a more common and visually identifiable
condition known as alopecia, which presents as hair loss. Despite proven medical records
detailing these diagnoses, when Ms. Jackson brought her daughter to Peyton Manning
Children’s Hospital at the direction of another physician. Ms. Jackson was told her daughter had
no illness at all, denying its existence. Due to PBS’s rarity, the staff was unable and unwilling to
consider this medical condition as legitimate and disregarded the child’s symptoms as organic,
claiming her mother was administering a foreign substance to induce the symptoms. Despite
the child already having been diagnosed with PBS and displaying the known symptoms of the
illness, Ms. Jackson was falsely painted as a liar who was either making her daughter sick or
lying about her being sick at all. Without any semblance of reasonable investigation, the
Department of Child Services stepped in and removed the children from the home, under the
false presumption that her symptoms were fabricated and would improve once she was out of
her mother’s care. However, because this was a real, documented illness, Ms. Jackson’s
daughter continued to suffer and display symptoms of PBS and alopecia, which continues
today. Over 2 years passed before DCS openly admitted that Ms. Jackson’s daughter has PBS
and alopecia. Despite DCS accepting the diagnoses as true and the child’s symptoms organic,
they refuse to admit their error and have doubled down on efforts to save face from their gross
failures, manipulation of the truth, and encouraging a criminal prosecution to cover up for
DCS’s misconduct.
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Additionally, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital determined that despite ample evidence
citing that Ms. Jackson acted in accordance with medical compliance with regards to the refill
and administration of her daughter’s prescription, Ms. Jackson was “neglecting her child.”
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“In nearly a decade of working with families going through similar battles with the Department
of Child Services, I have never seen such a blatant disregard of medical diagnoses and flippant
denial of a mother’s advocacy efforts in the name of pride,” said Tracey L Harkins of Prusak & Harkins, LLC, counsel for Katherine Jackson. “The doctors and DCS officials know they are wrong, and instead of doing the right thing are attempting to save face with their continued
pursuit in this case where a career DCS lawyer serves as the judge, pointing to a systemic abuse of power. This case showcases the unethical and illegal deletion of medical records, a disregard for expert testimony, and despite reunification as the primary goal, has resulted in the
unneeded separation of children and their mother.”
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A psychologist at Parkview Regional Medical Center who initially began this false narrative
against Ms. Jackson, denying the existence of PBS and carelessly citing Munchausen by proxy,
has since been let go following their deletion and alteration of the child’s medical records with
the intention to ensure that Ms. Jackson could not be reunited with her children. These proven
medical record alterations were not approved by any doctor, and this individual was willing to
make these changes illegally and testify on behalf of DCS – an extremely concerning and
unethical act that has yet to be rectified by the court. Some of the deleted information includes
adjusting symptoms and overall diagnoses, all of which can be proven with documented
evidence.
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“This case is one of the most outrageous and devastating situations I have ever seen in my
career,” said Aaron Rapier of Rapier Law Firm, Ms. Jackson’s attorney. “The DCS has wavered
from saying my client’s daughter does not have PBS to saying she does, saying my client ‘shaved her daughter’s hair’ to now acknowledging her alopecia diagnosis. They have consistently thrown outlandish and false allegations at Ms. Jackson, but we will not give up or give in. We will continue to fight for the medical advocacy of these children and to reunite them with their family who love them, where they should have always been.”
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Ms. Jackson has continued to face false allegations from the DCS and Fort Wayne Police
Department that have bled into media stories perpetuating the false narrative. As a result of
this, it is important to clarify that Ms. Jackson did not lie about her daughter’s disease to
receive any support from the MakeAWish Foundation. She is extremely grateful for their
contributions – so much so that all the funds in the GoFundMe account, which was set up by a
friend, were donated by Ms. Jackson back to the MakeAWish Foundation – all of which can be
verified with documentation. Additionally, Ms. Jackson did not seek out the MakeAWish Foundation, but rather, a doctor submitted an application on her daughter’s behalf, certifying
in the paperwork in 2019 that the child’s life expectancy was shortened from her illness.
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“Throughout this nightmare, I have been trying to advocate for my child in a world where
mothers are consistently dismissed by medical professionals who think they know best,” said
Katherine Jackson. “I refuse for my children to believe I have done anything but protect and
love them, and I want nothing more than to have them back with me where they belong. I will
continue to fight on behalf of my children, myself, and mothers everywhere who have suffered
the same fate. You are not alone, and I will not back down.”
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Despite the false claims and narrative, Ms. Jackson maintains that at no time has she neglected
to care for or treat her daughter’s illnesses or attend to their basic physical, mental, or
emotional needs. Ms. Jackson remained present, dutiful, resilient, and grateful for each day she
was able to champion her children–and looks forward to presenting her case with a plethora of
evidence in Allen County Superior Courts.
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Media Contact
Kara Schmiemann
Red Banyan