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SOCIAL WORKER: Thank you for meeting with me. I'm Rhonda, and I'm a social worker here to do what I can to help your family. From the referral, it sounds like you have a lot going on. [SLIGHT GIGGLE] And it's been very stressful for everyone. MOTHER: That's an understatement. It seems like I get one fire put out, and then, another one starts. SOCIAL WORKER: Tell me more about that. MOTHER: Well, I'm guessing you read about our history. SOCIAL WORKER: Yes, but I'd like to hear your take on it. MOTHER: OK. Well, Kate was placed with us as a foster child when she was about three. We adopted her when she was about eight. And now, she's 16, but has always been hyper, and reckless, and careless. I mean, the girl knows how to cook but still somehow she manages to burn a brand new frying pan and all of her food in it. Sit still please. SOCIAL WORKER: So she has problems with attention. MOTHER: Yes, and when she doesn't get her way, it's even worse. She starts yelling and arguing. And I go to my room to avoid making things worse, but she follows me. And she's banging on the door. Her grades are also getting worse. [AGITATED SIGH] It's just-- Kate, please put that down. Come on. FATHER: All right. MOTHER: So-- FATHER: I need you to pay attention, OK. SOCIAL WORKER: Kate is struggling to meet your expectations. MOTHER: She doesn't meet anyone's expectations quite frankly. And this isn't a joke, Kate. SOCIAL WORKER: I'd like to hear your side, Kate. DAUGHTER: I don't know. I didn't mean to burn the pan. MOTHER: Well, what about the time you kicked a hole in the wall by our bedroom door? And then, you took off on your bike to God knows where. And we didn't know when you were coming home. DAUGHTER: I did tell you where I was going. You weren't listening, and you wouldn't come out of your room. MOTHER: Well, not when I'm feeling threatened by you, Kate. SOCIAL WORKER: So there's a struggle to communicate in a way that doesn't feel threatening for either of you. FATHER: I need you to put that down and try and pay attention. OK, honey. SOCIAL WORKER: What do you think, Sean? FATHER: About what? [GRUNTS] SOCIAL WORKER: About what's going on with your family. FATHER: She's always been like this. I mean, maybe a little harder to deal with because she's getting older. Doing things on her own. MOTHER: Well, you know you're not very much help. And you let her do whatever she wants. You unlock the pantry any time she wants. So what's the point in putting a lock on it, if you're just going to give in to her every time. Why? FATHER: She's just a kid, OK. MOTHER: Right. And she's a kid that will eat anything and everything any chance she gets. And we do have another child in the house in case you haven't noticed. She's setting a poor example for him, and she's bullying him. I don't know if you see this or not. SOCIAL WORKER: There are a lot of behaviors that concern you, Ann. What have you noticed that triggers Kate's anger? Earlier you mentioned when she doesn't get her way. MOTHER: Right. Well, she's always asking for something. New shoes, when she has a perfectly good pair. She wants to join another club at school even though she already belongs to three. SOCIAL WORKER: So Kate asks, you say no, and she's zero to angry just like that. MOTHER: Yeah, pretty much. DAUGHTER: No. It ain't like that. SOCIAL WORKER: What's it like, Kate? DAUGHTER: I ask, and then she goes into a long story about why I can't have it, and I don't deserve it. I try to walk away before I get mad, but she keeps talking, then I get mad. MOTHER: No.