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Susan Schofield’s family channel, Schofield Productions, became controversial as videos about her children Jani and Bodhi moved from documenting family life and illness to showing highly personal moments, while viewers questioned the children’s treatment and privacy. The Verge reported in April 2019 that the channel had been taken down after a Dr. Phil episode, amid juvenile-court involvement. That account did not establish why the children had been removed from Susan’s custody or what the case’s final outcome was.
What was Schofield Productions?
Schofield Productions was a YouTube channel run by Susan Schofield and centered on her family, particularly her children Jani and Bodhi. The family was already known to the public through coverage of Jani’s reported childhood-onset schizophrenia. The channel began posting in October 2015, and The Verge’s April 2019 investigation said it had nearly 200 videos and close to 30,000 subscribers at its height. Those are historical figures reported in 2019, not current channel statistics.
The channel’s story is distinct from the later, separate case involving Ruby Franke’s 8 Passengers. The Schofield family’s public history and the events described here concern Susan, Jani, and Bodhi.
How the family’s public story developed
| Date | What was reported |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Jani and her family appeared on Oprah, according to The Verge’s 2019 account. |
| 2010 | A Discovery Life documentary covered the family, The Verge reported. |
| 2011 | ABC News covered Jani’s symptoms, hospital treatment, and diagnosis. Michael Schofield recalled that, at five, Jani told him, “Mommy, I can’t tell the real world from my imaginary world.” This was his recollection in that contemporaneous report. |
| 2013 | Jani appeared with her parents on Dr. Phil, according to The Verge. Michael’s book, January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her, was also published that year. |
| 2014 | ABC News reported that Jani’s parents said Bodhi had severe autism and intermittent explosive disorder. The report also described Susan’s belief that Bodhi might later be diagnosed with schizophrenia; these were historical statements, not confirmation of his current diagnoses. |
| October 2015 | Susan began posting videos as Schofield Productions, The Verge reported. Early videos included other children and parents discussing illness and medication; the channel later focused more closely on Jani and Bodhi. |
| 2017 | Susan’s book, Born Schizophrenic: A Mother’s Search for Her Family’s Sanity, was released, according to The Verge. |
| March–April 2019 | A March Dr. Phil episode addressed YouTube. The Verge reported that Dr. Phil and Charles Sophy agreed to help the family on the condition that Susan take down the channel. She agreed, and the channel was taken down soon after filming. The Verge published its investigation on April 2, 2019. |
Why viewers became concerned
The controversy brought together two issues that are easy to blur: what the videos appeared to show, and what viewers inferred from them. The Verge described videos in which Bodhi appeared visibly impaired and reported that Susan had discussed a rotating medication regimen in videos. It attributed Bodhi’s severe autism diagnosis at age six to his father, Michael, and reported that Susan questioned that diagnosis and believed Bodhi had schizophrenia.
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Viewers raised concerns about possible overmedication, misdiagnosis, and the children’s privacy. Those concerns were reactions to the material online; they do not establish that a diagnosis was fabricated, that a particular treatment caused a condition, or that abuse occurred. Some commenters proposed Munchausen syndrome by proxy, but The Verge presented that as viewer speculation, not a medical or legal finding.
The privacy question did not depend on resolving those medical disputes. The Verge described content that included deeply personal moments involving the children. Publishing such material can expose a child’s health and private life to a large audience, even when a parent presents the channel as family documentation or advocacy. The channel’s audience size, by itself, does not prove wrongdoing; it helps explain why the children’s exposure became a public concern.
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What happened to the channel and the children in 2019?
The Verge reported that the channel was removed shortly after the Dr. Phil episode was filmed, following Susan’s agreement to take it down. The report also said Michael told The Verge that an LA County Children’s Court gag order was in place and that the children had been removed from Susan’s custody the week of March 10, 2019.
The same investigation said it was unclear what exactly had led to the removal and that the case’s status was unclear at the time of publication. It reported that neither Susan nor Michael had been charged with a crime as of April 2019. These facts do not establish a conviction, a final court finding, or the family’s present circumstances.
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What the public record does—and does not—show
The available reporting supports a careful distinction between attributed family accounts, documented public events, and online interpretation. ABC News recorded what the parents said about Jani and Bodhi at the time; The Verge later documented the channel’s content, its removal, and the limited information then available about court involvement. Neither outlet’s reporting, as described here, proves that the children’s diagnoses were false or settles the reasons for the 2019 custody action.
A YouTube spokesperson told The Verge in 2019: “We work closely with leading child safety organizations and others in our industry to protect young people. Additionally, we have robust privacy guidelines to protect the privacy of all our users. In the event a parent or legal guardian feels the privacy of a child has been violated, they can file a privacy complaint and we will quickly remove content which violates our guidelines.” This was the company’s statement at that time, not confirmation of its current policy.
The Verge’s April 2019 investigation is the latest dependable case account established here. It does not establish a later court or family update, so claims about the Schofields’ current custody arrangements or circumstances would go beyond this record.
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