She said she worked full time but she must have been there most evenings. She was much better than that other "mother" who drank and swore at Joe's friend.
shareThere were many examples of how that kid seemed smarter, maybe better able to handle the screwed up home life. His mom was a piece of work.
His would have made an interesting story too.
In the judge's office the judge asks her what she thinks he should do with Joe. We don't get to hear her answer but from what she said just before he asks that question leads us to believe that she, in effect, threw her son under the bus.
During most of the movie she is rarely ever home. In the aftermath of the broken records incident Mike (his brother) tells Joe that Bob found rubbers in her purse which triggered him beating her up and breaking all of her albums. The rubbers in her purse implies that she was "sleeping around".
My take on it is that both his mother and brother were trying desperately to escape thier shattered home lives by whatever means possible while Joe was trying to fix things at home. His mother was too far into her own escape plan by the time Joe got arrested to do anything but abandon him. Later, though, when Joe is on his way to the reformatory she finds that big box of albums that he bought for her with the stolen money and it seems to be somewhat of a revelation to her.