Deceased/Not Found NH - Harmony Montgomery, 7, Manchester, Oct 2019 *reported missing Dec 2021* *REWARD* *Arrest* #2

[JLSChook]

I have no words...

Well, I do but I don't wanna get banned.

#**&@&)@*&*&*(!!!

 

[Seattle1]

From the motion at the link below (by a public defender), it appears that Mass Statute does not provide for an ICPC for out-of-state parents since it's not a "placement"-- which argues is applicable to foster care and adoption and not custody orders to parents.

Also, cites how the home study requirement would deprive the father [mother] of his state and federal due process rights to the care and custody of his child.
It would also violate his right to equal protection of the laws, and his right to migrate between states.

In the 18-page sample motion for immediate release to the father, the same also eludes to pandemic delays.

https://www.publiccounsel.net/cafl/...Custody-to-Out-of-State-Parent-ICPC-2021.docx

ETA: Add from Law Review -- more on the statute:

At this point, five states and one federal court have held that the ICPC does not cover parental placements. This Article will survey the split in courtrooms across the country, the reasons why Massachusetts must limit the ICPC, and alternative options for nervous courts, attorneys, and state agencies when sending a child across state lines. Ultimately, the ICPC is not the appropriate mechanism to utilize when placing a child with her parent across state lines.

https://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1700&context=lawreview

 

[Gigglingtoes]

People keep saying “Why would this judge do this?” And so on and so forth..there is an interview the bio Mom did, CS. In the interview she says she had a court date for her other child the same date as the one for Harmony and she couldn’t be in both places at once and so they handed over custody to him after she asked for a continuance and it was denied. As though they wanted to just close the case.
Link:

Around the 7 min mark.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Governors Express Concern Over Handling of Case of Missing 7-Year-Old Girl and Call for Further Review

 

[Sillybilly]

I have no words...

Well, I do but I don't wanna get banned.

#**&@&)@*&*&*(!!!

C'mon JLS, I know what you said

jk

 

[Sachi]

I live in MA, so this case and listening to my coworker talk about her relatives DCF situation daily, is what leads me to believe there is something more than just missing information and why these words seem so truthful -
“This is an appalling, appalling decision,” said child welfare advocate Maureen Flatley about Newman's decision to give custody.
“This is a shaky, shaky decision,” Child Welfare Attorney Maureen Flatley said of Newman's decision to give her father custody of Harmony

Currently and quite sadly, a person related to my coworker -( 11 years ago) took on the child from a , by marriage- great grand daughters child, as she was unfit to care for baby
(1st)child,
then shortly after, that great grand daughter had another
(2nd)child
and the " Nan" did it again- in hopes that the young mother would get help for her drug addiction and serious mental health issues etc and get custody. The young lady did not, and had a
(3rd) child , young mom fought for but did not retain custody and the baby went into foster 2 years ago and is adopted.

NOW, The maternal grandmother of the 2 children wants custody, however she is by MA DCF standard-, unfit and will never get custody. The person caring for them is elderly and unwell and not related by blood and has had the children since infancy- the children will eventually have to go to foster care, very sad.
* The MA DCF social worker has repeated over and over that the maternal grandmother will not get custody of the children., though truly unfit and she shouldn't get custody , on paper she is a saint compared to AM. The state of MA is on point here with the "Nan" case, what happened in Harmony's case?

 

[Sachi]

From the motion at the link below (by a public defender), it appears that Mass Statute does not provide for an ICPC for out-of-state parents since it's not a "placement"-- which argues is applicable to foster care and adoption and not custody orders to parents.

Also, cites how the home study requirement would deprive the father [mother] of his state and federal due process rights to the care and custody of his child.
It would also violate his right to equal protection of the laws, and his right to migrate between states.

In the 18-page sample motion for immediate release to the father, the same also eludes to pandemic delays.

https://www.publiccounsel.net/cafl/...Custody-to-Out-of-State-Parent-ICPC-2021.docx

ETA: Add from Law Review -- more on the statute:

At this point, five states and one federal court have held that the ICPC does not cover parental placements. This Article will survey the split in courtrooms across the country, the reasons why Massachusetts must limit the ICPC, and alternative options for nervous courts, attorneys, and state agencies when sending a child across state lines. Ultimately, the ICPC is not the appropriate mechanism to utilize when placing a child with her parent across state lines.

https://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1700&context=lawreview

Highlighted, then what is the appropriate mechanism, I wonder.

 

[heavenly2012]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

Well, she clearly couldn’t afford an attorney. Doing legal issues on your own is not easy. (Been there and had to figure it all out with my oldest. Very stressful)

Having two court dates the same day and you ask to continue one (whichever one) and it’s denied… not having an attorney really makes it rough.

Not saying she is awesome, just saying that legal stuff like that is hard without being represented.

 

[Ontario Mom]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

Despite whatever other poor choices she made, if it weren't for CS determination to locate her daughter no matter who she annoyed, none of us would ever even know Harmony was missing, since NO ONE else, cared enough to make it known. There were other adults in Harmony's life that not only knew was missing, but likely had a hand in her going missing.

She's no mother of the year, and I'm sure she'd be the first to admit it, but my hat is off to her for rattling cages, making noise and getting the word out about Harmony.

jmo

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

I thought the Mom's parental rights were terminated prior to her going to her Father.

She would have been appointed an attorney free of charge during the dependency.

There's no excuse for not doing the proper Home Study on the father and not following up on Harmony's safety and well-being. Call it an ICPC or something else, there's no excuse.
In my state an ICPC is done for out of state bio parents. To send a child to ANYONE without the proper background checks and safety inspections is unforgivable.

All you ever hear about in dependency cases is the "parents' rights". What about the child's rights?

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Despite whatever other poor choices she made, if it weren't for CS determination to locate her daughter no matter who she annoyed, none of us would ever even know Harmony was missing, since NO ONE else, cared enough to make it known. There were other adults in Harmony's life that not only knew was missing, but likely had a hand in her going missing.

She's no mother of the year, and I'm sure she'd be the first to admit it, but my hat is off to her for rattling cages, making noise and getting the word out about Harmony.

jmo

I truly believe that the reporter who adopted her son assisted her in finding the right route and things to say to get the ball rolling. JMO

 

[Gigglingtoes]

I thought the Mom's parental rights were terminated prior to her going to her Father.

She would have been appointed an attorney free of charge during the dependency.

There's no excuse for not doing the proper Home Study on the father and not following up on Harmony's safety and well-being. Call it an ICPC or something else, there's no excuse.
In my state an ICPC is done for out of state bio parents. To send a child to ANYONE without the proper background checks and safety inspections is unforgivable.

All you ever hear about in dependency cases is the "parents' rights". What about the child's rights?

Totally.
On the one hand I know it’s a disease and addiction is hard and ruins lives but on the other hand, I cannot imagine allowing anything to be more important than my kids. It’s hard to grasp. But, addiction is just that. All you care about is getting high. Sucks for everyone and especially any child born to an addict.

 

[Lulu'smom]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

I think CS wanted Harmony to be adopted with <modsnip: Siblings name redacted>. She wanted to set the groundwork for that open adoption and then work on Harmony being placed with him. That way, when she's sober/able she can have visits/continuity of the relationships with these two. Breaks my heart that these bonded kids did not end up together.

 

[Lusitana]

I think CS wanted Harmony to be adopted with <modsnip: Siblings name redacted>. She wanted to set the groundwork for that open adoption and then work on Harmony being placed with him. That way, when she's sober/able she can have visits/continuity of the relationships with these two. Breaks my heart that these bonded kids did not end up together.

That's my impression too. I suspect that, for some time, it was looking like Harmony was going to get adopted with her brother, and then the plan didn't work out because her father showed up.

I can't even blame the mother, she tried to stay in contact with her daughter. She raised the alarm multiple times, she didn't sit back and let it happen. It's not her fault, I honestly think she did what she thought would be best for her children.

In a perfect World, parents don't struggle. She was struggling and thought that her babies would be better off with someone else, and she was probably right because look at her now, she seems to have come a long way. I feel horrible for her, she really tried.

 

[CaffienatedOwl]

From my personal experiences involved with foster care, I can tell you that children are returned to dangerous situations all the time. People just don't hear about it unless they go missing or are killed.

ETA: The goal is always to reunify kids with bio parents when possible. They believe that parents can be rehabilitated. Some can, but most can't. That is reality. There is a huge shortage of foster homes and places to put these kids. And the drug epidemic along with homelessness and poverty has put a huge strain on the system. Just to name a few reasons why this could happen.
There's still no excuse for what happened with Harmony and Oakley and all the other kids who have been sent to bio parents who are not capable of being safe parents.

Thank you for this! I can only imagine that with the pandemic it has added yet another layer of strain, especially when kids were not in school, etc. So sad.

 

[Ilex]

I thought the Mom's parental rights were terminated prior to her going to her Father.

She would have been appointed an attorney free of charge during the dependency.

There's no excuse for not doing the proper Home Study on the father and not following up on Harmony's safety and well-being. Call it an ICPC or something else, there's no excuse.
In my state an ICPC is done for out of state bio parents. To send a child to ANYONE without the proper background checks and safety inspections is unforgivable.

All you ever hear about in dependency cases is the "parents' rights". What about the child's rights?

I agree. It was also reported that the MA DCF knew the father resided in NH, so they should have done an ICPC.

 

[Ilex]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

I completely agree with your frustration but I'm willing to cut CS some slack. She was going through rehab and detox, she was likely feeling bad about herself and she had a legal monstrosity she was facing down. She did try to keep Harmony from going with her father but she would have been seen and treated like a vengeful ex with a drug abuse problem. She most likely gave up fighting for Harmony because she didn't have the ability to fight. She was young, had no support, had been in an abusive relationship, was recovering from drug abuse, relapsing and pretty much out there on her own. When she got cleaned up she realized what had happened and tried to clean things up. Harmony was gone by then, missing. Even if CS had been able to find AM and knock on his door, Harmony was already gone.
There's no end to the list of people that allowed this to happen, people who should have been there to protect this child.

 

[carbuff]

So CS had two court dates and chose the other one(not Harmony’s) and that’s the one they gave custody of her to AM? Did she ever put H first?
First she chose drugs over taking care of her, then chose whatever court appearance was more important than custody of her daughter. I’m starting to hate this woman.

But wasn't it a court date for custody of one of her other children? So the system basically forced her to choose one child or another?

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

But wasn't it a court date for custody of one of her other children? So the system basically forced her to choose one child or another?

I'm having a hard time understanding how/why the court would have scheduled her two children at the same time for two different hearings. That doesn't make sense.