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

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Allabouttrial said:
I do feel slightly concerned that J is getting quite a bit of exposure for someone so young.

They appear to be very loving parents though and have his best interests at heart.

I just worry about the extent of people on SM spilling over into real life nowadays.
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He's already seeing her face on billboards so I can imagine he wants to help find her in the way that he can. His father is also a public figure, and his adoption was public as well.
 
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mom2chloe said:
I keep circling back to the fact that the biological mom’s paternal rights were terminated. How does that even happen? So she was an addict in previous years but got clean. It chaps me that her rights were terminated while he was given a free pass despite his violent criminal history. This goes against everything we know of reunification between moms and their children.
I also can’t get past the fact that he was given an 18 month sentence for shooting another person in the face during a drug crime. Wth is wrong with this entire situation? IMO
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Here’s how stuff can happen -
We were new foster parents, very naive. The social worker came to our house after we were working with birth mom for months and they came in and said the path has been changed from reunification to termination. And to add insult to injury, they said a couple in the next county is looking to adopt a child (with our foster child’s description).
This was Mississippi, several years ago.
 
Than
Bodhi said:
Harmony's great-grandmother has spoken publicly. She is not identified by name. She said she contacted DHHS in July 2021 when Adam was in drug rehab.

Harmony’s great-grandmother also said she called New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services in July 2021 after she heard Adam Montgomery had entered drug rehab to check up on the girl’s well-being and whereabouts.

She said officials told her that Harmony wasn’t in their system, wasn’t in their custody, and that they didn’t have a case open.

"That was it," she said.

Harmony Montgomery case shines spotlight on need for more social workers in police departments, cops say​
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Thank you for posting......this answers so many of my questions
 
Bodhi said:
Harmony's great-grandmother has spoken publicly. She is not identified by name. She said she contacted DHHS in July 2021 when Adam was in drug rehab.

Harmony’s great-grandmother also said she called New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services in July 2021 after she heard Adam Montgomery had entered drug rehab to check up on the girl’s well-being and whereabouts.

She said officials told her that Harmony wasn’t in their system, wasn’t in their custody, and that they didn’t have a case open.

"That was it," she said.

Harmony Montgomery case shines spotlight on need for more social workers in police departments, cops say​
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How could Adam collect welfare money for Harmony if she wasn't in the system? And why would a child need to be in the system for DHHS to take a complaint of child abuse?
 
Spartygirl said:
LOL--Glad I am not alone.
I had to google it also.

God forbid should my family or LE ever do a search on my laptop or phone.
They would find all kinds of drug info and crime info.
YIKES.

But if I don't look things up, then I don't know....
... so.... there's that. Haha
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I ued to work at a jail lol the staff used that lexicon when we had a withdrawal coming in so we could call medical staff.
 
Ilex said:
How could Adam collect welfare money for Harmony if she wasn't in the system? And why would a child need to be in the system for DHHS to take a complaint of child abuse?
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Does the Bureau of Family Assistance share the same database as the Bureau of Child Protestive Services? They are in different divisions of DHHS and have different functions. Child Protection Services is a bureau in DCYF. The Bureau of Family Assistance (which administers SNAP, the only benefits I am aware the Montgomerys received) is in the Division of Economic and Housing Stability.

If they share a database, I expect there is compartmentalized access to confidential information within the same database based on the sensitivity of the data and the user's functional responsibilities. Family Assistance serves a much broader population, and its mission is different. It deals with confidential information (dates of birth, financial information, household members). Child Protective Services is charged with invesigating abuse and neglect. It deals in much more sensitive legal information. That higher level of confidentiality means access to its data is even more restricted.

If there are different databases, I am familiar with the sharing of data between state databases in New Hampshire. Data can be shared between databases in one direction only. If there are two different databases, I expect that CPS has access to some information the Division of Economic and Housing Stability has. But I doubt that the Family Assistance staff has access to much if anything in a CPS database.
 
HilaryHormone said:
I’m confused by the timeline in relation to Crystal’s statements here. From media reports upthread, we know Harmony was ‘bouncing in and out’ of foster care from July 2018. Did she spend time with Adam in between placements? If so, what led to her being returned to foster care?

Crystal is noted to have lost custody some time in 2018, and Adam secured custody in February 2019.

Where does the play therapy fit? If Crystal had to convey this info to child services, was it even formal counselling? A professional therapist would be obliged to report any safeguarding concerns directly, and a report of sessions would likely be shared with all other relevant professionals and agencies working with Harmony.

So many questions!!
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CS has indicated that AM was not interested in co-parenting HM so I think it's likely that AM was having visits with AM while she was in foster care (no longer in CS home). Typically, a child is in foster care at the time the parent officially loses legal custody of the child -- in this case July 2018. It was about six months later that HM awarded to her dad.

From @PommyMommy's timeline:

PommyMommy said:
Jul 2018 - Court documents show Harmony’s mother lost custody of Harmony because of substance abuse issues. Harmony began bouncing in and out of foster care.

Sometime in 2019 – Harmony was last enrolled in school in Massachusetts, but (as of 12/31/21) LE did not yet know where.

Jan 30, 2019 - AM and KM's second child was born. 010622MontgomeryK-Affidavit.pdf (nh.gov)

Feb 22, 2019 – Harmony’s mother no longer had custody. Harmony was returned to her father without an Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) and was no longer in MA foster care system according to juvenile court records from Lawrence, MA.

Feb 25, 2019 - KM filed a change report to add Harmony to her DHHS account and monthly benefits increased $129.
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JAN 14, 2022
Harmony Montgomery's mother says her pleas were disregarded (boston.com)
[...]

Sorey said in an interview with the Globe she began searching for her daughter in 2019 after Adam and Kayla blocked her from contacting them.

She went in and out of sober homes and shelters after she lost custody, but reports filed in court indicate Sorey has since been sober.

Sorey told the newspaper she called schools in New Hampshire where she thought Harmony may be a student, used paid internet search tools to gather addresses connected to Adam, and tried repeatedly to contact DCYF before she contacted Manchester police.

“I didn’t just sit around and say, ‘Oh, they took my daughter, I’m just going to get high, man,’ ” she said. “By the time detectives got involved, I had probably about 16 e-mails [full] of information for them already … because I had already been looking for her for a year and a half.”

[...]
 
lilithblue said:
That's exactly what I think happened with CS losing her rights.

As far as AM is concerned, there is a whole different thinking as far as past criminal behavior when it's the biological parent versus a foster parent. We have clients we represent who are IN prison who have not terminated their parental rights (not for crimes against children). Their children are typically in a guardianship, and often they're not ever reunited. But there are some that, when released, go through the steps to terminate guardianship and regain custody. The kids aren't just handed over to them, it's usually a slow process, and they have to show employment, a proper living situation, sobriety, and plead their case. All things he could have done within that year or so chunk of time.

I have no idea if this is what happened with AM, but it's a scenario that could have happened, and if the wardship/guardianship were terminated, DCYF would have no involvement unless they were reported again. I'm also basing this on my experience within the juvenile court system in my state, it may be different in other states. Criminal history doesn't preclude a person from having children. There isn't really a lot of forgiveness if you're looking to become a foster parent, but parental rights are not so easily terminated for a biological parent.
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^^bbm

HM was born in June 2014 and we know that AM was incarcerated months earlier -- missing her birth. He was sentenced in September 2014 (in prison for HM's first birthday in June 2015) but was believed released later in 2015.

Seems AM was busy having children with KM starting June 2017 so maybe between post-release probation and the new family, AM had a period of stability??

CS lost her parental rights in July 2018 and six months later AM was HM's legal guardian. :(

Timeline at link:
NH - NH - Harmony Montgomery, 7, Manchester, Oct 2019 *reported missing Dec 2021* *REWARD* *Arrest* #2
 
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