AR - Rep. Harris rehomed his adopted daughter to man who sexually abused her

[believe09]

I read the reporter's tweets and she mentioned that the Francis' had children from international adoptions. This rehome nonsense is another name for child trafficking. It is sickening.

JMO

Thank you-I couldnt agree more.

 

[MyBelle]

It sounds like the eight year old was removed before they finalized the adoption when she was still a foster placement. DHS wasn't in a position to pursue abandonment of the eight year old at that time because he wasn't her legal parent. Once he adopted the younger two he did become their legal parents and then abandonment would be considered if he disrupted. From my experience as a pediatrician and dealing with children in foster care in five different states (but not AR) the fact that DHS removed the eight year old, left the younger two girls with the Harris family, and then allowed the adoptions to be separated leads me to believe that there is likely some real truth to what Harris has stated about the girls. I have seen CP/FS more commonly try to barter with a family who has a younger sibling that is thriving in their home and whomthey would like to adopt by threatening that they must also take the older siblings that have just bounced out of a different placement or lose the baby they have had since birth. Perhaps DHS was just showing good integrity with the Harris family but my guess is that they were actually relieved to not have to find a placement for the younger two as well (and they certainly didn't waste any time with getting the adoption finalized).

As I've said elsewhere on this thread I don't condone rehoming without oversight from DHS and the family court system but I do think that we need to do a better job of providing support to parents of children in crisis. I think DHS needs to develop an protocol for evaluating adoption disruptions that is focused on the best interests of the children but but those interests above the safety of all others in the home. These protocols should also be designed to be supportive more than punitive.

I don't know that DHS placed those little girls with the Harris as foster children. This news story indicates the biological mother wanted the Harris' to adopt the girls. It sounds more like a private adoption of three little girls that a private attorney facilitated. I'm betting that same attorney facilitated the hand-off to Francis.

Harris' attorney, Jennifer Wells, said the lawmaker and his wife adopted the 6- and 3-year-old girls in March 2013 at the request of the children's mother.

http://hosted2.ap.org/OHWIN/fe13ed5...egislator/id-c131ee633a5f47998f7ec39c1204c4c3

 

[believe09]

Nothing about this looks right. He gratuitously threw his wife to the wolves in a bid for sympathy-that she was abused so they kept trying.

DHS has made a statement that is a read between the lines for sure, but one thing they stated FIRMLY is that they have all prospective parents sign forms acknowledging medical diagnoses and the like with the children.

He is detestable. Funny how the subsequent families demanded the Harris' cease contact.

 

[believe09]

Part of the DHS Statement:

Though Rep. Harris is talking about this adoption, by law we cannot do so and are concerned about the very sensitive and protected information that has been released about vulnerable children. We also are prohibited from clarifying any inaccurate information.

We can say that when parents adopt children from us, we disclose in writing medical and psychological information and diagnoses and have the adoptive families sign those forms.

Senior DHS officials have always been available to Rep. Harris when he had personal or constituent concerns and they have had many conversations over the years. That open-door policy would have been true in this case as well.

 

[believe09]

You know what makes no sense to me? Why anyone at DHS would choose to bully a representative in the fashion that Harris claims? It makes no sense at all. Average folks maybe, but would you dot your i's and cross your t's if you were dealing with someone of Harris' stature? Especially someone who has had an axe to grind about many things. It looks like the Harris' adoption experience was by the books.

I need more of a timeline. The 8 year old was removed prior to adoption. When did the remaining children allegedly kill pets etc? Before or after their adoption was finalized? When was the 6 year old constantly kept in her room with books and toys and then no books and toys? That is the timeline we need. In the prior 12 months, the remaining two little ones were still adoption worthy. Yet 6 months later, they were dumped.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

You know what makes no sense to me? Why anyone at DHS would choose to bully a representative in the fashion that Harris claims? It makes no sense at all. Average folks maybe, but would you dot your i's and cross your t's if you were dealing with someone of Harris' stature? Especially someone who has had an axe to grind about many things. It looks like the Harris' adoption experience was by the books.

I need more of a timeline. The 8 year old was removed prior to adoption. When did the remaining children allegedly kill pets etc? Before or after their adoption was finalized? When was the 6 year old constantly kept in her room with books and toys and then no books and toys? That is the timeline we need. In the prior 12 months, the remaining two little ones were still adoption worthy. Yet 6 months later, they were dumped.

I agree!

 

[K_Z]

So, one thing I can't get beyond is how utterly strange Rep. Harris' reply was to this reporter, back in February. Tremendously defensive, and tossing about Bible verses. That is very disturbing to me. It causes me pause to consider what the environment may have been like in the home. He answers the question not as a father or a legislator, or a "child development specialist", but more like an evangelical preacher, or someone coming apart at the seams. Coming from a legislator, who is quite accustomed to speaking in public, and being asked tough questions, and who should be savvy socially, that is just *bizarre* behavior, IMO.

In February, the Arkansas Times asked Rep. Harris to comment on the case and explain what became of the girls he and his wife had adopted. He refused, and stated that the Times was attempting to "smear" him. "It's evil," he said, becoming visibly upset.

When asked whether he rehomed his adoptive children with another family, he replied, "I'm not confirming that." When asked about the statements made in the State Police report in the Francis case, Harris said he hadn't read the file because of the disturbing descriptions of sexual abuse that they contain.

Harris then quoted Isaiah 54:17: "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you."

http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/a-child-left-unprotected/Content?oid=3691164

And, he hired a PR firm when the story broke. Hmmmmm.

 

[southsleuth]

I have worked in the political arena for years. Some of us think legislators should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the population. No matter the party affiliation, it isn't so.

 

[shadowraiths]

Part of the DHS Statement:

Though Rep. Harris is talking about this adoption, by law we cannot do so and are concerned about the very sensitive and protected information that has been released about vulnerable children. We also are prohibited from clarifying any inaccurate information.

We can say that when parents adopt children from us, we disclose in writing medical and psychological information and diagnoses and have the adoptive families sign those forms.

Senior DHS officials have always been available to Rep. Harris when he had personal or constituent concerns and they have had many conversations over the years. That open-door policy would have been true in this case as well.

link to above

 

[tlcya]

But that is the thing, I don't hold him to a higher standard than I would hold anyone. Six months? That is what they gave this? After recognizing they could not deal with the other child? But not these. But almost immediately they decide they are unhandlable? Really? We do not do this with our bios. We used to. And we now recognize that as a cowardly, selfish, abusive, act. We put those embarrassing, unhandlable, relatives in institutions, basements, out of sight. That is not acceptable now. It should not be.

They committed to parenting these children. WTF? I am not saying rehoming should not happen if it is needed or in the best interest of the child. But for crying out loud, to let the adoptive parents unilaterally decide what is in the best interest of the children? The put upon, over it, parents? Really?

 

[MamaJoJo]

Why Arkansas State Representative GAVE AWAY his adopted daughters

As part of his attempt to justify his actions, Harris has claimed the young girls, and their eight-year-old sister whom he also took in but did not formally adopt, were threatening to kill his family.

Harris, who has three biological sons, said the eldest girl, who was eight, said she would 'kill everyone in the family'.

He took the death threat so seriously, he said, that he, his wife and their three sons barricaded themselves in a separate room at night for safety.

Harris also claimed that another of the girls 'crushed a family pet to death', further convincing them to get rid of their recently-adopted charges.

He did not specify what kind of pet it was, nor whether the three-year-old or the six-year-old was responsible.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ted-daughter-six-sister-friend-raped-her.html

 

[MyBelle]

You know what makes no sense to me? Why anyone at DHS would choose to bully a representative in the fashion that Harris claims? It makes no sense at all. Average folks maybe, but would you dot your i's and cross your t's if you were dealing with someone of Harris' stature? Especially someone who has had an axe to grind about many things. It looks like the Harris' adoption experience was by the books.

I need more of a timeline. The 8 year old was removed prior to adoption. When did the remaining children allegedly kill pets etc? Before or after their adoption was finalized? When was the 6 year old constantly kept in her room with books and toys and then no books and toys? That is the timeline we need. In the prior 12 months, the remaining two little ones were still adoption worthy. Yet 6 months later, they were dumped.

I think he's trying to hitch a ride on the anti-DHS public sentiment that is tied to the Stanley case even though they are totally, totally unrelated. The way DHS worded their statement gives the impression they were not involved in facilitating the Harris adoption. I think what more likely happened is that DHS took the 8-year-old because her adoption was not finalized. But the adoption of the other two girls was finalized and not thru foster placement so it would be abandonment. Harris should know that fact as a legislator which is why he gave them away.

The Harris' had no intention of keeping any of the children, imo. There were part of a pipeline of "suppliers" and got caught because of Francis.

JMO

 

[Margo/Mom]

I wonder if the 3 sisters have any contact now?
I wonder if the family who adopted the oldest girl was given the chance to take the younger two?
Somehow I doubt both.



He is referring to him being vetted PREVIOUSLY.
The Pedophile had adopted children before and been approved to do so then.
He was not vetted specifically to take the children from Harris, only in the past.

Also--the earlier adoptions were international, so the vetting would not have been done by DHS. And depending on the country and agency may have been quite cursory.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

District Attorney David Prater said Tammy Bass-LeSure used her position as a district court judge to influence the state Department of Human Services and the juvenile court to “accomplish her goal of being awarded custodial placement and adoption approval for the children.”

She then handed the kids over to the sister of her courtroom bailiff, Ravonda Edwards.

“Even before the adoption was finalized, Tammy Bass-LeSure and her husband, Karlos, abandoned the children by giving them to Ravonda Edwards,” Prater said in a statement, adding that an investigation “established proof of criminal activity.”

https://nationalparentsorganization.org/recent-articles?id=21634

Sound familiar? As soon as I saw the title on this case, it reminded me of this particular District Judge and how she "rehomed" her adopted children. It appears to be the "loophole" some are finding in order to gain access to children and maybe the overall picture is a lot larger than we are seeing via arrests.

 

[believe09]

I think you are all on to something. It is also where my mind went the instant I read the initial story. There is a very strong FBI presence in Little Rock. My hope is that they are currently combing the web for images of all three girls. Certainly the six year old.

Francis admitted to abusing this little one as well as two under age girls he met through church, for those who were unaware that there were at least two other victims rolled into his sentence:

LINK HERE

 

[daisy7]

He also offered another explanation in an interview with Arkansas Online saying: 'When our adoption became final, we went to the court, the whole family, exchanged teddy bears and everything - and it was like a light bulb suddenly flipped on for the girls.

'They knew, suddenly knew, that this was their forever home, and they were no longer ever going back to Mom's house.

'There was anger and an instant behavior change.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-away-trusted-friend-raped-young-girl.html

Why did the girls become angry when they were adopted??

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

[daisy7]

30 min interview with JH after the presser

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/stor...lusive-interview/32531/YpzAaqO5skK3dsALVkR2Mg

 

[MsFacetious]

They got angry because they weren't going back to bio Mom.
It isn't an uncommon reaction but it's one that can be worked through. :twocents:

 

[Margo/Mom]

He also offered another explanation in an interview with Arkansas Online saying: 'When our adoption became final, we went to the court, the whole family, exchanged teddy bears and everything - and it was like a light bulb suddenly flipped on for the girls.

'They knew, suddenly knew, that this was their forever home, and they were no longer ever going back to Mom's house.

'There was anger and an instant behavior change.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-away-trusted-friend-raped-young-girl.html

Why did the girls become angry when they were adopted??

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

I think that perhaps the behavior is being misinterpreted. A kid who has experienced abuse in a "forever family" may panic when their status changes from foster to adoptive. There is also a grieving process that adoptive families may overlook. While the adoptive family is rejoicing at the completion of their family, the child is experiencing the loss of their bio family. Bonding is an incredibly powerful thing--and it encompasses both wonderful parents and hideous ones. And abuse--particularly sexual abuse--can be a very tangled web of emotions. Children are (typically) not simply thrown down and raped forcibly. They may well be seduced/groomed and experience a sense of being special or loved. Or they may be convinced that they are at fault, doomed, unlovable in any other circumstances. And the loss of the bio family may include others beyond the abuser.

But the experience of children dramatically changing behavior once adoption is finalized is not at all unusual, or at certain critical milestones. Some children who have never been in a home for more than a year may start withdrawing at the end of a year--in the expectation of being rejected again.

All of this adds up to a great need for multiple supports for children and families, particularly through foster care and adoption. This includes the legal support of requiring a role for cps and the judicial system any time a child (particularly an adopted child) changes custody. They may not always get it right--but at least they have a base of experience.

 

[kaen]

The whole re-homing concept is so offensive to me as an adoptive parent. There were no red flags during the 6 month trial? I do see re-homing as trafficking these children.

And, it points to another issue that many families face. When you have a (bio or adopted) child who is in need of psychiatric help, there are not enough services or supports available to families. So, if DHS could not help Harris and he was getting information from doctors that the children were a danger to self or others, why did he not have them hospitalized? If Harris found that his family could not meet the children's needs, why did he think he was qualified to find a healthier placement? As a country we have a massive gap in helping children who need psychiatric support.

Adoption of older kids can require lots of support mechanisms that might not be covered by insurance and are expensive. I am often concerned when people adopt and don't have the financial stability to take care of the issues. It has been one of the hardest things when I get requests to help fund adoptions. If a couple/person does not have the ability to weather the bumps, what happens when they hit these situations.

I hope they go after the Harris family with the full force of the law. No child (bio or adopted) should be able to given away or shuttled between people, especially if they have mental health issues.