In fact, a past DHS employee at the time came to us and confirmed that the plan at DHS was to seek abandonment charges if we returned the girls.". The two foster families themselves strongly objected to the Harris adoption, whether done privately or through the system. But we need your help to do even more. 3. Try eating tuna and bananas, says the Gut Health Guru DR MEGAN ROSSI. The Harts kept the two younger sisters until October 2012, and their descriptions of the girls behavior throughout those 18 months stands in stark contrast to the harrowing picture painted by Justin Harris. Harris publicly announced on social media that the adoption had been finalized on March 6, 2013. Harris said he was only interested in taking the two youngest girls, but was pressured by DHS into taking all three. Hutchinson and Speaker Gillam will agree that Harris's resignation is necessary. He saw it as, Im with God. We started through our church. Though no one can say for sure, child advocates believe that rehoming is relatively rare in the United States. On March 24, three weeks after the news first broke that state Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork) and his wife, Marsha, gave their two adopted daughters in 2013 to a family where one of them was later sexually assaulted, Rep. Harris returned to Twitter. When I was a child, I was abandoned, then adopted, and then my adopted mom threw me back in the foster system because she didnt want me. Harris face was getting all red, Cheryl Hart added. We just always kept that in our mind, Harris said. So, sure, higher-ups will get into discussions about what is best and what is not., However, a source familiar with the workings of state-level DHS informed the Times that Blucker supposedly remarked in 2012 that Harris threatened to hold up the budget for the division if he didnt get to adopt those girls.. He did not specify what kind of pet it was, nor whether the three-year-old or the six-year-old was responsible. Since 2009 . The girls had regular counseling at Childrens House in Springdale, a center specializing in mental health treatment for young victims of abuse. Attachment to a mother or father figure is a deep, biological need and necessary for normal social development, Jensen said. For one of those girls, however, Arkansas Rep. Justin Harriss house came to represent something very different: a temporary stopping point on the way to some place much, much worse. The middle girl came maybe two months later she had a potential adoptive family that for some reason changed their minds very suddenly and said she had to be out right away, so we took her, too.. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. In summer 2012, a judge approved the triple adoption. CC image courtesy of Flickr, Ivailo Djilianov.. HA note: The following is reprinted with permission from Libby Anne's blog Love Joy Feminism.It was originally published on Patheos on March 17, 2015. She came to live with Eric Cameron Francis, a former employee of Rep. Justin Harris. The oldest daughter would be placed for a six-month trial period in the Harris home in June and the other sisters would be transitioned into the home in September in another six-month trial period. While some individuals from West Fork had nothing but harsh words for the Harrises, both Chelsey Goldsborough and the source close to the Harrises said they took no joy in speaking out against the couple. Donna Ames On March 5, Benjamin Hardy of the Arkansas Times published an explosive investigation about how State Representative Justin Harris . Sometimes the girl acted out violently. They were adopted, so theyre going to want TLC.. At the hearing, the ad litem attorney you know, the one who is representing only the interests of the children said, When we met less than a couple of days ago, everyones recommendation was for these kids to not go to this home. Among them: two foster families who cared for the girls prior to the Harris adoption, the girls biological mother, a former DHS employee familiar with the proceedings and a former babysitter at the Harrises West Fork home. Rep. Harris confirmed this in his press conference, saying he and his wife had been cleared of all charges. She mistrusted DHS and disliked the foster system. She was the toughest kid I ever had, but when she finally came through and I realized I could take her to our homeschool co-op, she was just like a normal kid. 'Rep. Cyber Monday: Save big on the Creative Cloud All Apps plan for individuals through 2 Dec. And only a few months following that dinner, Wallis said her shock turned to horror when she learned the Harrises had re-homed the two young girls to the Francis family. Harris later suggested in the KARK interview that the agency was threatening him because of his political beliefs. The legislator adopted three girls and turned them over to a man who abused one of them. "When the adoption/rehoming scandal broke, Harris held a press conference as reported by the Arkansas Times. Its just I dont know. They said the whole time in court they wanted all three, and thats why they were chosen [to adopt] They fell on their knees when they were told they could take her., As for the transfer itself, Craig Hart said, It was not the process normally followed when we had kids go into an adoption situation the court said there should be a transitioning period between us and them, and we saw them only once after they moved in [with the Harrises]. She said she was originally introduced to the Harrises by a former friend. In reality, when they are doing it in these illegal ways, whatit is is child abandonment and neglect, Lestino said. They were looking for a new house because Marsha had gotten sick. Doctors found that Marsha Harris had a possible cancerous mass sometime in 2013; Goldsborough believes thats why the Harrises eventually sent the girls away. Copyright IBTimes 2023. In November 2016, Justin Ross Harris was found guilty on all counts in his son's murder. We had decided to add on to our house in order to expand the family, and we couldnt have any more children, so at that point we had decided we were going to adopt. They repeatedly told us they had degrees in early childhood development, they had therapists there at their preschool, and they had God to help them through this. Justin Leroy Harris, 48. He began working at the Times in 2014. The former DHS employee confirmed this account. In fact, because of the repeated sexual abuse she had suffered at such a young age, she had begun to exhibit predatory behaviors. What she recalls is that Justin and Marsha Harris did not heed the warnings of person after person familiar with the sisters special needs, who uniformly counseled against placing troubled girls in a home with young boys and busy parents. I turned them over to these people, Young said. DHS cant comment on specific cases, but when theTimespreviouslyasked DHS spokesperson Amy Webb whether senior agency officials at the state level ever override the recommendations of a local adoption team, she said, Im sure thats possible thats happened. The mother in that household, who asked that her name not be used in this story, still refers to the girl as my daughter and describes her as simultaneously one of the most disturbing casualties of sexual abuse shes ever encountered and a remarkable, resilient child who she grew to love as deeply as her own biological son. Still, Justin Harris announced he would not run for reelection. Justin is related to Janon L White . After one of the two younger girls crushed a family pet to death, Harris said, he and his wife were advised by a therapist, a psychiatrist and a pediatrician to remove the children from the Harris home. The foster kids are cominginto the foster system because they have been abused or neglected. Find your friends on Facebook. Rep. Justin Harris blames DHS for the fallout related to his adoption of three young girls, but sources familiar with the situation contradict his story and paint a troubling picture of the adoption process and the girls' time in the Harris household. Count 2: Felony Murder. Friday afternoon, Rep. Justin Harris and his wife Marsha held a press conference at the state Capitol to address the revelations in this week's Arkansas Times cover story about their failed adoption, which ended in the "rehoming" of two girls in a household where one of them was sexually abused.As Max Brantley wrote yesterday, it was an emotional statement. Meal 6: sushi or Thai (pad thai ususally) Additional work: 12-20 min of stepmill following every workout but legs. Id take her to parks and she wouldnt run off or act all crazy or beat other children to death she was just another kid.. I figured this was my winning battle. Justin and Marsha Harris bought into this concept, and adopted because they wanted a family of five. The lawmaker did not reveal at the time the child Francis raped was Harris own. She said that instead they used acontroversial book on therapeutic parenting to help deal with the adopted children. They think their family is different. Before he made that decision, Harris voted in support of a new Arkansas law, which went into effect in April, making "re-homing" of adopted children a felony. Goldsborough said the exorcism was performed by specialists from Alabama who came to the house to orchestrate the event. Francis is currently serving a 40-year sentence behind bars. For about half of that time, from the end of 2012 to summer 2013, Goldsborough would babysit the Harris boys, Annie and, in an unconventional sense, Mary. Kyra Guthrie, a Fayetteville resident and friend of the Harts, sometimes provided respite care for the foster family. We're at our wits' end. Justin Harris and his wife have three biological sons and were adopting for the first time with the two girls. Justin and Marsha Harris both hold degrees in child development and run a Christian day care center called, Growing God's Kingdom. We are truly amazed at our daughters ability to love and bond with us, given all they have experienced. He also offered another explanation in an interview with Arkansas Onlinesaying: '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. Justin Harris told 20/20 that "We're not sleepin'. Strong Sales, Networking, and Client Development skills with a Bachelor of Business Administration - BBA focused in Business Administration and Management, General from Lees-McRae College. We had a dog, a little Bichon, that they were around all the time and there was never once any issue with her abusing an animal. Goldsborough said Mary and Annie were moved to the Francis home in Bella Vista months after she moved away for college. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. See Photos. The adoption involves three little girls, who ranged in age from 9 months to 4 years old when it started. 'I don't care if I lose my position. The couple, whom the Harrises had known since Marsha and Stacey had been classmates, and the couple seemed like the perfect fit. Those depictions, Ostrov says, would be a tremendous lure.. It is her opinion the Harrises called Cecile Blucker to expedite things.. See Photos. ), Craig Hart also raised the issue of faith when addressing Justin Harris comments about the girls. The rehoming of Mary and Annie officially came to the attention of DHS on March 28, 2014, thanks to an anonymous call to the child abuse hotline operated by State Police. They kept up with the kids, he said, referring to the rehoming. Moving from home to home compounds the trauma and the loss, and the grief, Santana said. Count 3: Felony Murder. Follow. 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. He was told by many people in DHS, These are not the kids you want to just jump into. Thats why Im angry. This is hypocrisy at its highest level. Harris spoke for the first time of a third, older sister that he said DHS made him adopt before he could take the younger sisters into his home. The ex-wife of a Georgia dad on . Working in association with. Lived In Chanute KS, Humboldt IA, Independence KS. Id be pretty pissed off, too.. But I knew they had talked about it, they were going to rehome them, she said. She stated that Francis had raped her genital area to help her go to sleep, a claim he did not deny. Primary Menu. See above to learn how much money does Justin Harris makes a year. Theyve already experienced trauma; theyve experienced separation from their birthparents.. They married four months later. The former DHS employee confirmed this information as well. 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. They get desperate. Our whole staff does and understands that it just isnt always going to work out. Without significant support and education, parents grow to dread and then hate their child. Accordingthe Arkansas Times,people who knew the family, including a former babysitter, say that the Harrises kept the 4-year-old locked in a room and monitored her with cameras because they believed she was possessed by demons. So, they decided to place the child for adoption. The girls were at one point placed in the care of methamphetamine users,according to the Times. , Especially at risk are children described as troubled and lacking a consistent parental figure, says Eric Ostrov, a Chicago-based forensic psychologist who evaluates sex offenders. 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