Without significant support and education, parents grow to dread and then hate their child. Rancher, 73, is charged with murder on his Arizona land after shooting dead Mexican, 48, who had history of illegal crossings into US and multiple deportations: Judge refuses to reduce $1M bail despite plea his wife is alone, Getting his Minnie's worth! Everyone testifying before the judge had stipulations, like To be followed up, To continue their therapy at Childrens House, but nobody would say, We really dont think this is a good idea. The Harts believe Bluckers influence made the adoption happen. Such descriptions could serve as a beacon for predators. The Arkansas Supreme Court today dismissed a lawsuit against the state brought by Justin Harris, the former Republican state representative from West Fork best known for a tragically botched. Justin Harris and his wife have three biological sons and were adopting for the first time with the two girls. Cheryl Hart also remembers Justin Harris often mentioning the name of DCFS director Blucker, the person ultimately in charge of adoption and foster care for the state of Arkansas. Theres probably no greater trauma than thinking you have found a forever family and finding thats not the case, saidSandy Santana, interim executive directorof Childrens Rights, an advocacy organization based in New York. Months later, the Francises transferred the girls to yet another family. Basically, they havent had their emotional needs met, or theyve been taken away, Jensen said. The legislator adopted three girls and turned them over to a man who abused one of them. We could reason with her and talk to her. She mistrusted DHS and disliked the foster system. In some ways I did break the rules and give [Mary] attention. Shed get overexcited or scared, and wed come back out and shed calm down with me. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Justin Harris and could vary in the range between $556.5K - $1.6M. Menu Log In Sign Up They thrived in our home, Cheryl Hart said. On. 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.". . Former Arkansas State Rep. Justin Harris and his wife, Marsha, had always been eager to expand their family of three young sons. Arkansas state legislator Rep. Justin Harris gave his adopted daughters away because he and his wife thought they were possessed by demons, according to a report in the Arkansas Times. 25g Karbolyn (may keep this on high days) Meal 5: 6oz meat. And there were no tears. 3. She was often confined for hours to her room, where she was monitored by a video camera. Representative Justin Harris and his wife Marsha adopted the girl, six, and her sister, three, through the Arkansas Department of Human Services in March 2013. Count 4: Cruelty to Children in . 'It was later reported to the Department of Human Services that Mr. and Mrs. Harris had left the children with another family and had basically abandoned them. Date: 2014-04-04 Placement type: Adoption Type of abuse: Sexual abuse They had even put an addition onto their house in anticipation of one day adopting. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Sign Up. It was hard. 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. 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. 'As a parent and grandparent, like many Arkansans, I am shocked to learn of Rep. Justin Harris's egregious action of placing two girls he adopted through DHS directly into harms way by sending them to stay with another family without approval from the adoption agency. 'Rep. They followed the techniques in a book called 'When Love Is Not Enough: A Parent's Guide to Reactive Attachment Disorder,' by Nancy Thomas, who is a recognized expert on therapeutic parenting techniques, said Jennifer Wells, the couples attorney. State Rep. Justin Harris, who gave his adopted daughters to a man who later admitted to sexually assaulting one of the girls won't seek re-election. Shortly after the oldest girl arrived, the Harrises said she began to display disturbing behaviors. I care what my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me. I know that the Harrises talk a lot about Christianity, but were Christians. And in court, Cheryl Hart recalled, something strange happened: Everyone on the DHS team that had previously opposed the adoption changed their recommendations. Think this reporting is important? Though no one can say for sure, child advocates believe that rehoming is relatively rare in the United States. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. LIVE. Instead, they wanted us to do it through the system. Even once the couple began the lengthy process of adopting through DHS, though, he said the agency fought us the whole way. While caring for the two girls, Eric Francis wasemployed briefly at Growing Gods Kingdom, the Christian day-care owned by Harris. "There was a group coming in from Alabama that was supposed to pray over the children and get the demons out as an exorcism," according to Goldsborough. The comments below have been moderated in advance. Justin Harris. Given the abuse the kids had endured while entrusted to her care, Young believed that it was unlikely a judge would return her children. We got the little one first; Im pretty sure it was the first weekend of March 2011, Cheryl Hart said. Greg Leding has filed legislation which would make this practice of rehoming adopted children a felony, and we urge the legislature to pass this legislation in order to protect our most vulnerable citizens - our children in foster care.'. It is her opinion the Harrises called Cecile Blucker to expedite things.. Find Justin Harris's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. Harris, however, has been engulfed in scandal this week - as it only just emerged that he had legally adopted the girls - a fact he neglected to mention when publicly commenting on the rape when it first came to light. Rep. Harris also said in that interview with Arkansas Onlinethat Francis and his wife had three adopted children that they obtained internationally, and that he trusted them as they had passed those background checks. 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. That family could not be reached by the Times. Posts about Justin Harris written by HA Editorial Team. They had adopted three international children of their own -- one whom had RAD -- and Eric Francis was also an early childhood educator. And here was a stable family with a successful business, the father a state representative, seeking new children. In weak moments a parent might feel like the child is less than, not deserving of compassion and basic dignities (albeit these thoughts happen mostly after much physical aggression, sexually acting out towards parents and kids, homicidal thoughts or statements, hours-long tantrums, etc.). The story first . The Harts said that a local team working on the adoption including themselves, DHS caseworkers, adoption specialists, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and therapists from Ozark Guidance, a mental health provider made the Harrises fully aware of the girls history of neglect and sexual abuse and cautioned them that they were unprepared to handle children from such a background, especially considering their home included young boys. In most conversations with us, [Harris] would mention Ceciles name. *This story has been updated since it was originally published. We believe that if Arkansas families were aware of this; they would be as appalled as well. Luke Solomon. They argued they were more than capable of raising these young girls. 'Upon the advice of both a psychiatrist and a pediatrician, they were forced to move the children to the home of trusted friends, who had a lot of experience with children with reactive attachment disorder. In March 2011 the Harts received a phone call from the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) asking if they would take in a 9-month-old baby girl. Cheryl and Craig Hart were opposed to the Harris adoption from the beginning. He presented himself and his family . This is what I'm dealin' with eight to 12 hours a day.". We took all of the kids we had to church and Sunday school. Goldsborough, who is now a college student in Bentonville, said she would stay at the Harris house for three to four hours after school many days during the spring semester of her senior year of high school. Francis also had no criminal history, Rep. Harris claimed in that interview. But even that can be treated.. Kyra Guthrie, a Fayetteville resident and friend of the Harts, sometimes provided respite care for the foster family. Eric Francis is serving 40 years in prison on charges of raping the child the Harrises rehomed and sexually assaulting other children. Id watch her from a camera. We've done everything.". and Mrs. Harris placed the girls into the care of Eric Francis and his wife Stacy [sic] Francis in October 2013. Many of the online posts say the unwanted children have physical or mental disabilities. In the KARK interview, Justin Harris noted that he and his future wife met at Childrens House. Eric Francis was later convicted of sexually abusing the 6-year-old and other girls and was given a 40-year prison sentence. Justin and Marsha Harris both hold degrees in child development and run a Christian day care center called, Growing God's Kingdom. Demons told her to not appreciate [her toys] and all that, so they took away all the toys and her colored clothes., Although she was disturbed by what she saw in the household to the extent that she reported it to DHS*, Goldsborough said she felt compelled to continue babysitting for the sake of the girls. But by January 2014,Francis had been fired for poor work attendance, the Arkansas Times said. Copyright IBTimes 2023. He also mentioned Cecile Bluckers name, but this time not in a congenial context. — -- An adoption controversy in Fayetteville, Ark., has ignited a debate over the controversial practice of "re-homing" and caring for adopted children that have been abused. 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. An extensiveReuters and NBC News reportin 2013laid out the series of events that often plays out online, where parents use message boards and Facebook groups to find new families for their unwanted adopted children: Faced with the allegations before they were published by the Arkansas Times, Harris first became defensive. They have also lived in Cedar Hill, MO and High Ridge, MO. Log In. We are truly amazed at our daughters ability to love and bond with us, given all they have experienced. The Arkansas Times piece, written by Benjamin Hardy, also points out that in that state there is no law that prohibits parents from leaving their child in another individual's care. When it was just me and her one night, I took her on a walk down the street to hang out and took her to the playground., When asked whether either of the girls displayed any signs of violence, Goldsborough said, Yeah theyd throw a fit sometimes if I made them eat their broccoli. , 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. Later, at an emotional press conference, Harris placed the blame squarely on the state health services department, which, he said, refused to help when he and his wife struggled with the girls they had adopted. The lawmaker also said DHS misled him about severe behavioral issues with the girls. Eric Francis, the head teacher at a Christian school Harris ran, was allowed to look after the two girls, and had custody of them for more than a year before he was arrested for sexual assault. He then added: 'You don't know what we've been through this past year. 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. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Theyve already experienced trauma; theyve experienced separation from their birthparents.. and Mrs. Harris have suffered a severe injustice. See above to learn how much money does Justin Harris makes a year. She lashed out at her brothers, threatened to kill people with knives and even crushed the family guinea pig to death. 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. Our monthly magazine is free at over 500 locations in Central Arkansas. They were adopted, so theyre going to want TLC.. On Tuesday, shortly before this story went to print, Harris sharpened his accusations, telling KTHV-TV, Channel 11, that Blucker the states top official for child welfare knew he gave the girls to another family and did not report it. Organizations, counselors, therapists, caseworker after caseworker told them, you dont know what youre getting into. They are our daughters. And nothing is gettin' better." The idea that someone could use the foster care system to treat their adopted children like basketballs, tossing them from family to family is horrible. ABC News "20/20" has declined to name the biological mother and the three girls out of respect for their privacy. We [started fostering] because of our Christianity. But we also know this for sure: There is nothing more traumatic for a child than losing their birth parents. 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