They say Blucker exerted pressure on the Washington County DHS office on behalf of Justin Harris to facilitate the adoption. First, Young discovered her husband sexually assaulting Jeannette, the oldest of the three girls, and turned him in; he is now in prison. Although they still decline to share the full circumstances of their adoption, the parents said they felt compelled to respond to the statements Justin Harris has made this past week that portray the girls as dangerous and violent. Finding the truth behind political rhetoric, reviewing claims to see whats accurate and whats misleading. It is her opinion the Harrises called Cecile Blucker to expedite things.. Response: 'I don't care what the people of Arkansas think about me. 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]. It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Justin Harris. Due to the sensitivity of our daughters story, and out of respect for them, we are asking the public for privacy during this time., (Jeannette was eventually adopted by a therapeutic foster family and is said to be doing well. And the three little girls finally found their forever homes. An emotional Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork), his wife at his side, told reporters at a press conference last week that he sent his two adopted daughters to live with . This is what I'm dealin' with eight to 12 hours a day.". See Photos. She said that instead they used acontroversial book on therapeutic parenting to help deal with the adopted children. 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. 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. 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. Some adoption specialists do a hell of a job. Yetothers involved in the case say that the Harrises knew the girls had mental and emotional challenges due to past trauma butinsisted on adopting themanyway, the Arkansas Times reported. Harris, who was first elected in 2010, made his public statements after initially refusing to comment. View Justin Harris's business profile as Assistant Vice President & Regional Manager, Underwriting, Southeast Region at PURE Insurance. Now imagine that happening three different times. Though no one can say for sure, child advocates believe that rehoming is relatively rare in the United States. 100g carbs. He helps serious athletes who train hard by providing expert coaching built on results, from competitive bodybuilders and powerlifters to other athletes looking to crush their personal goals. He claims he put the girls in counseling but it did not help, and that is when he decided to rehome the two. Due to threats of possible abandonment charges, they were unable to reach out to DHS for help with children who presented a serious risk of harm to other children in their home,' the statement read. Harris publicly announced on social media that the adoption had been finalized on March 6, 2013. Not surprisingly, Harris chose to stay quiet about his role in placing the victim in the Francis home until a reporter from the Arkansas Times connected the dots. The Times reported that Cecile Blucker, the head of DHS' Division of Children and Family Services, "exerted pressure on the Washington County DHS office on behalf of Justin Harris to . Try eating tuna and bananas, says the Gut Health Guru DR MEGAN ROSSI. Justin Leroy Harris, 48. In summer 2012, a judge approved the triple adoption. While his resignation certainly would not change these atrocities, Justin Harris has proven that he is not fit to hold the responsibility of writing our laws, and we hope that Gov. Sign Up. Harris said the girls suffered from reactive attachment disorder, which led them to have social and emotional problems and become violent, according to the Times. By Chris Spargo and Kieran Corcoran For Dailymail.com, Published: 18:20 EST, 6 March 2015 | Updated: 09:39 EST, 7 March 2015. and Mrs. Harris have suffered a severe injustice', Christian school: Pictured is Growing God's Kingdom Preschool, in which Rep. Harris owns, employed Francis for three months, It was also reported in the story that the Harris family 'continued to accept adoption subsidy money even after giving the children away.'. When Justin Harris and his wife adopted 2 little girls from the foster system, they were making a commitment to protect them and provide the stability of a family. They just were in denial the whole time about how troubled these girls were. Young then became involved with a man who cooked and sold methamphetamine; a fire started by his meth lab provoked a police investigation that sent that man, too, to prison. 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. They have to learn skills most parents dont have such as how to talk a child down. Therapists need to become involved. Despite her reservations about the Harris adoption, Wallis thought things were going well with the Harrises and the two young sisters. DHS has a long history of avoiding, lying, or otherwise hiding kids behaviors in attempts to place children quickly. To allow a child with RAD to emotionally attach to her new caregivers requires a focus on positive reinforcement; any punishment must be kept gentle, Jensen said. The foster kids are cominginto the foster system because they have been abused or neglected. In reality, when they are doing it in these illegal ways, whatit is is child abandonment and neglect, Lestino said. We are deeply grieved over Justin Harris accusations toward our daughters in order to self-protect;it is inexcusable. We're at our wits' end. As she points out, these families are not vetted in the same way an agency would vet other potential parents. He also mentioned Cecile Bluckers name, but this time not in a congenial context. Over the years, Craig and Cheryl Hart have opened their home to close to 70 foster children. Primary Menu. 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. She called Justin and Marsha Harris to take her daughters. Cheryl Hart recalls asking the Harrises, "Why would you subject your sons to a sexual predator?". Rep. Justin Harris adopted two girls in 2013 but gave them away to a colleague, Eric Francis, after six months, who then raped one of the girls Francis was convicted of sex crimes in 2014 and. He then said he and his wife became overwhelmed in caring for them, so he arranged for them to live with Eric Cameron Francis and his wife, Stacey Francis, after the state didnt agree with his request to take them back. Representative Justin Harris, pictured last month, gave his two adopted daughters to a friend after they threatened his family with violence, he said. This story of Arkansas state legislator Justin Harris' adoption debacle has been a classic, slow-moving trainwreck, as the Arkansas press discovers disturbing new details on a near-daily basis. The adoption involves three little girls, who ranged in age from 9 months to 4 years old when it started. You can have a degree in child development, but thats not a degree in child development run amok, gone wild.. Cheryl Hart also vividly remembers the roundtable meeting described by Harris, which she said occurred on Valentines Day 2012. 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. Justin R Harris View Details Baton Rouge Presumed owner of the real estate located at 9476 Syble Dr, Baton Rouge Associated persons: Samuel L Harris, Cheryl Johnson, Cheryl Johnson-scott, Cheryl Johnsonscott, Florita W Lee (225) 201-9252 View Details Justin Harris View Details Balt 2133 E Chase St, Balt 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. Francis is currently serving a 40-year sentence behind bars. This is not the norm in adoption; most families do well, saidMegan Lestinoof theNational Council for Adoption. Meanwhile, Sarah Young, the biological mother, had made a plan of her own. I asked them point blank, Why would you put your sons through that? Because [Jeannette] at the time was aggressive thats how she learned to get things in her life. We started through our church. (Video: KARK 4 News). This article was published more than7 years ago. After Jeannette entered DHS supervision in early 2011, she bounced around between foster care and inpatient psychiatric treatment before landing in a therapeutic foster home in May 2011. Working in association with. Justin Harris. 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. Years ago, no states had explicitprohibitions against rehoming. This is God's plan. We took all of the kids we had to church and Sunday school. Yet their lives quickly began to unravel. We were threatened with possible abandonment charges and potentially losing our own boys as well if we returned the girls to DHS custody. That was their number one issue.". Casting out demons: why Justin Harris got rid of kids he applied Gaudin makes good: Mini Maker Faire coming to NLR, Morning minutia: Legislation to protect bank from lawful taxes, When Love Is Not Enough, a Parents Guide to Reactive Attachment Disorder, a lengthy interview to a KARK-TV, Channel 4, reporter. Justin Harris, a Republican who sits in the state's House of Representatives, legally adopted the two girls in March 2013 - but handed them over after just six months to a man who would go on to rape the eldest. The Harrises sent Mary and Annie to live with the Francises in October 2013, just a year after they had taken them into custody. Following the publication of the story, he and his wife, who have three biological sons, released a statement through their lawyer. 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Holmes goes ring shopping! Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. . The former DHS employee confirmed this information as well. The older one was very protective of the younger one.. Goldsborough said Mary and Annie were moved to the Francis home in Bella Vista months after she moved away for college. We care deeply for the girls but we were failed by DHS, Harris said at his press conference. Asa Hutchinson has ordered a review of the agencys practices regarding adoption. He presented himself and his family . 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. And here was a stable family with a successful business, the father a state representative, seeking new children. Justin Harris told 20/20, "We are Southern Baptist. The legislator adopted three girls and turned them over to a man who abused one of them. The problem was simple hubris. That is why, in 2011, Young approached the Harrises and asked them to adopt her daughters, then in foster care. While caring for the two girls, Eric Francis wasemployed briefly at Growing Gods Kingdom, the Christian day-care owned by Harris. The sisters were supposed to be moving out of neglect and chaos and into the stability of their forever home. Justin Harris is our managing director and the owner of Harris Residential. 'Rep. He said DHS threat to charge him with abandonment could have cost him custody of his three biological sons (and, though he did not say so, could have cost him his business as well, Growing Gods Kingdom preschool). RM 2E6B9B6 - Justin Harris (R) is escorted into the Cobb county Magistrate court house in Marietta, Georgia July 3, 2014. 'There was anger and an instant behavior change.'. In November 2016, Justin Ross Harris was found guilty on all counts in his son's murder. Harris put a 6-year-old girl he adopted in the care of a man who later sexually abused her. Harris, who has three biological sons, said the eldest girl, who was eight, said she would 'kill everyone in the family'. In the last week alone, lawmakers have filed two bills seeking to outlaw the practice, according to KTHV. The girls' new adopted mother, who asked not to be named, told 20/20, "I want people to know who they really are, 'cause who they really are is fun and sweet and sensitive and strong. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. See Photos. Basically, they havent had their emotional needs met, or theyve been taken away, Jensen said. (Other sources claim Young waited for days to turn the husband over to the police.) If Harris account of the girls as violent and threatening holds little water, however, the other half of his narrative presents a more immediately sympathetic defense: DHS is not a friend to parents in need. They married four months later. He said they suffered from reactive attachment disorder, a condition sometimes occurring among children with unstable backgrounds that results in severe emotional and social problems. Arkansas State Rep. Justin Harris and his wife, Marsha, had always been eager to expand their family of three young sons. They were like any other kid I watched.. *This story has been updated since it was originally published. Affani. Justin Harris adopted girls in 2013 - then gave them away after six months Handed them over to Eric Francis, who went on the rape the six-year-old Francis was convicted of sex crimes in 2014. They had even put an addition onto their house in anticipation of one day adopting. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? For this reason, parents that may be abusive or predatory can still manage to get custody of children through re-homing. According to the Arkansas Times, the girls were adopted through the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Jan Wallis is an adoption specialist at the Arkansas Department of Health Services (DHS). We kept a loving Christian home for them to be a part of it. 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. Please enter a search term. This is hypocrisy at its highest level. 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. They are a beautiful example to us of Gods amazing grace and the power of love to heal the broken heart. Arkansas House Speaker Jeremy Gillam meanwhile said that Rep. Harris will face no repercussions for rehoming the two young girls. The whole way through, we thought everything was perfect. The friend went on to sexually assault one. He said one of the girls the implication was the middle sister had to be medicated to stop hurting her sister, and that he was advised by therapists to treat her RAD by removing toys and other belongings from her room. We love them deeply and are committed to do everything we can to help them live healthy, happy lives. Its really upsetting.. 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