Looking into "Rehoming" Process Among Allegations against State Lawmaker

Arkansas Matters
March 5, 2015

http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/looking-into-rehoming-process-among-allegations-ag/17169/k9hCwhQa0EiJsr6UM3PJNw

[with video]

(Arkansas Times Photo by Brian Chilson) Rep. Justin T. Harris, R-West Fork (Brian Chilson)

An Arkansas state lawmaker refused to answer questions Wednesday about allegations involving children he and his wife adopted.

The Arkansas Times reported Tuesday that two young children adopted from DHS by State Rep. Justin Harris ended up living with family friends where a six-year-old girl was raped.

Eric Francis was convicted last year and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

He was an employee at a preschool in Washington County owned by Harris.

According to the story, the child was one of two adopted by Harris and his wife. But after about a year living with them was sent to live with Francis' in a process called "rehoming."

"We definitely don't agree with rehoming," said DHS spokeswoman Amy Webb. "It's not a process or an option that we want people to take."

Harris was in the morning house session Wednesday and KARK tried to ask him about what happened.

We waited outside the house chamber, sent in a request card asking to speak with him and called the number listed on his state profile. He refused to come out for an interview.

Rehoming is an issue that arrived on DHS's radar for the first time two years ago after a national report outlined abuses. Since then, Arkansas has documented nine cases.

"Unfortunately there's no legal authority for us to have any oversight over that process to ensure that the family that they give them to is appropriate, has background checks and things of that nature," Webb said.

Harris has never been charged with a crime and DHS says unless rehoming rises to the level of abandonment it's legal.

DHS says it has joined a national study looking into federal legislation dealing with the rehoming issue.

Asked why, after two years, DHS hasn't made changes to stop rehoming, Webb said: "We want to make sure the legislation is appropriate and doesn't adversely affect people."

The governor office issued a statement today that reads:

"Governor Hutchinson recognizes the valid concerns over the issue of "rehoming" and will ask DHS to review this practice and to determine what changes in rules need to be considered."

At least one bill has already been filed to make rehoming to someone not related to the adoptive parent -- a felony.