Hutchinson calls for probe of child welfare

Measures advance to outlaw ‘re-homing’

“I’ve been concerned from day one that we’re doing the right thing for the children of Arkansas through our Department of Human Services,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson (left) said Tuesday.
“I’ve been concerned from day one that we’re doing the right thing for the children of Arkansas through our Department of Human Services,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson (left) said Tuesday.

The same day lawmakers pushed forward legislation aimed at criminalizing the act of "re-homing" adopted children, the state's governor announced he wants to examine child-welfare services at the state Department of Human Services.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rep. David Meeks presents his bill Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee to outlaw “rehoming” of adopted children. The bill, which gained unanimous approval, also redefines child abandonment to give parents in a failed adoption options with the state.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rep. Justin Harris (left) introduces a bill Tuesday in the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee. At right is Jerry Cox, president of the Family Council. Gov. Asa Hutchinson declined to weigh in Tuesday on what he thought of Harris’ future in the Legislature but ordered a review of state child-welfare services.

Met at a news conference by questions about Rep. Justin Harris, the Republican who re-homed two daughters to a sexual predator in 2013, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that he would appoint members of an independent review to evaluate the policies and practices of DHS, the agency that oversees state adoptions.

"I've been concerned from day one that we're doing the right thing for the children of Arkansas through our Department of Human Services," Hutchinson said. "It's a policy issue. It's the right strategy to make sure our practices are in place to do all we can to protect the children."

The announcement comes two weeks after the word "re-homing" became a part of the legislative vernacular with the publication of an Arkansas Times story that detailed Harris' attempts to adopt, and then return, two girls to DHS.

Harris has said he gave the children to Eric Cameron Francis -- a man now serving 40 years for sexual assault-- only after DHS refused to take them.

The legislator, who owns a state-subsidized preschool called Growing God's Kingdom, said the two girls -- ages 3 and 5 at the time -- had been scarred by past abuse and were too difficult to raise.

The West Fork lawmaker has been sharply critical of DHS. According to Harris, the agency fought to prevent him from adopting the girls and then threatened him with abandonment charges when he decided to give up custody.

Francis, a former Growing God's Kingdom employee with a wife and three adopted children, raped the 5-year-old girl, according to investigators. The abuse was discovered after Harris transferred his girls to a another home.

On Monday, Harris stepped down from his role as co-chairman of the House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee, which handles many of the laws regarding DHS, and from his position on the Joint Performance Review committee, which oversees state agencies such as DHS.

Harris' story has drawn calls for his resignation. On Tuesday, the governor declined to weigh in on what he thought of Harris' future with the Legislature.

"I'm addressing [the issue] from the standpoint of what I need to do as governor," Hutchinson said. "I'll leave the legislative questions to the leadership of the Legislature."

On Tuesday, the governor said the review was about more than just re-homing and that the probe could be broad in scope.

"I think it is timely under the current debate but it would be timely under any circumstances," Hutchinson said. "I think it will help us put a focus on what initially needs to be done [at DHS], any changes that need to be done, how well we're performing, and also, you might have the right policies in place but are all of those policies being implemented in the field effectively?"

Staff members in Hutchinson's office and some legislators have already requested information from the Department of Human Services regarding Harris' re-homing of the girls.

Hutchinson and the legislators can get information that isn't disclosed to the public, said Amy Webb, a DHS spokesman.

That includes 30 e-mails between DHS officials and Harris that have been classified as exempt under the state's Freedom of Information Act.

"We can disclose to them everything except for an actual adoption," said Webb. "Those records are sealed by the court."

Webb cited six state statutes, most of which contain the sentence: "Information on a pending investigation, including protected health information, shall be released upon request to ... individual United States and Arkansas senators and representatives and their authorized staff members but only if they agree not to permit any redisclosure of the information."

One of those statutes is Arkansas Code Annotated 12-18-909(13)(A), "Availability of true reports of child maltreatment from the central registry."

The governor and his staff also have access to the documents. "Ultimately he is our boss so we have disclosed information to them," Webb said.

News of the independent investigation came on the same day that the House Judiciary Committee backed legislation outlawing re-homing.

Hours before Hutchinson's announcement, it supported House Bill 1676, sponsored by Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway. It would make actions like Harris' a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Meeks' bill also redefines child abandonment in a way that will encourage parents in a failed adoption to bring the child back to the state.

"We don't want them to be charged with abandonment if they're trying to do the right thing and get the right support they need," Meeks said. "We want to make folks know there are resources available."

The bill passed without any opposition.

A companion piece of legislation filed by Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, also faced no opposition, getting approval Tuesday afternoon in about two minutes.

House Bill 1648 requires DHS to set post-adoptive rules in place so that it will be clear what options are available to parents who are struggling with their adopted child.

It also targets state subsidies to adoptive parents, making it illegal to collect state money if the child has been given to another.

"Part of the issue with the subsidies, too, is that if the children have been in the care of the parents for more than a year ... they have to sign an affidavit saying they still have the children," Leding said. "There is a mechanism to ensure the children are still with the family."

Leding said the bills being pushed by Meeks and himself have bipartisan support, and judging by how quickly they went through committee, would have good success as they move to the House.

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