Today’s guest blogger is Holly Gilbert.
In 2013 Reuters did an investigation into a phenomenon known as “Re-homing” and published it in an article titled The Child Exchange. Many of the children involved in this re-homing were children who were “hard to place” children in the foster care system, were more likely to have higher needs, and had backgrounds with trauma. Once the adoptive parents decided they could not deal with the child any longer, they would go online through Yahoo or Facebook groups to seek new homes for the children, and then pass them on to other families without any social work, county, or government involvement, by using a simple guardianship document. Due to the lack of involvement of professionals, children were often being passed on to homes where they suffered severe abuse by their new parents. Many parents who were giving away their children felt as though they were at their last straw with their child and the people who were seeking children claimed to be desperately wanting to be parents.
The article focused on one couple, Nicole and Calvin Eason, who received several children through re-homing. They faked a home study report that they would provide to parents when they were interested in their children; when in fact, Nicole Eason had had her own biological children removed from her care. The parents would then drop their child off with the Easons with the promise that they would hear from the children again. Soon after, the original adoptive parents were unable to get into contact with the Easons and their children. Many of the children dropped off with the Easons claim not only physical abuse, but sexual abuse as well, stating they were forced to sleep in the Easons’ bed without clothes on during the early part of their stays. Eventually a moderator of one of the online groups that the Easons were a part of realized something was not right with them, and went to collect the child she had dropped off, as well as another child living in the home with Nicole and Calvin. What is perhaps most shocking is that there are so many loops within the system, that there is no criminal prosecution being sought for the rehoming of these children. Luckily the children in the Eason’s care survived the ordeal. Reuters published a follow up article in May of 2015 on Nicole and Calvin Eason: they have both been charged with kidnapping and transporting minors across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity. The Reuters article drew FBI attention to the matter of rehoming, and they stepped in to formally charge the couple for their wrong doing. Since that time, five states have adopted laws that prevent or prohibit rehoming.
The two articles hold both strengths and weaknesses. First, the articles point to an issue most Americans know nothing about. I knew about rehoming from a previous CNN article, however, I shared this information with my family, and they had no idea this existed. This phenomenon is important for social workers and nonsocial workers alike to be aware of, so I am glad the article drew attention to it. Secondly, I thought the article showed how horrible rehoming can be by having several different personal stories of those who lived through it. It’s easy to say something is really horrible for a person, but when you hear actual stories of survivors it gives it a lot more meaning. A big weakness of the articles are that they do not discuss a reason behind why there are no federal laws protecting children from rehoming. This sounds like a major issue that can cause extreme trauma to an already traumatized child, yet there are no laws protecting children from this (five states have it, but that is a small number in a county with fifty states), and as a reader I wanted to know more about why there were no such laws in place. A second big weakness of the articles are that they only focus on one main couple, who rehomed six children. If one couple did this with six children, how many other couples out there did this with other children that we don’t know about? The articles make rehoming sound like a big phenomenon, but they don’t give specifics as to numbers for the scope of the problem.
The articles promote a myth for adoption and only show the negative aspects of it. They show the worst of the worst that can happen when an adoptive situation isn’t ideal or might have to be disrupted. However, in my personal and professional experience, this is not the norm. It is important society be aware that something this horrible and traumatizing is happening to children right under our noses, however, the articles could have mentioned that adoption can also be very successful and the adoptee and their adoptive parents can have solid relationships. Overall, the articles do a great job sharing personal stories of those who have survived rehoming, and it is my hope that laws will be put in place to protect children from having to go through this in all fifty states.
Works Cited:
Twohey, M. (2013, September 09). The Child Exchange. Reuters. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/investigates/adoption/#article/part1
Twohey, M. (2015, May 08). Re-Homing Couple Exposed by Reuters is Indicted on Kidnap Charges. Reuters. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-kidnapping-adoption-idUSKBN0NT2GK20150508