“We don’t know the final fate of Harmony Montgomery and, unfortunately, we may never know,” Maria Mosaides, director of OCA, told a news conference on Wednesday. “But we know that this beautiful little child has experienced many tragedies in his short life.
Her father, Adam Montgomery, was arrested earlier this year in connection with Harmony’s disappearance. He was charged with a second-degree crime, two counts of endangering a child’s welfare and one count of interfering with detention. He is currently in jail, according to the report.
CNN left messages to the office of the New Hampshire Public Defender, who represents Montgomery, but no one there answered the calls.
The Manchester Police Department in New Hampshire continues to investigate the disappearance of the child.
The report, Mosaides said, highlighted the ripple effects of government officials ‘miscalculations on the young girl’s safety and the “unequal burden” placed on her parents’ rights to the child’s well-being.
“By not putting her and her needs first, our system has ultimately failed her,” Mosaides said. “We owe it to her to make the necessary changes to allow our system to work better in the future.”
The Office of the Ombudsman has oversight and ombudsman responsibilities to ensure that children in Massachusetts “receive appropriate, timely and quality public services”, with a special focus on the vulnerable and children at risk.
What the report found
Harmony, born in June 2014, was blind in one eye and had other medical problems, according to the report.
This summer, the Office of Children and Families (DCF) received reports of neglect while the baby was living with his mother, Crystal Sori, who was battling substance abuse, according to the report. The father was in prison at the time of her birth and “was not involved in Harmony’s life,” the report said.
CNN called and emailed Sorey on Wednesday for comment, but received no response.
Harmony was legally removed from her mother’s care and placed in a foster home shortly after the reports of neglect, the report said. She remained in DCF custody but was returned to her mother’s care twice. By January 2018, Harmony had been removed from her mother’s care “due to substance abuse by her parents” and returned to a foster home, according to the report.
“Shortly after this placement, foster parents expressed concern … about the impact on Harmony of repeated attempts to reunite with Ms. Sori,” the report said. “The foster parents believed that Harmony was suffering the trauma of repeatedly returning and being removed from Ms. Sori’s care.”
Meanwhile, DCF officials spoke with the father, who turned in September 2016 – more than a year after he was released from prison – and said he wanted to be a part of Harmony’s life, according to the report.
Montgomery had inconsistent contacts and observed visits with his daughter over the next few years, the report said. However, in October 2018, he asked for Harmony to be placed under his care, according to the report.
The February 2019 hearing, which approved Montgomery’s custody of Harmony, was “the most shocking thing” in the child’s case, Mosaides said, as there was no more discussion of the child’s needs.
A judge ruled in full custody and ruled that the Montgomery Home Study under the Interstate Pact for Children (ICPS) – an agreement between all states governing the placement of children across borders – did not apply for constitutional reasons, as it was found to be fit parent.
“Courts in other states have also ruled that the ICPC cannot be constitutionally enforced against a fit parent. This approach is not in line with Massachusetts case law,” the report said.
A DCF lawyer opposed the placement, but did not say why the home study was needed and why it was a risk to move Harmony without assessing Montgomery’s parenting abilities and not adequately communicating the child’s needs, the report said.
“The facts about Mr Montgomery’s parental capacity have not been adequately studied, nor has the relationship to Harmony’s needs and ability to meet them,” the report said, adding that Montgomery’s housing stability and employment have not been confirmed. the physical safety of his home for Harmony’s disability.
Montgomery took his daughter to New Hampshire about a week after the DCF hearing and participation ended, the report said. Sori reported missing Harmony in November 2021, telling Manchester police she had not seen the girl since April 2019. Manchester police announced Harmony’s disappearance in December 2021, but estimated she had disappeared early. on December 2019, the report said.
In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, DCF said it remained “deeply concerned” about the girl’s disappearance, adding that the OCA report “illustrates the serious responsibility to balance the safety and best interests of the child and the parents’ legal right to custody.” over their child. “
The agency said it had already initiated “significant reforms”, including policies to work with children with disabilities, a multi-level review of gatherings, greater oversight of staff and implementation of guidelines to assess whether a parent has the ability to safely care for a child.
Among the recommendations
After reviewing all available court files and documents, the OCA “decided that Harmony was not a priority in the case in terms of her own care and protection,” Mosaides said.
“When children are not at the center of every aspect of the child protection system, then the system cannot really protect them,” she said.
The OCA found that information about Harmony’s family was incomplete and focused mainly on her mother. Among other recommendations, the OCA recommended that the DCF “ensure that fathers are given the same level of attention as mothers,” Mosaides said. and that both parents are adequately assessed.
“We also recommend that DCF work to improve the quality of its legal advocacy, with a focus on improving training, ongoing support for litigation and the oversight of their lawyers,” Mosaides said.
If the agency had provided a comprehensive picture of the father’s parenting capacity and a fuller picture of Harmony’s strengths and vulnerabilities, “there may have been more opportunity to advocate for a transition period” for Harmony to ensure her safety. report.
The DCF lawyer was “hampered by the inability to effectively assess Mr Montgomery,” Mosaides said, adding that this was partly due to the fact that Montgomery did not cooperate when in contact with the DCF.
And although the DCF opposed Harmony’s placement with her father and insisted on a home study, he could provide “stronger information” to support their opposition, Mosaides said.
In a statement to CNN, DCF pointed to recently proposed legislation that will help protect the interests of children in court.
It said the agency “remains committed to engaging with the courts to increase the timely stability of children and ensure the safety and best interests of the child remain paramount”.
CNN’s Jennifer Selva contributed to this report.
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