Children Re-homed through the Internet

Shaelynn Miller
Anna Barnes was 13 years old the second time she was adopted through the Internet, according
to Reuters. Reuters reported that her adopted parents, Gary and Lisa Barnes, posted information about
their daughter in an online forum called Respite-Rehoming and received a reply from Nicole Eason.
The Barneses flew from Texas to Illinois, and after eating dinner with Nicole Eason and her
husband, Calvin Eason, at a local restaurant, Gary and Lisa left Anna with the Easons. Anna told Reuters
she did not feel as comfortable with the Easons as her parents had.
This process is known as re-homing. This term, commonly known for finding a home for a pet,
is now being used with children. These transfers are unregulated; there is no supervision from adoption
agencies or the courts.
Often those re-homed children report gruesome tales of physical, sexual or emotional abuse by
their new guardians, Leslie Gordon, a legal affairs journalist and author, said in an article for the
American Bar Association Journal.
Anna reported to Reuters that she couldnt stop crying. I just kept telling them, Please dont
send me to them, she said. Please, Im begging you. I will get down on my knees.
The Government Accountability Office reports that people became aware of re-homing after
Reuters produced a five-part article on the topic in September 2013. That received a lot of attention,
and members of congress asked the GAO to produce a report about it. Their report was published
September 2015.
In working on this report, GAO representatives found 23 online posts on two forums where
parents were seeking new homes for their adopted children. Reuters found similar posts that dated to
2007.
GAO Assistant Director Elizabeth Morrison says, We dont know what they actually do after
posting. She says there is no way to know whether adults went through with re-homing the children
they posted about or if they changed their minds.
However, there are some reports of children who have gone through online re-homing. Some of
these online forums were investigated and shut down, one of which was a Facebook page, according to
the United Kingdom Channel 4 News.
One mother posted on this page asking if someone wanted to take her adopted son. I don't
think that's appropriate, but you know, sometimes when you're desperate and looking for somebody
who might be the right person for your child - sometimes you've just got to put it out there, she told
Channel 4 News.
She told Channel 4 News part of the reason she turned to the Internet to re-home him was
because of a lack of support from the authorities and social services. Channel 4 News reporters say she
believes the United States has a lack of support from authorities, which is one of the big reasons she
turned to Facebook for help.
Because many people turned to the Internet for help, the ABA Journal reports there is a large
need for post-adoption support. GAO representatives say that families may choose an unregulated
transfer when they cannot access post-adoption services to help them cope with or avoid reaching a
crisis point in their adoption.
According to GAO representatives, while there are services to help adoptive families, many
stakeholders they interviewed suggested families considering unregulated transfers may need intensive
services, such as mental-health counseling and respite care.

GAO representatives say about half of adoptions agencies offer some type of support and that
intensive care is expensive.
Another site for child re-homing was a Yahoo group called Adopting-From-Disruption. Many of
the posts on this page, which were provided by Reuters, were made by parents seeking advice on what
to do in difficult situations with their adopted child. Many told Reuters that online re-homing was their
last resort; they didnt know what else to do.
GAO representatives found families may not be sufficiently prepared for what follows adoption.
They said, This lack of preparation may include inadequate information about the childs health, an
insufficient home study to make a good match, and minimal pre-adoption training for parents.
The Easons didnt have an insufficient home study. They didnt have a home study at all,
according to Reuters. After it was discovered the home study was faked, the state of Illinois did not
charge them, according to Reuters. In fact, they didnt do anything to prevent the Easons from adopting
more children. According to Reuters, they have adopted 5 more children since Anna.
Now that this issue has been made public, some states are taking action. GAO representatives
interviewed 15 states in July 2015 to see what steps they are taking in regards to this issue. Some
reported they are making changes to deter people from unregulated transfers.
Some of these changes include providing information to new adoptive parents on legal
implications of participating in unregulated transfers and providing local child welfare agencies and
service providers with guidance on these transfers, according to GAO representatives.
Some states have created new laws to put punishment on these actions. GAO representatives
reported some of these punishments include criminalizing unregulated transfers or actions that may
lead to unregulated transfers, restricting advertising of children or potential homes for placement, and
providing penalties for violations.
Of the 15 states reviewed by GAO representatives, new laws to deter unregulated transfers
were enacted in six states as of July 2015. They say the states are still trying to figure out how to
implement them. The representatives say this means it could be a year before the new rules take effect.
In April 2014, Wisconsin became the first state to criminalize transferring children outside
adoption laws, whether in print or online, according to the ABA Journal. The journal also reported
Louisiana banned illegal adoptions. You can get up to 9 months in prison for breaking this law in
Wisconsin, and up to 5 years in Louisiana, according to the ABA Journal.
Massachusetts has also taken action, and The Childrens League of Massachusetts brought this
issue to legislation. In November 2015 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts reported there is a bill to
criminalize online re-homing of a child in the state.
The bill states that a child cannot be published for advertisement online, and a task force would
be put in place to identify likely channels for abuse, including legal vehicles, in the re-homing of
children (Bill S.2043).
Virginia is also on board with preventing child re-homing. Recommendations were adopted by
the Virginia Commission on Youth to provide services to adoptive parents who are struggling to meet
their childs needs.

Virginia State Senator Jeff McWaters reported to Channel 4 News, We've even seen in some
states where you can't give your pet to somebody else without going through some steps and process. If
that's the case with cars and with pets, why shouldn't it even more so be the case with kids?"
The legislation was unanimously passed by the House and Senate, according to the Virginia
Commission on Youth.
It is unclear whether Idaho is taking action with child re-homing. The Idaho Legislature website
does not report whether or not Idaho has taken steps toward preventing re-homing.
Even with some states taking action, there is still much more to learn. Nhi Nguyen, project lead
for the GAO report on unregulated transfers, says this is a black box to us and everyone.