IN - Couple charged with abandonment of adopted child after legally changing her age, Sept 2019

[SuziQ]

Indiana Couple Accused of Abandoning Daughter Says She Was Actually an Adult Who Tried to Kill Them

This article has a link to the doctors report.

http://media.heartlandtv.com/images/barnett-michael-document.jpg

Why is the bottom of the letter cut off?

 

[gitana1]

That doesn't really seem like a "report", it seems more like a doctor that knew the parents and just took their word for the other diagnosis and wrote a letter for them. I wonder if he even saw her records from the other doctors...

Yes. It's not a report. I've never seen a medical report like that. It's a letter. "I know the Barrett's very well".

A medical report would include data and analysis of her dentition, menstrual cycle, secondary sex characteristics, bone density, etc. IMO.

They look different.

 

[gitana1]

The letter is definitely odd. And at first I thought the menstrual cycle was key but it doesn’t really prove anything. Girls have been known to be 9 or younger when they start, although the average is 12 years old. IMO

Yes and stress can cause early onset of puberty:

Does Stress Cause Early Puberty? — Jonah Lehrer

Also, there is no diagnosis of "sociopath". For adults it's anti social personality disorder. That's the official billable diagnosis.

For kids it's conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder.

So the doctor seems shady to me.

 

[gitana1]

I just noticed that the Daily Mail posted pictures of her. I’m not a doctor, but she does look like she has dwarfism, IMO.

I don’t think I’m allowed to link it due to TOS but you can search the girl’s first and last name with Indiana and it came right up.

Yeah and except one sort of out of focus picture, she looked like a child and then a teen in all her photos, to me.

 

[meanmaryjean]

Oh- that letter is all kinds of shady. It is likely a lab result/ test result for the dad which was 'doctored'. NO physician is going to write a letter like that.

I've been an nurse for 40+ years- and I call shenanigans. In spades.

 

[LietKynes]

Following.
What an odd case.
Wonder if she actually did threaten the adoptive family ?
Reminds me of the movie, "Orphan".

 

[Breezie]

Indiana mom charged with abandoning adopted Ukranian girl with dwarfism claims daughter ‘always has been an adult’

Kristine said Indiana’s mental health system is the party to blame for any neglect.

“(She) is and always has been an adult in the time that I knew her, but that did not stop me from always seeking her best interest,” Kristine wrote in the Wednesday post ahead of a court hearing Friday.

“I am dismayed by the way that our mental health system treats people,” she said. “The state of Indiana actually discharged (her) into a halfway house over a year before this, making her homeless and mentally ill."

 

[Steph8angels]

Sounds like a big Game of BLAME
Everyone starting to point fingers.
Nobody taking responsibility.

 

[KALI]

I have heard so many horror stories from parents who adopted. With all good intentions.
In my opinion, it is never the child's fault.
It is the screwed up woman's fault who abused the fetus or the baby with drugs of one sort or another, then dumped them into our system.
It's downright horrible.
It's a crime of the worst imaginable, to make these innocents suffer from the Mother's abuse. My opinion. SIGH and sincere tears for these innocent children.

If they are being charged, I'm guessing LE had this girl examined by doctors to finally understand how old she is. And, if she was really 22 when they left her (which I don't believe), they could still be charged with abandonment or neglect of a dependent adult, taking into consideration that she most likely has some health issues.

 

[cherrymeg]

What a case! If I am understanding this correctly, the adopted girl has been lying about her age all along?

Has anyone given her an IQ test? Has she even been in school here in the US?

It is very sad that the original family who brought her to the states has passed her off as if she was an unwanted puppy!

I feel an investigation needs to go backwards to the original family who brought this child from Ukraine.

My opinions only.

It's awful when you read about rehoming and the fact that there is no regulation or anything in place to protect kids. How did the Barnett's adopt her? At 22 (which I doubt is the girls age) a kid with limited education, possible disabilities, no support system that's as cruel as leaving a minor on their own. I think an IQ test wouldn't hurt. The home schooling seems to be away to avoid official interference with unofficial adoptions. It sounds like she was legally adopted. They changed her age.

 

[cherrymeg]

I'm so confused why they did a "emergency adoption" for a child in Florida they had never met. Adoptions are never emergency situations, an emergency foster placement yes but not an adoption. Adoptions are supposed to be forever and are not something that is rushed. The adoptive couple needs to have a home study done and a trial period to make sure things go well before an adoption is finalized. This sounds like a very shady adoption.

How does this work and is it a thing? Can anyone explain emergency adoption? Supposedly the Barnett's or at least Kristine is noted as caring for special needs children. Couldn't they have taken custody temporarily without adopting. They used there genius son to sell books about parenting. They basically had to not adopt a child, not change their age, and then not abandon them while they moved to Canada and their lives would have continued on as whatever passes for normal.

 

[EvilOlivE]

I wonder if the family the girl lives with now will come out and make a statement.

 

[cherrymeg]

I wonder if the family the girl lives with now will come out and make a statement.

They might be testifying which would maybe be even better. If they helped care for her from the time she was abandoned and continue to, they would probably be essential to proving the parents are negligent liars. If they felt like she was a child or sill is they would be good witnesses.

 

[momsof3]

I wonder if the family the girl lives with now will come out and make a statement.

Through this whole crazy story, I just wanted to know what became of this poor girl. There is a lot out there, and for once, it seems like a happy ending (so rare). The family she is now a part of seems loving and wonderful and have a public facebook page with lots of pictures of her now. A google search will also show pictures of her from when she was with the Barnetts through the present. It seems abundantly clear that she was a child when they abandoned her from these pictures (you can see when she becomes a teen). She is extremely small and disabled. It seems nearly impossible that she is capable of inflicting serious harm. But as I said, this seems to have a happy ending - and I'm clearly on team Natalia.

 

[EvilOlivE]

Through this whole crazy story, I just wanted to know what became of this poor girl. There is a lot out there, and for once, it seems like a happy ending (so rare). The family she is now a part of seems loving and wonderful and have a public facebook page with lots of pictures of her now. A google search will also show pictures of her from when she was with the Barnetts through the present. It seems abundantly clear that she was a child when they abandoned her from these pictures (you can see when she becomes a teen). She is extremely small and disabled. It seems nearly impossible that she is capable of inflicting serious harm. But as I said, this seems to have a happy ending - and I'm clearly on team Natalia.

New article with info of where she is now:

Ukranian dwarf who 'masqueraded as a child' is living with new family | Daily Mail Online

 

[MsGazette]

Yeah and except one sort of out of focus picture, she looked like a child and then a teen in all her photos, to me.

True. It will be interesting if and when they release supporting evidence. At the very least, she is a dependent adult with special needs. They should never have left her behind.

 

[gitana1]

Following.
What an odd case.
Wonder if she actually did threaten the adoptive family ?
Reminds me of the movie, "Orphan".

Which I'm sure her adoptive mother watched.

 

[gitana1]

Through this whole crazy story, I just wanted to know what became of this poor girl. There is a lot out there, and for once, it seems like a happy ending (so rare). The family she is now a part of seems loving and wonderful and have a public facebook page with lots of pictures of her now. A google search will also show pictures of her from when she was with the Barnetts through the present. It seems abundantly clear that she was a child when they abandoned her from these pictures (you can see when she becomes a teen). She is extremely small and disabled. It seems nearly impossible that she is capable of inflicting serious harm. But as I said, this seems to have a happy ending - and I'm clearly on team Natalia.

Absolutely. If she was already an adult or older teen when they adopted her, her face wouldn't have changed that much. It seems clearl she aged over time and looked to me like a 9-10 year old at first, then an adolescent and then a teen.

 

[cherrymeg]

Absolutely. If she was already an adult or older teen when they adopted her, her face wouldn't have changed that much. It seems clearl she aged over time and looked to me like a 9-10 year old at first, then an adolescent and then a teen.

This is awful. I realize they had her age changed but that doesn't mean she is actually that age anymore than a fake ID makes kids 21 or lets me shave off a few years. I'm pretty sure you aren't allowed to abandon your minor kids when they annoy you or you get bored of them.

 

[kaen]

I am an adoptive parent who has known a myriad of other adoptive parents. When one adopts a child who is older, there are often social/emotional/educational/physical issues that are present for a large variety of reasons-- abandonment, poor maternal health while in utero, alcohol/drug exposure in utero, orphanage neglect/abuse, lack of nourishment, and much more. The reason that adoptions often take longer than any parent wants is to ensure full knowledge (as much as one can) and to vette/educate the adoptive parents on issues related to older child adoptions.

This child was adopted in the country of her birth and had to be identified by the US government as qualified for the VISA in which she travelled. Someone relinquished her in the US. It is not uncommon for people to create private rehoming deals based on "behavior." Often the families that rush to adoption, especially of special needs children, are on a mission to save an orphan. However, the work of bonding with a young child who has had relationships interrupted or who have been institutional care is difficult work that requires time, commitment, and is often not easily done with other special needs children in the home. Don't get me wrong, I know lots of families who have been successful. However, the secret rehoming network that exists out there is frightening because these children become disappeared-- the immediate family is relieved to have them gone, the extended family does not necessarily feel compelled to stay in touch--- so, who watches for these kids? The answer is no one does. There are many stories of children in these situations being murdered, raped, physically abused. So, in that sense, this girl is very lucky-- she was rehomed not once but twice with the second rehoming resulting in her living in an apartment alone. Thank goodness for the family that has fought hard to adopt/care for her. She is at great risk for doing all kinds of negative social behavior based on her history of abandonment but they seem committed to giving her the best that they can.

The Indiana woman in this case had made a living and public airing of her older son's disability. I doubt that there was ever a need for an emergency adoption. Why? Because this child would have been placed in Foster Care if a suitable home was not found. The family who had custody would have some legal issues but it could have been handled by the courts and a foster placement or respite care plan could have been made. I am interested to here the facts behind an emergency adoption.

I will conjecture (as in IMHO) a couple of things based on my experiences:
1. Child was abandoned by first adoptive family, not long after getting here. She may have had behavioral issues that were not disclosed to the second family to adopt her.
2. The agency who had facilitated realized that if the home country found out this child was abandoned that they would risk limited or non-existent referrals in the future (adoptive families don't like to wait). Many agencies provide child updates in the home country or in some cases it is legally required and part of the home country's adoption procedures.
3. (IIRC) This child was abandoned a second time which would really create red flags in the home country and possibly the state in which the child resided for the agency who is supposed to insure child safety. All agencies need to be licensed in their home state, so which agency/agencies did the first, second, and third placement (with the Indiana family?. Was the third adoption to the family in Indiana done through an agency or attorney (both would require a home study and post-placement reporting for the 90 days post-adoption in FL)? Where are the home studies? Where is the paper trail of this child?

Lastly, it is important that this child get access to her Certificate of Citizenship, if she does not/has not already been given it, especially since the Indiana family who abandoned her and changed her age abandoned her. If she ever winds up in trouble with the law in this country or wants to work, she will need her paperwork set up properly and have copies that she can keep going forward. Adoptees with uncompleted citizenship paperwork or questionable paperwork have been deported from this country when they had run ins with the law-- many of whom were adopted as tiny babies and never learned the language of their home country but were sent back to that country with no support systems (Deportation a ‘Death Sentence’ to Adoptees After a Lifetime in the U.S.). This young woman has a disability that may make any transition to her home country impossible if she is deported.