Langevin, Rather host documentary screening on re-homing

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 7/2/15

Congressman James Langevin introduced legislation in April to address the tragedy of “re-homing,” and on June 15 he hosted “Strengthening Our Commitment to Permanency: Preventing Adoption …

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Langevin, Rather host documentary screening on re-homing

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Congressman James Langevin introduced legislation in April to address the tragedy of “re-homing,” and on June 15 he hosted “Strengthening Our Commitment to Permanency: Preventing Adoption Disruption,” a briefing to help raise awareness on the issue.

Re-homing, considered a type of human trafficking, is when the custody of an adopted child is illegally changed or transferred, often with dire consequences to the child.

Langevin’s legislation, the “Protecting Adopted Children Act,” would put in place safety nets for both adoptive children and parents to reduce the act of re-homing.

Support pre- and post-adoption would be available through counseling and peer mentoring. Also, if passed, the legislation would secure funding for adoptive services and psychiatric services, such as suicide prevention, in-home supervision, substance abuse treatment and social skills training, to protect not only adopted children but all children.

In a press release, Langevin said, “All children deserve a safe, loving home, and yet innocent children are being traded on the Internet with no oversight and little concern for their best interests.”

Langevin feels that addressing the root causes of re-homing is the best preventative measure.

The briefing was held in Washington, D.C. and screened a 20-minute clip from “Unwanted in America,” a documentary following the story of children who have been re-homed, produced by Emmy-award winning journalist Dan Rather and Sarah Gross and directed by Yasmeen Qureshi and Lisa Desai. After the viewing a Q&A was held with producers, directors, as well as Addy Steinhoff, Belaynesh Hehn and Samuel Hehn, all of whom have personally experienced re-homing and were featured in the documentary.

Rather said he was “shocked and saddened” to learn about re-homing and just how often it happens around the United States.

“We reported this story for more than a year and uncovered tragedies that were especially painful, not only because of the number of children involved but because there was so little oversight and protection for our youngest citizens,” he said.

Acting executive director of the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) Lilla Weinberger said re-homing is dangerous for children adopted both domestically and internationally and appreciated both Rather and Langevin’s effort to raise awareness.

“Every child deserves a safe, supportive and permanent family. We must provide families with the appropriate services to prevent adoption disruptions,” she said.

Langevin said, “This epidemic cannot be ignored, and we cannot allow at-risk youth to fall through the cracks, bouncing from placement to placement. These kids need our help to find their forever home and stop the dangerous practice of re-homing.”

After the briefing Rather joined Langevin at the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, which Langevin co-chairs, to screen the full documentary.

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