Massachusetts child protection officials tasked with ensuring the well-being of Harmony Montgomery failed to prioritize her needs and safety before she vanished in 2019, according to an independent review of the case.
The 101-page report, released on Wednesday by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, outlines how Harmony spent her life in and out of foster care, starting 2014. That year, she was legally removed from her mother’s custody following reports of neglect. With her father serving prison time, Harmony landed in a foster home and remained under the care of the Department of Children and Families.
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The girl twice returned to live with her mother, Crystal Sorey, in her Massachusetts home, but was again removed from her care in January 2018 “due to parental substance abuse,” and returned to a foster home, according to the report.
“Shortly after this placement, the foster parents expressed concern … about the impact to Harmony of the repeated reunification attempts with Ms. Sorey,” the report said. “The foster parents believed Harmony was experiencing trauma from the repeated return and removal from Ms. Sorey’s care.”
In 2019, Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery, who lives in New Hampshire, was granted custody. Months later, the 7-year-old seemingly disappeared, but authorities were only made aware that she was missing late last year.
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A massive investigation was immediately launched, but the mystery still remains. She is to this day considered a missing person.
“We do not know Harmony Montgomery’s ultimate fate, and unfortunately, we may never,” Maria Mossaides, head of Massachusetts’ Office of the Child Advocate, said at a news conference. “But we do know that this beautiful young child experienced many tragedies in her short life, and that by not putting her and her needs first, our system ultimately failed her.”
Harmony’s father and her stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, were arrested earlier this year.
Sorey meanwhile has not been arrested in connection with her daughter’s disappearance and has told authorities she’s been searching for Harmony since April 2019.
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Adam Montgomery said he brought Harmony to be with her mother in Massachusetts around Thanksgiving in 2019, but Sorey rejected the claim, saying she hadn’t seen her since a video conversation that Easter. He is facing counts including felony second-degree assault, interference with custody and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
The charges stem from a 2019 incident, when he allegedly admitted to a concerned uncle that he gave Harmony a black eye after she failed to stop her younger brother from crying, NBC News reported.
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Kayla Montgomery was charged with welfare fraud for allegedly collecting more than $1,500 in food stamp benefits for Harmony, even though she was no longer living at the home.
They have both pleaded not guilty.
The report said the DCF failed Harmony when it focused on helping her mother and father rather her “need for safety and stability.”
“When children are not at the center of every aspect of the child protection system, then the system cannot truly protect them,” Mossaides said.
With News Wire Services
