Gwinnett County

Girl wants to protect others after DFCS mistakenly took her from school

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County father said his daughter has been scared for months after she was mistakenly pulled out of school by the Division of Family and Children Services.

Sean Harris said his daughter, who was 7-years-old at the time, never made it to her after-school program, and for hours he had no idea where she was.

DFCS had taken the girl out of class at Rosebud Elementary School and driven her to the Rockdale County DFCS office. But they had the wrong child.

The two girls at the school had the same first and last names, but with a different spelling. Their birthdays were also different.

The department said at the time that it relies on schools to ensure they have the right child.

“That night, she was terrified. She cried all night,” Harris said. “The school provided a counselor the next morning but we took her to more professional licensed personnel.”

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Harris’ daughter, Kennedi, is now trying to turn what happened to her into something positive.

With the help of her parents, Kennedi started the company K-Lock, making items including identification lockets that include the child’s name, emergency contact and school.

“So I don’t get lost again and no one else will go through what I did,” she said.

Harris said the company serves an even bigger purpose for his daughter.

“To give her a coping mechanism to be able to deal with that traumatic experience and just see that her confidence is coming back,” he said.

Kennedi has flourished with her new purpose, and even spoke at her school’s career day.

Harris said state officials are still working to improve procedures to keep this from happening again.