When you have more than two parents

Multi-parenthood is an important basic idea in adoption. It means that more than one or two parents or educational figures are important in the lives of children and young people and it makes it possible to acknowledge all parties involved in adoption, if they so wish and with the nuance that each situation is viewed individually.

What does multi-parenthood in adoption look like in practice? If contact is established between adoptive parents, adopted child and first parents from or shortly after the adoption, how does this take shape? And how does everyone experience this? In this collection of stories, various people involved in adoption testify about their 'open adoption'.

The Story of Eunique

My name is Eunique and I was born in Haiti . I was barely 8 months old when I came to Belgium. My adoptive parents already had a biological son who was 3 years older.

My biological parents gave birth to 5 daughters , of which 1 daughter did not make it. This death made my uncle fear for the lives of his 2 daughters and therefore decided to give them up for adoption .

When I was born, my family was still in the same circumstances and there was no one in the family who had the means to take over the care . Since my uncle had already given up both his children and my parents had already lost 1 child, they wanted to do everything they could to keep me alive . So my parents decided to also give me up for adoption.

Contact with biological family

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

Nagpur, Maharashtra:

The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at 11 locations across India, including the Nagpur office of the Church of North India (CNI), in connection with a case registered in Bhopal, a probe agency official said on Wednesday.

Enforcement Directorate officials told Press Trust of India that the searches are tied to a cheating case registered against PC Singh, bishop of the CNI's Jabalpur Diocese.

The office of CNI, a Protestant denomination, located in the Sadar area in the city is being searched, an official said.

A Thane couple residing in Germany will be allowed to meet their 3.6-year-old daughter, who was placed in foster care in 2021, once every month. The Indian government is working to ensure she is exposed to her cultural heritage and language, with efforts underway to bring her back to India.

THANE: A Thane couple employed in Germany will be able to meet their 3.6-year-old daughter-who was separated from them and assigned to a foster care by German courts in Sept 2021-once every month, said Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske.

Mhaske said the Indian govt is likely to communicate with their German counterparts to ensure that the girl, who hails from the Jain community, is introduced to her native language and cultural heritage by being taken for temple visits regularly while she remains in foster care in Germany.

Mhaske made the announcement following communication from S Jaishankar, Union minister of external affairs (MEA), informing him about the steps being taken by govt to not only ensure the girl is exposed to her native culture, but also efforts being taken to request their German counterparts to allow her to be brought to India.

It may be recalled that the custody of the then barely six-month-old girl was assigned to the Youth Welfare Authority (YWA) by German courts after local authorities suspected she was assaulted while under the care of her parents, who had shifted to the country for work.

The case was heard in the lower courts that granted custody of the child to the YWA. The Berlin Court of Appeals that later heard the case upheld the custody decision in July 2024, said Mhaske, citing the MEA communication.

"The family is from Mira-Bhayander and belongs to the Jain community, whose representatives have been requesting our govt and also approached me to assist them in bringing the child back... One of their major fears is the girl may lose touch with her native upbringing and get exposed to foreign culture. I raised the issue in the Lok Sabha early this month, following which the MEA interacted with their German counterparts," said Mhaske.

Over 82,000 children born in China have been adopted by American families since 1999, according to State Department figures — mostly girls, owing to a Chinese cultural preference for boys

AFP

People read a flyer bearing Loulee Wilson’s photographs distributed in the hope of finding her biological parents in Dianjiang, China. | Photo Credit: AFP

At an empty concrete lot in southwest China, Loulee Wilson scoops a handful of stones into a bag — a memento from the site where she believes she was abandoned as a baby.

The number of adoptions by relatives and step parents has increased significantly since the new adoption regulations were implemen... Read More

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NEW DELHI: Since the new adoption regulations were notified in September last year, data available with the Central Adoption Resource Authority shows a significant rise in the number of orders issued in favour of relatives keen on taking an orphaned child in their family or prospective parents waiting to adopt their step children.

 

Corruption and delayed investigations are impeding the adoption process for children from Ugandan children’s homes, according to concerns uncovered by The Observer. Presently, Uganda hosts 109 children’s homes across the country, with a significant concentration in the Central region.

These homes must obtain approval from the minister of Gender, specifically the official responsible for children’s welfare and protection, before operation. Despite an estimated 3.5 million abandoned and impoverished children in Uganda, only 9,700 reside in approved homes.

Women and Child Development department along with UNICEF targets a 70% drop in new entries to child care institutions by 2029

Updated - February 11, 2024 10:28 pm IST

Published - February 11, 2024 08:00 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

R K Roshni

“It was worth every effort”

The path to adopting Lilly from Laos pushed her German adoptive parents to their limits: They had to disclose their lives and financial situation and demonstrate a lot of patience.

By Svenja Ueing |09.01.2014

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The former operators of an adoption agency found to have fraudulently convinced Samoan parents to give up their children are asking a federal judge to reduce their monthly restitution payments.

The money is designated for a trust fund to ensure birth and adoptive families stay in touch. It's unclear how much money has been paid into the fund so far, but one parent said the money is being used in creative ways to benefit parents and children alike.

Scott and Karen Banks, who operated Focus on Children, were ordered to pay $85,000 into the Samoan Adoptees Restitution Fund to help some 80 children —including 66 placed with U.S. families — maintain contact with their birth parents.

The Banks, who now live near Reno, Nev., say in court documents that their financial circumstances have changed since July 2009, when U.S. District Court Judge David Sam ordered them and other defendants to make the fund contributions. The couple are barred from engaging in adoption services, and Scott Banks now works in construction.

By The Editorial Board •  17 May 2023, 10:00AM

The Samoan adoption scam was a story that rocked the nation some 14-16 years ago when it emerged that Samoan children were illegally taken from their families by an American adoption agency and sent to the U.S.

Falealili bus lost control, says passenger