Just before U.S. Route 93 crosses over into Canada, it bisects Eureka, Montana, a ranching town that sees few visitors apart from the handful of hikers and fishermen who trek to the area each summer. On a mild day in June 2012, a caravan of vehicles with tinted windows sped a few miles past the town center and turned off onto a winding road leading up into the mountains. The cars reached a cluster of modest clapboard houses in a vast green pasture, and several Russian government officials climbed out. They wore dark suits and sunglasses that shielded their eyes from the warm western sun.

The group was led by Pavel Astakhov, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights. He had come to inspect the Ranch for Kids, an unlicensed care facility for children adopted from abroad. Many of the ranch’s wards had trouble adjusting to life with their new families in the United States, often because of the lasting effects of abuse, neglect, and prenatal alcohol exposure. Almost all of them are from Eastern Europe, though there are also children from other parts of the world.

Joyce Sterkel, the ranch’s owner, had turned down Astakhov’s request for an official visit. He came anyway, and brought along a television crew to document the expedition for the state-owned news stations Channel One and RT. Astakhov was also narrating the events of the day on Twitter: “Here live 23 Russian children, ‘returned’ by American parents who adopted them.” In another post, he tweeted, “They are basically abandoned and betrayed.”

Astakhov is a tall, fit man of forty-seven, with combed-back light-brown hair and a confident stride. In Russia he is something of a celebrity. In addition to his position within the Kremlin, he is a prominent attorney and the host of Chas Suda (“Hour of Judgment”), a mock-courtroom TV show modeled after Judge Judy. He is also the author of a series of novels whose hero is a fearless renegade lawyer who triumphs over his corrupt enemies and punishes them ruthlessly.

In Eureka, Astakhov paced energetically at the end of the ranch’s driveway, his perfectly shined shoes collecting dust — a bull eager to charge. In his hand was a red folder, embossed in gold with the Russian Federation’s coat of arms, that he claimed contained files on children who were supposed to be living in their American homes but who in fact had been deposited at the ranch. “There are so many lies in regard to the well-being of our children,” Astakhov told the cameras, “that we cannot say if our children lead a normal life, if they are in need of anything.”

Article was published on 12 Nov 1959

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CARA and the ministry must accord attention to the vulnerable and invisible community of children silently suffering in our institution

The average number of children in the CARA pool has been around 2,200 over the last five years. One would have expected the number to change after Covid-19. On the contrary, the number of children in the CARA pool dropped (Shutterstock)

According to an affidavit filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, more than 3,600 children have been orphaned as a result of Covid-19 and other causes since the start of the pandemic. The official figure quoted by the women and child development (WCD) ministry is 600 orphans — this lacks credibility given the scale of Covid-19 deaths in the country.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), under the WCD ministry, regulates adoption of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children. The average number of children in the CARA pool has hovered around 2,200 over the last five years. One would have expected a significant number of children impacted by Covid-19 to have found their way into the CARA pool. Even if we were to allow for the procedural delay in declaring children legally free for adoption — a process which usually takes anywhere between two to five months after a child is reported to an orphanage — the number of children in the CARA pool should have increased by at least couple of hundreds (going by official figures), if not by thousands (going by unofficial estimates).

Surprisingly, the needle hasn’t moved one bit. On the contrary, the number of children in the CARA pool dropped, with a greater fall in percentage of healthy children within the already shrunk pool. A closer look at the data suggests some worrisome trends.

Patrick Noordoven was illegally adopted as a Brazilian baby in 1980. Using false witnesses, his adoptive parents in Brazil and the Netherlands registered the birth of their 'own child'. When Patrick found out about this, he felt cheated. "You lack ownership of your identity because you don't know what happened to you," he says in the NPO Radio 1 podcast Het Onderzoeksbureau . Since then, he has been fighting to make sure this doesn't happen to other adopted children.

As part of that battle, Patrick is taking his adoptive parents to court in 2017. For years they withheld information about his illegal adoption, which only complicated the search for his biological family, and with it his own identity. “I knew almost nothing other than that I was born in São Paulo in 1980, around February,” he says.

And that lack of important information causes a lot of pain. “That goes hand in hand with a lot of emotion,” says Patrick. “Every adoptee experiences that differently, but I think 'being bitter' is a general term that is appropriate.”

Because of everything he went through, Patrick started studying law. He gives lectures and has founded an NGO for victims of adoption. He is aware that what he has been through can still happen and is still happening.

Mandatory and verifiable birth certificate

NEW DELHI: Three months after the Rajya Sabha passed a bill proposing amendments in the Juvenile Justice Act to allow district magistrates instead of civil or family courts to approve adoptions, the Centre has sought public feedback on the bill.

A key provision in the bill is also to grant registration to a shelter home after the DM’s recommendation.

In a public notice, the Union women and child development ministry has now said that the stakeholders can send their suggestions for the amendments to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) model rules, 2016 by November 11.

The suggested clauses include authorising DMs and ADMs to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability, while proposing to empower them to implement the Act for the benefit of children in distressed conditions.

As per the amended provisions of the Act, any child care institution will be registered after considering the recommendation of the DM who will independently evaluate the functioning of district child protection units, child welfare committees, juvenile justice boards, specialised juvenile police units and shelter homes.

Summary: This is a response by Scottish mothers. We hope to corroborate evidence that the committee may receive from mothers of MAA who gave birth in England or Wales prior to 1976. We believe that a full public inquiry, such as that commissioned by the Australian Senate is necessary to assess the scale, nature and consequences of historic adoption practices in the UK. Our submission provides anecdotal evidence in response to key questions set by this JCHR inquiry, that is largely concordant with Australian findings. In short, we contend that the right to family life was not respected, nor was the right to freedom from degrading treatment.

This is a submission on behalf of Origins Scotland, which is affiliated with Origins International – an organisation which was founded in Australia in 1995 by Dian Wellfare. Origins International has branches in a number of countries including Australia, United States, Canada and New Zealand. Origins Scotland was set up in 2010 by Marion McMillan, who has now stepped back due to ill health. A number of our mothers, including Marion, have collaborated with the Movement for an Adoption Apology(MAA) over the years since it’s formation, and have made contributions to associated activism in Scotland and at Westminster. It is surprising and disappointing that our mothers are not included in this JHRC inquiry. In addition, our members had babies taken for adoption in the 60’s, late 70’s and early 80’s, with a significant proportion in the later period after 1976.

Accounts of forced adoption practices are difficult to obtain and verify. Women who were traumatised, humiliated and shamed are often reluctant to speak, and very reluctant to be identified. Prior to the advent of internet forums and facebook groups, it was difficult for those affected by adoption to find one another. For many, first contact with another mother was the first occasion on which they realised that many of their troubling experiences were far from unique. Following a recent BBC documentary, mothers and adoptees have contacted Origins, and while not all of those wished to join a campaign, all showed a strong desire to share their experiences.

A full public inquiry, as ordered by the Senate in Australia, would be the only way to determine the scale, nature and consequences of the policies and practices which facilitated historic forced adoption. The Senate report resulted in the commissioning of formal research - Past adoption experiences National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices Pauline Kenny, Daryl Higgins, Carol Soloff and Reem Sweid

We decided it was right for us to make a submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry to support our Movement for Adoption Apology friends. Our submission will be anecdotal, rather than quantitative. However, we are very confident that our evidence will corroborate the submissions made by those in England and Wales, as it is largely concordant with the findings of the Australian research.

http://whfc.org/wp-content/themes/whfc/images/pdfs/WHFC_Report_to_Donors.pdf

Closing a children's home is a big step, but it will ultimately benefit more families and children, says Bep van Sloten. 'Children lose contact with their community precisely because of a recording.'

Bep van Sloten was involved in closing an orphanage in Namibia and placing the orphans in foster families. The painting and the cushions on the sofa come from Namibia, the books are about Africa. (image Dirk Hol)

Amersfoort

In her work, Bep van Sloten (68) told governments and NGOs on a daily basis that children's homes are not a good place to grow up. As an international consultant in the field of alternative youth care, she advised them on the transition to other ways of caring for children. 'Saying that it has to be done is one thing, but actually doing it is another story', says Van Sloten. 'In Namibia I had to do it myself.'

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Women and Family Welfare Minister Veena George said the state will take Anupama S Chandran’s demand for her child to the family court.

THE CPI(M)-led goverment in Kerala got into damage control mode Saturday as the alleged forcible separation of a boy from his mother, an SFI leader, snowballed into a controversy even as the aggrieved woman sat on protest in front of the secretariat.

Women and Family Welfare Minister Veena George said the state will take Anupama S Chandran’s demand for her child to the family court. She said before adoption formalities are completed, the court will be informed. It will also be told about the government investigation into the baby’s adoption.

The state women’s commission has also offered legal assistance to Chandran, 23, who protested before the state secretariat Saturday, demanding her son be returned. She ended her stir after the government promised to look into her demand.

Chandran has alleged that her parents, local CPI(M) leaders, forcibly took away her son last October, three days after her delivery. They allegedly considered the child illegitimate as Chandran’s partner Ajith Kumar, a DYFI leader, was then married to Nasiya, another party worker.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : On a day when Anupama S Chandran, the woman who is on the search of her baby allegedly given in adoption to another couple by the child welfare council, staged a fast in front of the Secretariat seeking justice, the state government approached the Family Court here with a request to freeze the adoption proceedings of the baby which is believed to be Anupama’s. She ended her protest after government’s assurance.

Woman and Child Welfare Minister Veena George said the state adoption agency will file the petition in the court, detailing all recent developments. The adoption proceedings are in the final stage and the court was told that the state government has launched an inquiry into the entire episode.

On Saturday, Veena rang up Anupama and conveyed the decision. Maintaining that the mother’s request is right and that the baby should live with the mother, Veena said the government is intervening now to prevent any further legal complications.

The minister has already ordered a probe by the secretary of the woman and child development into the circumstances that led to the alleged ‘forced separation’ of the infant from the mother. She has also sought a report on the actions initiated by the Child Welfare Committee after the baby had been received.

The preliminary report is expected in a day and the final report will be available in a few days, she said. The minister added she would check whether there were any lapses from the side of the department.