As soon as they heard from the nursing home that their surrogate had delivered a healthy baby, the adoptive parents (name withheld) informed the adoption agency of their decision to return the 8and 10-year-old siblings they had adopted a few months earlier. The children, who are now back in the adoption home, will be counselled for foster care or placement in a govt home where they may grow up as orphans.
Since 2020, about 12 parents in Tamil Nadu have returned children – less than 10 years old – who they legally adopted through various govt-certified agencies for different reasons. Four parents quoted “adjustment issues” as a reason for returning children. While one parent thought the toddler did not make enough eye contact during conversation another felt the child had anger issues. Some parents quoted marital or financial problems within the family, and others cited the child’s poor health. In one case it was the death of a parent. Officials confirmed that while three of them have been re-adopted, one is in foster care and the remaining still in govt homes.
The social welfare department has recorded three dissolutions of adoption in 2020, four in 2021 and five in 2023. Protocols, however, are now being implemented to ensure they don’t happen again. “We counsel parents at least twice to see if we can help them retain the child. In some cases, we know parents may not have a choice. The adoption process is then dissolved to declare the adoption void,” says social welfare secretary Jayashree Muralidharan.
An authorised agency applies for dissolution to the district magistrate through the district child protection unit. Once the process is completed, the child is back on the list of those “legally free” for adoption. “Considering the long wait list, most children get another chance quickly,” says Muralidharan. “In general, most adoptions are successful. Dissolutions, however, have become unavoidable due to various reasons in some cases.”
Psychiatrists say parents who surrender adopted children cannot be villainised as they are seeing a rise in “adaptive challenges” for different reasons. First, as adopted children identified with early stressful childhood, many parents seek consultations for “behaviour issues” after complaints from siblings, neighbours and schools. “It’s tough on the child as well as the parent. Until some years ago, most adoptions happened within the family. A couple who do not have children will adopt their nephews or nieces, or from families known to them. The joint family system monitored the upbringing of the adopted child,” says child psychiatrist Dr V Jayanthini.
Today, information about biological parents is unknown in most cases, she says. “Mothers may not have had a happy pregnancy period. They may have neglected their diet and medical care, resulting in little bonding between the mother and the child after birth. All this can be stressful for the child. When they come to new homes the process of adapting themselves may add to this stress. While in many cases they tend to settle in with love and care, some children and parents just don’t get along.”
How did we move from the first international recognition of children's needs in the 1920s to the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child? How did the imperative of protecting the youngest gradually become linked to that of their emancipation, and therefore the consideration of their opinions and capacities for action? Historical insight.
This year, 2024, we commemorate the centenary of the first statement of the rights of the child, through the Geneva Declaration, and the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
From the regulation of labor to the progress of schooling, from the development of pediatrics to the "invention" of early childhood, including state intervention within the family unit when necessary, there were certainly many advances in the 19th century to improve the fate of children in Europe. But it was in the 20th century , in the aftermath of the Great War, that the transnational movement for the adoption of a declaration of the rights of the child achieved a tangible result.
Looking back at this story helps shed light on contemporary issues surrounding young people's voices, on an international scale.
Recipients of Amnesty's Media Prize. From left: Lisbeth Dilling, Søren Klovborg, Karoline Engelund and Nikolaj Venge (far right). Number two from the right is David Kildendal, who features in the documentary. Mikkel Inumineq Jørgensen
Amnesty's Media Prize 2024 goes to Søren Klovborg, Karoline Engelund, Lisbeth Dilling and Nikolaj Venge from DR for the documentary series 'Det store adoptiontyveri', which uncovers one of the biggest adoption scandals in Denmark. It investigates and exposes the trafficking of children to Denmark.
It has just been announced in Øksnehallen in Copenhagen, where DJ's Fagfestival 2024 will be held.
A former Arkansas pastor has pleaded guilty to three counts of rape involving his minor children and been sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to a statement released yesterday by Arkansas authorities.
As part of a negotiated plea agreement, James “Jamie” Cowan, 46, pleaded guilty to raping minors on Nov. 12, according to a statement released by Jana Bradford, Arkansas prosecutor for the 9th West District. In addition to his 50-year sentence, Cowan also received 30 years of a suspended sentence upon release.
Cowan must serve at least 70% of his sentence or 35 years, Bradford said. This would make Cowan 81-years old at the time of release, “effectively making this sentence a life term,” Bradford added.
The decision to offer a plea deal was made after consideration of the victims’ wishes, “ensuring they would not have to endure the further trauma of testifying in a court trial,” Bradford said.
In a motion for a bond reduction, Cowan says he is a pastor. The Arkansas Justice Project’s Post reported Cowan is the former pastor of the Little River Community Church and a TikTok video said the church was in Winthrop, Arkansas.
Mysuru: The state govt's adoption initiative helped 33 children from the Chamarajanagar adoption centre find loving homes between 2018 and Oct 2024. Among the adopted, 15 children were adopted by families within the state, 13 by couples from other states and five were taken in by families abroad, including five physically challenged. The govt-introduced adoption scheme appeared as a boon not only for childless couples, but also for orphaned, abandoned, surrendered and destitute children to find families. Of the 33 children adopted, 21 were girls and 12 were boys. According to the Chamarajanagar District Child Protection Committee, 28 children were surrendered by their parents unable to take care of them due to poverty, health and other reasons. All the children adopted by parents are below two years old. Most of these adopted children were rescued by the District Child Protection Committee, when newborn girls and boys were abandoned by their mothers in dustbins, bus stands, temple premises, markets and other crowded places fearing social stigma, poverty, and other reasons. Officials in the women and children welfare department attributed child marriage as one of the main reasons for abandoning children in hospitals and other places after giving birth, fearing legal problems, social stigma and other issues. The department also rescued several children found orphaned after the death of their parents. Speaking to TOI, Chamarajanagar District Child Protection officer Cheluvaraju said that once these children were rescued, the state govt not only took care of their health but also looked after their upbringing and education with the help of non-govt organisations like Jeevan Jyothi Trust of Kollegal, which runs an orphanage exclusively for such children and takes care of rescued abandoned children. It also facilitates childless couples to adopt children under the adoption scheme. As per the Adoption Scheme 2022 Act, childless couples who want to adopt children rescued by the child welfare department must register their names through an online portal launched by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). The couple must be economically, mentally, and physically sound. They must play a crucial role in the well-being of the adopted child and must take care of the future of the child. Once they apply online, a team from the department inspects the house of the applicant to verify their economic and social status, study their background and will submit the report to the respective deputy commissioner, who is also chairman of the district adoption resource authority, for approval. The department will keep the names of the couple secret after adopting children under the scheme. The department will also keep a tab on adopted children's parents for two years to verify they are taking care of the child. Once the department officials rescued abandoned babies, and parents who surrendered their children to the District Child Welfare Committee, there was a provision for the mothers and family members to take back their children. Six months will be given for such parents to take back their children. If they do not turn up, then details of all orphaned, rescued, and abandoned children will be uploaded to the CARA website portal to facilitate adoption under the scheme, he said.
Adoptive parents and advocates have called upon government to ease the stringent adoption regulations that they say are preventing many vulnerable children from finding homes.
They urge policymakers to revise existing adoption laws and create a system that prioritizes every child’s right to grow up in a family.
It didn't seem to matter what happened at the teen treatment center. The state of Utah always gave it another chance. Death. Allegations of abuse. Criminal charges. Bizarre punishments. Whistleblowers coming forward. Each time, the place got a pass.
A team of reporters from three news organizations has spent the last year digging into the untold stories of Utah's massive teen treatment industry. Some 20,000 teenagers facing depression, delinquency and other problems have been sent there from every state in the country over the last six years. Sent Away investigates how the government failed to keep all those kids safe — through the voices and stories of the teens who lived it.
Havenwood Academy (also called Havenwood South) is a HOPE Group behavior-modification program that opened in 2014. It is marketed as a Residential Treatment Center for teenaged girls ages 12-18 with a history of “early complex childhood trauma and attachment related issues including Reactive Attachment Disorder”. The average length of stay is reported to be around 12 months. Havenwood has been a NATSAP member since 2016.
