Many recent events have emphasized the need for investment in the social service workforce. My trip to India to participate in the launch of a social work training program was one event that highlighted the importance of this profession and how critical social workers are in making positive changes in child care systems.

India: On the Road to Alternative Care


I recently visited Delhi, India to participate in the International Symposium on Family Strengthening at Jamia Millia Islamia University. This two-day symposium convened professors, social workers, early child development students, and leaders in government and nongovernment sectors who are concerned about protecting children, especially those living outside of family care. The symposium celebrated the inauguration of India’s first National Resource Centre in Foster Care. The Centre is headed by Dr. Meenai, a well-respected social work professor who has a wealth of expertise in the field of child development.

Madhavi, head of the UK-based foster care agency, Liberty Fostering, enthusiastically explained the details of recruiting, screening, and providing ongoing training and support for foster families, as well as the placement of children and the supervision of placements.

I watched the audience pose serious questions such as:

• How does one deal with foster families that are different castes or religions from the child, the biological family, or the social worker?
• Could fostering be accepted as a legitimate way to assist vulnerable children, or would there be a stigma associated with it that would prevent families from wanting to get involved?
• Who and how would we begin to recruit families? Who would be responsible for and supervise them?
• How could a program like this be funded?
• Do foster parents get paid to provide care?
• How would foster care fit into the limited existing child protection framework?

Forty families in Flanders are currently in the process of adopting abroad, and 35 others have been promised they can still join. This is despite an adoption pause being in effect since the end of 2023. "The message isn't clear, and that's difficult," says Member of Parliament Freya Perdaens (N-VA).

Veerle Beel

October 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM

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The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has apprehended a 60-year-old influential figure within the Orphanage Owners Umbrella Body of Nigeria.

The individual, who also founded the globally recognized Civil Society Organisation, the National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN), based in Benue State, was taken into custody over allegations of extensive child trafficking, illegal adoption, and child sales.

In what officials described as a major breakthrough, operatives from NAPTIP’s Makurdi Command successfully rescued 26 children out of an estimated 300 who are believed to have been trafficked and sold across Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and Abuja.

Authorities have launched an intensive manhunt to locate the remaining 274 victims as investigations continue into the full scope of the syndicate’s operations.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson sits down with Kristen Welker for a “Meet the Moment” conversation about the essential role restaurant workers play in American life and how immigration raids are threatening the people who “are adding to the American experience.”

We hereby inform you that we represent the legal interests of Iris Stalzer/Herdecke.

Ms. Stalzer was elected mayor of Herdecke in the last local elections and was seriously injured by her adopted daughter.

This incident has been and continues to be extensively reported in the media.

We have found that the reporting on this incident partially exceeds the limits of what is permissible under press law by reporting details from inviolable areas of privacy, asserting false facts, apparently passing on unfiltered information from security circles to the public, or even mentioning the real names of the minor children.

We expect you to adhere to the fundamental principles of press law in your reporting. This means, in particular, respecting the absolutely protected privacy and personal sphere of our client's family and complying with journalistic standards of due diligence.

Germany split over Selmayr’s return to Brussels

EU minister says controversial civil servant “very much welcome” in Brussels but German government makes clear that is not its official position.

Martin Selmayr was chief of staff to former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker before becoming secretary-general of the EU’s executive arm until 2019. | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

The International Board of SOS Children’s Villages International met in an emergency session on the evening of 23 October 2025 and took decisive action following the grave news published in Austrian and then other media across the globe about historic cases of misconduct and abuse of children citing SOS-Kinderdorf Österreich (SOS CV Austria), and its former leader, Mr Hermann Gmeiner.

During its meeting, and in accordance with its governance Articles and Statutes, the International Board resolved to suspend SOS-Kinderdorf Österreich (SOS CV Austria) as a Member Association of the federation, along with its representative, Andreas Kovar, as a Member of the SOS CVI International Board.

In addition, the Board passed a motion recommending that a future SOS CVI federation Extraordinary General Assembly consider a resolution to remove Austria’s designated seat on the SOS CVI International Board. If approved by the federation General Assembly vote, SOS-Kinderdorf Österreich (SOS CV Austria) may nominate a candidate in the same manner as any other Member Association.

Commenting on the decisions of the SOS CVI International Board during the emergency session, International Board Chair, Dominico Parisi said: “The International Board’s hearts go out to all those who suffered because of one man’s actions. Children deserve happiness, dignity, and protection by those that they trust. Those who have betrayed this sacred trust deserve nothing but condemnation and shame for their actions.

But our organisation will not be defined by this dark stain on our history. These serious and meaningful decisions reflect the Board’s unwavering commitment to zero tolerance for any form of abuse or lack of transparency within our federation.

Adoption is not a fairy tale: why adoptees are critical of new VRT program

Korean adopted children arrive at Schiphol Airport on February 21, 1972. Many international adoptions were accompanied by fraud, including in Belgium, writes Lien Lammar.Source rv / Spaarnestad

Adoption is rarely a bed of roses, writes freelance journalist Lien Lammar. She wants more understanding for the harsh reality that adoptees face.

This article was written byLien LammarPublished on October 24, 2025, 3:00 AM

Mothers affected by historical forced adoption practices will be eligible for financial payments and counselling support under a new redress scheme the Tasmanian government says will be the best of its kind in Australia.

The scheme will cover practices that took place between 1950 and 1988, when unmarried mothers were forced into giving up their babies because of the social stigma surrounding pregnancy outside marriage.

It is estimated more than 11,000 forced adoptions occurred in Tasmania during this time, part of around 150,000 adoptions across Australia between 1951 and 1975.

Many women were sent to maternity homes and had their babies taken immediately after birth.

We are a non-profit organization (registered under the French law of 1901, number W381015733), a recognized
public interest organization founded by dedicated volunteers. Our quest is simple: to understand our origins.