More than 100 privately run children’s homes in England with serious failings have been branded inadequate by inspectors, with several found to have links to private equity firms, an Observer investigation has found.

Poorly trained staff, chaotic management and a series of incidents that left children’s safety in danger were cited in official reports by Ofsted, which inspects children’s homes, as it concluded they were providing inadequate care. Several have closed since inspectors raised concerns.

The Observer examined the most recent Ofsted inspection of private children’s care homes. It found that 114 homes were given the lowest “inadequate” rating, which triggers further investigations. Of those, about 20 were run by providers with links to private equity. It comes amid continued frustration with the “broken” provision of children’s care homes.

Private firms now play a large role in providing care, with more than three-quarters of homes in England run by the sector in 2021. Local government figures have also pointed to the growing role of private equity, warning that the pursuit of profits and debt that can follow is not a sound basis upon which to run care homes.

Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “The Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed our own findings that private equity providers are making extremely high profits and carrying concerning levels of debt that risks the stability of homes for children in care, which is paramount if they are to thrive.”

A 50-year-old pediatrician from Veldegem, West Flanders, is in prison on suspicion of possessing child pornography and voyeurism. The investigators tracked down the doctor after a complaint about a man who had tried to lure a boy into his car, Het Laatste Nieuws reported. Striking: the man was already caught twenty years ago in possession of child pornography, but was suspended.

The news hit like a splinter bomb in Jan DV's immediate vicinity. For them, 'Doctor Jan' is unspoken. Married, father of three children and a reputable pediatrician. He runs a practice with his wife - also a pediatrician. Recently, the doctor's wife is on her own. Her husband is imprisoned in the prison of Bruges. Patty 't Jonck of the public prosecutor's office West Flanders confirms that the man was arrested last week on suspicion of possession of child pornography and voyeurism. “Last Friday the council chamber of Bruges extended his detention by a month,” says 't Jonck.

According to multiple sources, the doctor killed himself. He is said to have tried to lure a boy into his car with candy last year. The police then started an investigation and eventually arrived at the doctor from Veldegem, a sub-municipality of Zedelgem. During a search of the house, the investigators seized, among other things, computers. These have been turned inside out in recent months and the investigators are said to have bumped into files with child pornography.

The investigators would also have secretly found recordings of patients he examined. Remarkable: well twenty years ago, Jan DV was also under investigation for possession of child pornography. The man then got the favor of the suspension. That means that the doctor admitted the facts and received no punishment in return. Legal sources confirm this, but no one wants to give details about the old and the new file. The question is how it is possible that Jan DV - despite the fact that the court considered the facts proven at the time - could continue to work as a pediatrician in the following years. Until yesterday, the Order of Physicians knew absolutely nothing about the judicial history of doctor Jan DV

CHILDREN'S HOME

Pediatrician Jan DV seemed an impeccable man, but has now been caught for the second time with child pornography

With candy as bait, Jan DV (50), a pediatrician by profession in Zedelgem in West Flanders, tried a few months ago to lure a boy. After a complaint, a house search followed and the discovery of child pornography on his PC. What no one knew was that the impeccable father – who also runs a charity project with street children – already had a much older secret in the village.

"Do you want some candy?" With those words Jan DV (50) tried a few months ago to lure a boy from the neighborhood into his car. The boy managed to escape and immediately alerted his parents. His father then went to the police, who went looking for an unknown child molester.

Finally, the investigators came to Jan DV. He is known in the area because he has been running a doctor's office for decades in Veldegem, a sub-municipality of Zedelgem, with his wife, who is also a trained pediatrician. The two have three children and enjoy an impeccable reputation.

Benefactors with a big children's heart

A 50-year-old pediatrician Jan DV from Veldegem (Zedelgem) is in prison on suspicion of voyeurism and possession of child pornography. This is confirmed by the public prosecutor's office of West Flanders, department of Bruges. His arrest was already extended on Friday by the Bruges council chamber. Police tracked him down when, according to well-informed sources, he tried to lure a boy into his car with candy.

The suspect was arrested by the police early last week after a complaint had started the ball rolling. Jan DV is said to have tried to lure a boy into his car with candy. After that, house searches were carried out in his home and his doctor's office in Veldegem, a sub-municipality of Zedelgem. Child pornography was found in his home. That's what knowledgeable sources say.

After interrogation, the pediatrician was arrested by the Bruges investigating judge on suspicion of voyeurism and possession of child pornography. On Friday he appeared for the first time before the council chamber in Bruges. The council chamber decided that in the interest of the investigation, the suspect must remain in prison for at least one month longer.

It is striking that twenty years ago an investigation was already underway against the man into possession of child pornography. Jan DV then pleaded guilty, but was not punished. He has remained active as a pediatrician for the past twenty years. His wife is also a pediatrician. In the past they also set up a children's home in India where dozens of children were cared for.

Veerle runs a children's home in southern India with her husband Jan, also a pediatrician. Thirteen years ago, during their medical internship in Madras, they found two severely malnourished toddlers tied to a tree. They decided not to stand by and help them. After contact with the father, who cannot take care of them, they rent a house where an Indian colleague moves in with the children.

The beginning of an adventure that eventually leads to the establishment of a children's home that is already taking care of fifty children. In the meantime, Veerle also wants to start a waffle company . Like the whole project, this idea also grew a bit by accident . Veerle's homemade waffles proved to be very popular in India, and she had long been looking for a useful activity for a few less gifted children who will never learn a trade. After her call in Libelle, the first shipment of waffle irons, collected from Libelle readers, has already arrived in India.

Libelle now supports Veerle's project for a whole year. "I wanted to break this title into ten pieces and share it with all the other nominated women," Veerle said in a first reaction. After the ceremony, she couldn't wait to email the good news to her employees in India.

.

The Czech capital Prague is becoming increasingly popular for commercial surrogacy. Officially it is forbidden, but in practice a lot is possible. Gay couples and single men can also pick up a child here.

Czech authorities concluded a three-year investigation into human trafficking in early June. They investigated cases in which Ukrainian women in the Czech Republic gave birth to a child destined for presumably single non-Czech people.

The investigation centered on a private clinic in Kharkiv, Ukraine, that offers people the opportunity to 'order' a child. Research by the Czech news site Seznam Zpravy shows that interested parties from all over the world can choose skin color, gender and hair color via a catalog. The clinic then selects a suitable egg donor, after which a surrogate mother is fertilized.

Single men or gay couples cannot pick up their children in Ukraine; only a heterosexual couple can engage a surrogate mother. That is why there is Prague for other target groups. The surrogate mother gives birth in the Czech capital and then gives the client custody of the child. The man can then simply leave the Czech Republic with the child, without it being known whether he is capable of raising the child and what the motives behind his wish to have children are…

Thing

(CNN)Their eyes reflect childhoods marked by tragedy. Their faces show wrinkles made deeper by pain and the passage of time.

Tomasz Lazar spent hours photographing and interviewing adults who were ripped from their homes as children in the 1940s and forced to live thousands of miles away in Siberia.

"For me those faces are like maps," Lazar said. "The more you look at them, the more you are discovering."

Soviet authorities invaded Poland during World War II and deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. Some were sent to prison camps in the frozen wilderness of central Russia. Many were children. In effect, Moscow stole much of an entire generation of young Poles, a handful of whom Lazar has located seven decades later.

During Lazar's interviews, many of the survivors broke down in tears.

Abortion rights advocates and antiabortion advocates demonstrate outside the Supreme Court after a leak of a draft majority opinion overturning abortion rights on May 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Cynthia Landesberg is a Korean adoptee and a lawyer in the D.C. area.

Everyone loves a good adoption story. You know: the rags-to-riches tale of a baby found on the street and placed in a loving home, who becomes a lawyer, or a teacher, and one day has a family of their own. I’m well-acquainted with this story because it’s the narrative people imagine when they hear about my life. But it’s far from the whole truth.

Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates

I’m a Korean transracial adoptee and mother of two Korean adoptees. I’ve seen adoption fables used for entertainment, profit and politics, most recently by the Supreme Court as it debates the constitutional right to abortion — and as some of its members exalt adoption as a righteous and practical alternative.

Children in care have reported being groomed and sexually assaulted in homes run by a firm making huge profits.

Multiple employees of Calcot Services for Children say vulnerable young people were failed.

BBC News has found it made profits of 36% last year, double that of other big care providers - figures already considered excessive by a watchdog.

Calcot said profits were high because of built up investment, and it prioritises safeguarding children.

The company runs eight homes, four schools and supported living accommodation in southern England. It made profits of 42% in 2020 and 36% in 2021, using an industry-standard measure.

Giving has been an integral part of India’s culture. Many of us experience it quite early on when we celebrate our birthdays or other special occasions at orphanages or child care institutions (CCIs). While giving to orphanages has been the traditional and one of the oldest ways of engaging in philanthropy, we need to shift our focus towards supporting systems and approaches that address the root causes of child vulnerability,spearhead a movement to shift care reform priorities to prevent separation from family and subsequent institutionalization of children, and invest in research and innovative interventions that build upon the existing efforts by the government and civil society.

According to the Indian National Policy for Children 2013, “All children have the right to grow in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love, and understanding.” There is a global and national consensus that children can achieve holistic development and mental well-being only in a family and related setup. Research on the institutionalization of children claims that 80% of institutionalized children are below the mean on relevant indicators relating to the delayed brain and cognitive development, 57% of institutionalized children exhibit greater psychological issues, as opposed to only 15% otherwise and staff members often resort to dangerous measures that put the child at a higher risk of future criminal activity according to Lumos Global Research.

A ray of hope

To act on the root causes of child vulnerability in India, there is a need for programs that work as a collective, with on-ground interventions covering rural as well as urban locations, coupled with interventions that strengthen the ecosystem with data, evidence, narrative change, and advocacy. State-based models focused on systems strengthening, that lead to replicable solutions need to involve allied sectors, keeping the child at the center, and leverage resources and structures available or mandated by policy. The philanthropic community can have a multi-fold impact by supporting such collective initiatives, and championing the cause to wider networks.

The work is complex and we have a long way to go in overcoming execution challenges. We need to disproportionately focus on enabling families and communities to provide nurturing environments for their children and building the capacities of child protection actors to undertake all efforts necessary to provide family-based care for children entering the system based on the five priorities for action: