Child Abuse & Child Protection Around the World (January 2015)

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Saint Helena: Child abuse on St Helena ‘covered up by Foreign Office’ admits government
International Business Times – January 04, 2014
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been forced to admit it made an “erroneous” report to the United Nations in which it denied the South Atlantic island of St Helena had problems with child abuse.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/child-abuse-st-helena-covered-by-foreign-office-admits-government-1481796

United Kingdom: Researching Reform: Child welfare people and policies to watch in 2015
Family Law – January 05, 2015
2014 has, for family law at least, been a year of hard truths and hard knocks, affecting partners, children and practitioners alike. This sobering state of affairs is to be expected inside a sector embattled by widely-contested political reforms, and enduring an even deeper resource crisis. Challenges questioning legal aid policy and concerns over the Family Court’s future in a fast changing landscape have also made an uneven playing field foggy with procedural ambiguity.
http://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/researching-reform-child-welfare-people-and-policies-to-watch-in-2015#.VKrQNHuE03g

United Kingdom: Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police refuse to publish child abuse reports
Doncaster Free Press – January 05, 2015
The authority has turned down a Freedom of Information request to release reports written in 2003 and 2006 by strategic drugs analyst Dr Angie Heal relating to the links between organised crime and child abuse.
http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/crime/rotherham-council-and-south-yorkshire-police-refuse-to-publish-child-abuse-reports-1-7032082
United Kingdom: Home Office rejects Peter Hain’s call for historic child abuse inquiry to have a Welsh representative on its panel
WalesOnline – January 07, 2015
The Home Office has rejected former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain’s calls for the inquiry into historic child abuse to have a representative from Wales.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/home-office-rejects-peter-hains-8396071

United Kingdom: Mother fails in bid to block Christian couple adopting her two-year-old boy even though they are not a “religious match”
Daily Mail – January 07, 2015
Assessments by social services staff had ruled out either parent as a carer, said the judge, and social workers had also assessed more than a dozen other family members as possible carers – but ruled all of them out.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2900478/Mother-fails-bid-block-Christian-couple-adopting-two-year-old-boy-not-religious-match.html

United Kingdom: Parents’ legal aid wait to fight enforced adoption of son inhumane, says judge
The Guardian – January 07, 2015
The child was removed from his parents nine months ago by Swindon borough council and placed in temporary foster care. But for the past 10 months, the couple have been struggling to get the legal aid without which, said Sir James Munby, president of the family division of the high court, they would be left in the “unthinkable” situation of facing the local authority’s application without proper representation.
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jan/07/parents-legal-aid-wait-adoption-son-inhumane

France: Increase in child abuse causes concern in France
West – Welfare Society Territory – January 06, 2015
Blows, abuses, physical and verbal aggressions on minors. A phenomenon on the rise in France, where the police have reported an increase by 43% between December 2013 and November 2014.
http://www.west-info.eu/increase-in-child-abuse-causes-concern-in-france/

Guatemala: American to face trial in Guatemala adoption case
Associated Press – January 08, 2015
A Guatemalan court has ordered an American woman to stand trial on charges of participating in illegal adoptions. The prosecutors’ office for human trafficking says the court found sufficient evidence to try Nancy Susan Bailey, who is being treated for high blood pressure at a Guatemalan hospital.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jan/08/american-to-face-trial-in-guatemala-adoption-case/?ap

Guatemala: One girl’s controversial adoption, and what it says about Guatemala’s broken international adoption system (Includes audio)
Public Radio International – January 08, 2015
In each case, prospective parents paid tens of thousands of dollars in fees. All that money fueled a lucrative adoption industry in Guatemala, and an underground trade in abducted children. It got so bad that Guatemala halted all new international adoptions in 2007
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-01-08/one-girls-controversial-adoption-and-what-it-says-about-guatemalas-broken

India: Child welfare stamps released
The Hindu – January 09, 2015
Vellore Collector R. Nanthagopal released child welfare stamps valued at Rs. 2 each at a function got up by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), Vellore district, at the E.V.R. Nagammai Government Girls Higher Secondary School here on Thursday.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/child-welfare-stamps-released/article6770424.ece

India: Inter-country adoptions: HC seeks process of adoption in US
Livemint – January 08, 2015
The high court was hearing two petitions by US nationals who are unable to take their children adopted from biological parents outside India in the absence of any guidelines in the country on the issue.
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/ppF1l6iCLDh5SlQP2Ft74O/Intercountry-adoptions-HC-seeks-process-of-adoption-in-US.html

Ireland: Prosecutions over illegal adoptions may follow investigation into mother-and-baby homes
RTE News – January 09, 2015
The commission will examine the period between 1922 and 1998 at 14 named institutions and a number of county homes. Minister for Children James Reilly said the commission may produce evidence on illegal adoptions which could warrant prosecutions.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0109/671337-mother-and-baby-homes/

United Kingdom: Islington law firm reveals scale of historic child abuse in Scouts
Islington Gazette – January 08, 2015
A law firm which specialises in child abuse cases has been contacted by more than 150 victims who say they were physically or sexually abused while in the Scouts.
http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/crime-court/islington_law_firm_reveals_scale_of_historic_child_abuse_in_scouts_1_3909602

United Kingdom: Taskforce finds fault with action plan to improve failing children’s service
Bucks Herald – January 08, 2015
A government taskforce sent into County Hall’s failing children’s department has criticised parts of the council’s improvement action plan.
http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/taskforce-finds-fault-with-action-plan-to-improve-failing-children-s-service-1-6509652

Australia: Vulnerable children in South Australia face long-term emergency housing
Australian Associated Press – January 12, 2015
The state’s guardian for children and young people, Pam Simmons, said up to a third of these children were being kept in emergency housing for more than 18 months. She said authorities have struggled to find foster carers willing to take in large sibling groups, given an increased focus on keeping vulnerable brothers and sisters together. “To be honest, I think it’s a failure in good planning,” she told ABC radio.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/12/vulnerable-children-in-south-australia-face-long-term-emergency-housing

Haiti: Haitian earthquake five years on: Psychological scars remain
Caribbean News Now – January 12, 2015
Five years since the earthquake hit the tiny Caribbean island nation of Haiti, many children there still have limited access to education, and some report exposure to exploitation and sexual violence after the already-fragile country descended into chaos in the aftermath of the disaster. Many Haitian children still show signs of emotional and psychological stress, and remain in desperate need of assistance and protection today.
http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Haitian-earthquake-five-years-on%3A-Psychological-scars-remain-24339.html

Ireland: Inquiry may omit ‘tens of thousands’ of adoptions
Irish Examiner – January 10, 2015
Under terms of reference published by Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly, the Government will finally investigate how unmarried mothers and their babies were treated between 1922 and 1998 at 14 State-linked religious institutions.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/inquiry-may-omit-tens-of-thousands-of-adoptions-306187.html
Japan: Death of 3-year-old shows how child abuse experts are overstretched
Japan Times – January 13, 2015
The death of a 3-year-old girl, thrown into a river by her mother in November, underscores shortcomings in the nation’s child protection system, 10 years after amendments to the child welfare law purported to fix it.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/13/national/death-of-3-year-old-shows-how-child-abuse-experts-are-overstretched/#.VLUZO3uK2b8

New Zealand: Most child-abuse victims are babies under a year old
New Zealand Herald – January 13, 2015
The majority of children admitted to the Starship hospital as the result of suspected abuse or neglect are under 1 year old.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11385415

United Kingdom: Force ordered over child protection
Belfast Telegraph – January 13, 2015
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) found that West Yorkshire Police had inconsistencies across the force area, particularly in its approach towards child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/force-ordered-over-child-protection-30902656.html

United Kingdom: Adoption reform delays continue due to security concerns
Children & Young People Now – January 12, 2015
Plans to allow would-be adopters to search videos and photos of children remain in limbo because security issues that emerged last year have yet to be resolved.
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1149097/adoption-reform-delays-continue-security-concerns

Austria: Austria ban on gay adoption declared illegal
Zee News – January 14, 2015
Vienna: Austria`s highest court overturned Wednesday a law that prevents same-sex couples from adopting children, bringing it into line with many European countries.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/austria-ban-on-gay-adoption-declared-illegal_1530073.html

China: China Focus: China beefs up efforts to help underprivileged children
Xinhua via COMTEX – January 14, 2015
The plan aims at bettering development for underprivileged children in 680 impoverished counties by providing benefits from prenatal care to effective and affordable education until they finish compulsory school.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=263410

India: New guidelines for adoption announced
The Hindu – January 14, 2015
At a press conference here, he said the guidelines, formulated on the basis of the Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA)’s rules, would increase transparency in adoption procedures.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/thiruvananthapuram/new-guidelines-for-adoption-announced/article6787310.ece?homepage=true

International: Cambodia’s child abuse record under scrutiny in Geneva
Turkish Press – January 12, 2015
A two-day hearing to assess Cambodia’s record on preventing various forms of child abuse and the exploitation of children was launched Monday by the United Nations’ Geneva-based Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
http://www.turkishpress.com/news/418084/

United Kingdom: Uplands children’s home faces new police probe as girl claims: ‘I was victim of grooming gangs’
Birmingham Mail – January 13, 2015
A former Birmingham City Council-run children’s home is at the centre of a sex exploitation scandal – with staff accused of failing to protect young girls from paedophile gangs.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/uplands-childrens-home-faces-new-8430978

United Kingdom: Secret Tory files about private lives of MPs to be opened up for inquiry into historic child abuse
Daily Mail – January 14, 2014
Secret Tory files about the private lives of MPs are to be opened up for an inquiry into widespread child abuse at the heart of the establishment. David Cameron has ordered the Conservative Party’s whips’ office to hand over any evidence to investigators trying to uncover historic child abuse in Westminster.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2909714/Secret-Tory-files-private-lives-MPs-opened-inquiry-historic-child-abuse.html

Australia: World Vision Hands the ‘Child Safe Tourism’ Baton to The Code
PRWeb – January 15, 2015
The Child Safe Tourism campaign was launched in November 2012 as part of the Project Childhood Prevention Pillar – an Australian Government initiative implemented by World Vision to prevent child sexual abuse within travel and tourism in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Marc Joly, General Manager of The Code, expressed his excitement about the handover, saying, “The Code is delighted to be taking over the Child Safe Tourism campaign, and we can’t wait to take it to the next level to help us in our mission to promote child protection in travel and tourism.”
http://quotes.stocknod.com/stocknod/news/read?GUID=29070455

India: New guidelines for adoption announced
The Hindu – January 14, 2015
District Collector Biju Prabhakar on Tuesday announced new guidelines for adopting children from the Kerala State Child Welfare Council. At a press conference here, he said the guidelines, formulated on the basis of the Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA)’s rules, would increase transparency in adoption procedures.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/new-guidelines-for-adoption-announced/article6787310.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication

United Kingdom: Insurance companies ‘suppressed facts’ about child sex abuse
The Telegraph – January 14, 2015
Tim Hulbert, a retired civil servant and local authority chief, said he was “instructed” by a county council’s insurers not to admit liability or apologise to victims involved in a sex abuse investigation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11346143/Insurance-companies-suppressed-facts-about-child-sex-abuse.html
United Kingdom: Ofsted reports 36% rise in children missing from foster care
The Guardian – January 15, 2015
The number of times children ran away from foster care increased by a third in the past year, with many of those who absconded being put at risk of sexual exploitation, according to new Ofsted figures.
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/15/ofsted-foster-care-rise-missing-children-abuse-exploitation
China: Across China: Underprivileged children benefit from pilot welfare scheme
Xinhua News Agency – January 16, 2015
The boy and his father’s lives were turned around when the pilot poverty project scheme was tested in their county in 2012. “We now receive money from the civil affairs office every month. Life is much better than before,” the fourth grade student said.
http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=200473953&hash=d33b55085af033104dcd5010455768b6

Nigeria: Lawyers seek end to child abuse
News 24 Nigeria – January 19, 2015
Two Lagos-based lawyers, Messrs Fatai Adeniji and Ola Ogunbiyi, on Sunday called for adequate punishment for child abuse in Nigeria. The lawyers urged relevant agencies of government to strictly enforce laws against child abuse to check the vice.
http://www.news24.com.ng/National/News/Lawyers-seek-end-to-child-abuse-20150119

Spain: Deaf couple win right to adopt child who can hear
West – January 16, 2015
An unprecedented ruling from an appeal court in Spain has found in favour of a deaf couple who want to adopt a child with full hearing. The aspiring parents filed their case when their local social services said they could only adopt children with the same disability as them.
http://www.west-info.eu/deaf-couple-win-right-to-adopt-child-who-can-hear/

Canada: Leaving school-aged children home alone could become illegal if court convicts Winnipeg mother
National Post – January 21, 2015
The act of leaving an elementary school child home alone could soon be explicitly illegal, depending on whether a Manitoba judge decides to convict a mother for leaving her six-year-old home alone for 90 minutes.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/21/manitoba-court-case-could-lead-to-canadian-legal-ban-on-school-aged-children-staying-home-alone/

India: Adoption wait grows as kid numbers drop
The Telegraph – January 20, 2015
Couples looking to adopt an infant in India have to brace for a long wait, with the queues much longer now than they were even five years ago.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150121/jsp/nation/story_9481.jsp

Ireland: Gay adoption law due before same-sex marriage referendum
The Irish Times – January 21, 2015
The Government has pledged that legislation providing for adoption by gay couples will be enacted before the referendum on same-sex marriage in May.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/gay-adoption-law-due-before-same-sex-marriage-referendum-1.2073215

United Kingdom: Swifter action needed on child protection, expert warns (Opinion)
The Herald – January 21, 2015
The author of a government commissioned report into child protection commissioned has expressed disappointment that it has not led to further action.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/swifter-action-needed-on-child-protection-expert-warns.116595164

United Kingdom: Child abuse inquiry panel member accuses counsel of intimidation
The Guardian – January 20, 2015
One panel member, Sharon Evans, an abuse survivor and chief executive of the Dot Com children’s charity, told MPs that the inquiry’s counsel, Ben Emmerson QC, had effectively taken it over in the absence of an appointed chairman, and been guilty of making threats and intimidating panel members.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/20/child-abuse-inquiry-panel-member-accuses-counsel-intimidation

United Kingdom: More than 60 per cent of troubled families “turned around”
Newham Recorder – January 20, 2015
The three-year project, launched in 2011, involves one council team working with each family to address issues holistically, instead of multiple services targeting individual needs.
http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/more_than_60_per_cent_of_troubled_families_turned_around_1_3923646

United Kingdom: Schools suspend hundreds of staff amid child protection guidance confusion | Education
The Guardian – January 20, 2015
Schoolchildren in England are facing disruption because hundreds of staff are being suspended as a result of revised child protection guidance from the government. More than 300 school staff – including teachers – are thought to have been suspended, according to the public sector union Unison, after they complied with government requirements that they should disclose if they are living with someone with a conviction for a violent or sexual crime.
http://dailyme.com/story/2015012000003857

US: Un-Adopting: Is Divorcing Children an Acceptable Option?
Huffington Post – January 21, 2015
The one difference is that adopted children displaying these behaviors are labeled “defiant” and diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and also with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), a specifically adoption-related “disorder” that pinpoints the problem as the child’s inability to “bond” with a new family, and which has been called a “catch-all, garbage diagnoses.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/unadopting-is-divorcing-c_b_6504404.html

US: Adopted and Curious?
Huffington Post – January 20, 2015
Whether you are eight or 80, if you are adopted and have not met the parents who brought you into the world, you no doubt have questions, like those expressed by Hallee Randall, 11, who inspired this post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/adopted-and-curious_b_6492652.html

US: Living With Adoption’s Dichotomies and Myths
Huffington Post – January 20, 2015
Imagine sharing your feelings of missing your deceased father (or brother) and hearing: “Be glad you still have your mother (or sister)” as if your loved ones are interchangeable. Such a response would be off target, dismissive, and totally lacking in compassion. Yet it seems acceptable, or at least commonplace, to tell adoptees who courageously share the difficult aspects and challenges of living life adopted that they should be “grateful” because they were “chosen” and are “better off.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/living-with-adoptions-com_b_6504642.html

US: Maryland child neglect case exposes parental paradox (Opinion)
Quincy Herald Whig – January 20, 2015
There is no tougher job on earth than being a parent. It’s not like an instruction book plops out with the placenta. It’s up to each parent to decide how they’re going to raise that child. Every parent does things differently. What the Meitivs are doing with their kids doesn’t seem like neglect. Also: Letting kids walk to school is no crime (Opinion): http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/7/71/306350/letting-kids-walk-school-crime
http://www.whig.com/story/27891837/obrien-maryland-child-neglect-case-exposes-parental-paradox

US: Why We Need to Care About Children With Incarcerated Parents (Opinion)
Huffington Post – January 20, 2015
Children are surrounded by adults in their lives. Our job is to make sure that those people understand what it means for a child to have an incarcerated parent and what it takes to create a community where these children are recognized, supported, and encouraged to share their stories. Information Gateway resource: Supporting Children and Families of Prisoners: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/supporting/support-services/prisoners/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-radcliff/why-we-need-to-care-about-children-with-incarcerated-parents_b_6511032.html

US: ‘Dual-Status’ Youths: Broken Kids, Broken System (Opinion)
Acton Institute – January 19, 2015
One of the biggest problems for these kids are that the adults in their lives who are most positively involved – social workers and probation officers – rarely, if ever, communicated. Even more concerning, probation officers are only involved if and when a child has trouble with the law, and a probation officer’s main concern is to make sure the child doesn’t end up in trouble again ? but not necessarily fixing the issue that landed the child in trouble in the first place.
http://blog.acton.org/archives/75316-dual-status-youths-broken-kids-broken-system.html

INTERNATIONAL

US: & CT: Case Sparks Debate About Teen Decision Making in Health (Includes video)
US News & World Report – January 22, 2015
Only months before turning 18, a Connecticut girl has been told by her state’s supreme court that she must undergo chemotherapy against her wishes in a case that has drawn national headlines and raised questions about what rights minors truly have over their bodies.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/22/case-sparks-debate-about-teen-decision-making-in-health

US: Long proposes adoption counseling measure
KSPR – January 22, 2015
After a vote on an abortion bill was cancelled in the House, U.S. Rep. Billy Long, (R) Missouri-7th District is proposing legislation aimed at reducing abortions and increasing adoptions.
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/long-proposes-adoption-counseling-measure/21051620_30857402

US: & KS: What are the signs of child abuse? (Includes video)
KWCH – January 21, 2015
Child psychologists say sometimes it can be difficult to tell if a child is being abused. The problem is children can’t always tell us what they’re thinking or feeling, and even if they can they may be afraid to. Plus each child reacts to stress differently. But the signs of abuse will be there. Information Gateway resource: Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/identifying/
http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/what-are-the-signs-of-child-abuse/30852102

US: Cops, Group Homes and Criminalized Kids
Chronicle of Social Change – January 21, 2015
In the world of group homes, however, where staff who are often undertrained and overwhelmed try to manage the severe behaviors that foster youth disproportionately exhibit, calling the police, for some, has become a go-to method for controlling kids. A new law that went into affect the first of the new year is trying to change all that by forestalling excessive calls to police and, in so doing, mitigating the stigmatizing effect that contact with law enforcement invariably has on these youngsters. Information Gateway resource: Collaboration With Juvenile Justice Agencies: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/practice-improvement/collaboration/juvenilejustice/
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news/cops-group-homes-and-criminalized-kids/9109

US: Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice in 2015: The Big Questions
Chronicle of Social Change – January 16, 2015
A few weeks back we reflected on the stories and trends that defined juvenile justice and child welfare in 2014. So what might 2015 bring on the national stage? Here are a few things to watch on that front?
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/analysis/child-welfare-and-juvenile-justice-in-2015-the-big-questions/9192

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Paramedics baffled over why parents continue to lock their kids in cars
Herald Sun – January 22, 2015
More than 100 children have been left locked in cars this January, leaving paramedics frustrated that parents are still gambling with the lives of their kids.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/paramedics-baffled-over-why-parents-continue-to-lock-their-kids-in-cars/story-fni0fit3-1227192906357?nk=2f05f250a215ce5c5a2375e40d0824c0

Canada: Official in Makayla Sault case says laws on child protection and medical consent are conflicting
National Post – January 21, 2015
Ontario’s child welfare agencies are torn between conflicting laws on how to protect children who refuse chemotherapy in favour of traditional indigenous medicine, according to the head of the agency that oversaw the cases of Makayla Sault and a second aboriginal girl in an almost identical predicament.
http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/229582507

Canada: Over-protective parenting may be seeping into child welfare laws (Opinion)
Yahoo! News – January 21, 2015
But it today’s agee of helicopter parents and bubble-wrapped children, Bobby’s mom may be the rule, not the exception. That overprotective mindset appears to be seeping not only into parenting, but into child-welfare law, judging by two recent cases.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/bubble-kid-mentality-may-be-seeping-into-234728056.html

New Zealand: Child abuse stats still ‘appallingly high’ – Tolley
3 News – January 22, 2015
Child abuse in New Zealand is down 12 percent – but Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says our figures are still too high.
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/child-abuse-stats-still-appallingly-high–tolley-2015012215#axzz3PWWwp1ps

Philippines: An emotional meeting…
Gulf Daily News – January 22, 2015
Pope Francis’s last full day in the Philippines earlier this week, began with an emotional youth gathering at a Catholic university in Manila, where he was moved by a question posed by a 12-year-old girl who had been abandoned. ‘Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many of them became victims and bad things have happened to them, like drug addiction and prostitution. Why does God allow this to happen, even if the children are not at fault? Why is it that only a few people help us?’ Glyzelle Iris Palomar asked.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=394408

Slovakia: Referendum leader talks vote
The Slovak Spectator – January 21, 2015
The grassroots Alliance for Family (AZR) collected more than 400,000 signatures to put ballot questions that could ultimately amend the constitution to tighten the definition of family and ban same sex couples from adopting children. The Slovak Spectator sat down with one of AZR’s key organisers, Anton Chromík, in his law office to talk about the ballot initiative.
http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/56518/2/referendum_leader_talks_vote.html

Vietnam: Internationally-funded SOS Children’s Village opens in northern Vietnam
Tuoi tre news – January 22, 2015
An internationally-funded SOS Children’s Village, the 16th in Vietnam so far, made its debut in the northern province of Thai Binh on Wednesday. The Thai Binh SOS Children’s Village has 14 family houses that can accommodate 120-140 orphans and abandoned children.
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/25569/internationallyfunded-sos-childrens-village-debuts-in-northern-vietnam
US: & CT: Case Sparks Debate About Teen Decision Making in Health (Includes video)
US News & World Report – January 22, 2015
Only months before turning 18, a Connecticut girl has been told by her state’s supreme court that she must undergo chemotherapy against her wishes in a case that has drawn national headlines and raised questions about what rights minors truly have over their bodies.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/22/case-sparks-debate-about-teen-decision-making-in-health

INTERNATIONAL

Vietnam: Internationally-funded SOS Children’s Village opens in northern Vietnam
Tuoi tre news – January 22, 2015
An internationally-funded SOS Children’s Village, the 16th in Vietnam so far, made its debut in the northern province of Thai Binh on Wednesday. The Thai Binh SOS Children’s Village has 14 family houses that can accommodate 120-140 orphans and abandoned children.
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/25569/internationallyfunded-sos-childrens-village-debuts-in-northern-vietnam
US: “It’s Not What’s Wrong with the Children, It’s What’s Happened to Them”
Edutopia – January 22, 2015
When young people have behavioral challenges, the system usually asks, “What is wrong with this child, and how do we stop it?” Instead, they ought to be asking, “What happened to this child, and how do we help them?”
http://www.edutopia.org//blog/not-whats-wrong-whats-happened-jennifer-ngandu

US: Face of the immigration fight
Politico – January 22, 2015
A debate in the House Appropriations Committee last June was very much a prelude to this battle – only then Democrats wanted to deny funding for the deportations. But Roybal-Allard’s comments in that meeting are telling as she repeatedly hit home on this point: children caught in the middle.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/lucille-roybal-allard-homeland-security-bill-114480.html

US: Mixed Response to Obama’s Paid Leave Legislation
U.S. News & World Report – January 21, 2015
While some people say the paid leave will make life easier for families because workers will no longer have to choose between caring for their loved ones or putting food on the table, others say it targets women as ‘victims’ and reduces employment opportunities.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/21/mixed-response-to-obamas-paid-leave-legislation

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United Kingdom: Calls to do more for our young people as 100,000 children ‘fall off’ council radar
Mirror – January 22, 2015
Britain lags behind other developed countries in reducing the number of 16 to 18-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/calls-more-young-people-100000-5020602

United Kingdom: Council and police back under fire over sex abuse scandal
Rotherham Advertiser – January 22, 2015
The Rotherham child sex abuse scandal was back in the spotlight this week as report author Prof Alexis Jay freshly criticised police and council officials – and Ofsted was forced to apologise for failing to expose the issue.
http://www.rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/97558/council-and-police-back-under-fire-over-sex-abuse-scandal.aspx

US: One Couple’s Unanticipated Journey to Center of Landmark Gay Rights Case
New York Times – January 24, 2015
After talking to a lawyer in Detroit, Ms. Rowse and Ms. DeBoer were stunned to discover that, as a gay couple living in Michigan, they were unprotected under the law: Michigan does not allow two unmarried people to jointly adopt a child, so their children were technically adopted by a single parent, either Ms. Rowse, 50, or Ms. DeBoer, 43. Each parent legally had no claim to the children her partner had legally adopted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/us/one-couples-unanticipated-journey-to-center-of-landmark-gay-rights-case.html?_r=0

US: Christine Korenthal: Parenting by law: a bad idea for society (Opinion)
Santa Clarita Valley Signal – January 23, 2015
A poll conducted in August showed that 82 percent of Americans believe it should be against the law for any child under the age of 9 to be allowed to play outside without supervision, and 63 percent think that even 12 years old is too young to be unsupervised. I found this poll deeply unsettling.
http://www.signalscv.com/section/33/article/132063/

US: Survivors of Human Trafficking Need Our Understanding, Help
Youth Today – January 23, 2015
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, first proclaimed by President Barack Obama several years ago as a time for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and individuals to renew their commitments to ending human trafficking in every form.
http://youthtoday.org/2015/01/survivors-of-human-trafficking-need-our-understanding-help/

US: Why Human Traffickers Prey on Foster-Care Kids
City Limits – January 23, 2015
Unfortunately, the foster care system can be a pipeline to prostitution. One reason is that many adolescents see themselves as just a paycheck for foster and adoptive parents.
http://citylimits.org/2015/01/23/why-traffickers-prey-on-foster-care-kids/

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Australia: Too many kids in care, says peak body
Westender – January 26, 2015
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in state care has reached the highest level ever recorded in Queensland and all parties need to commit to reducing this says the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak Body.
http://westender.com.au/many-kids-care-says-peak-body/

Australia: Families adopting overseas will be offered government help
The Guardian – January 24, 2015
Australian families who are in the process of adopting a child from overseas will be able to access federal support services as early as April, prime minister Tony Abbott said.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/25/australian-families-adopting-overseas-will-be-offered-government-help

International: Hacking group Anonymous to target paedophiles using the ‘dark web’ to carry out child abuse
Daily Mail – January 24, 2015
The hacking group says it is is planning on collecting evidence against international paedophile rings and their abuse of children to find the links between different operations and ultimately bring the perpetrators to justice.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2924864/Hacking-group-Anonymous-target-paedophiles.html

Malta: Parents who abandon children in care homes may lose right to block adoptions
Times of Malta – January 26, 2015
Parents of children living in care homes who refuse to free them for adoption despite not being present in their lives could have them taken away under a new process to be discussed in Parliament today.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150126/local/parents-who-abandon-children-in-care-homes-may-lose-right-to-block-adoptions.553368

New Zealand: New Zealand Child Abuse Cases Down by 12 Percent
International Business Times – January 24, 2015
Cases of child abuse in New Zealand have shown a marked decline. According to the latest statistics on child abuse, the number of children abused in New Zealand in the year ended in June 2014 has come down by 2,306 or 12 percent compared to the figures of year 2013.
http://au.ibtimes.com/new-zealand-child-abuse-cases-down-12-percent-1414820

St Helena: Child abuse: whistleblowers’ lives ‘smashed to pieces’ (Includes video)
The Telegraph – January 25, 2015
British social workers who blew the whistle on paedophilia on a British island now face “terrifying” wait to learn if they will be extradited there.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sainthelena/11367216/St-Helena-child-abuse-whistleblowers-lives-smashed-to-pieces.html

Sweden: Zero gay adoptions in Sweden
QX – January 26, 2015
If you’re gay and aspire to become a parent in Sweden the future looks pretty bleak. For over ten years it has been legal for gay couples to adopt children in Sweden, yet no international gay adoptions have ever been made, QX ask the question: why?
http://www.qx.se/english/28081/zero-gay-adoptions-in-sweden
US: Sex traffickers are among ICE’s most wanted
USA Today – January 27, 2015
The issue isn’t limited to foreigners brought to the United States. Polaris, an advocacy group that works to end human trafficking, says that of the 3,840 cases reported through their hotline last year, almost 1,500 involved victims who are American citizens. Many are young teens who are in foster care, have run away or live in troubled homes.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/27/human-trafficking-most-wanted-fugitives/22358301/

US: A New Organization and a New Focus: Enabling Children and Families to Succeed (Opinion)
Huffington Post – January 26, 2015
The National Center on Adoption and Permanency (NCAP); Our mission is to move policy and practice in the U.S. beyond their current concentration on child placement to a model in which enabling families of all kinds to succeed — through education, training and support services — becomes the bottom-line objective.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-pertman/a-new-organization-and-a-new-focus_b_6543152.html

US: Adopted Child Doe and Amended Birth Certificates (Opinion)
Huffington Post – January 26, 2015
The case of Adopted Child Doe, however, goes beyond issues of marriage or the right to marry. It is about a child’s birthright, his dignity and his 14th Amendment rights.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/adopted-child-doe-and-ame_b_6527546.html

US: Bender: Eliminating residential care a bad idea (Opinion)
Tallahassee Democrat – January 26, 2015
Critics also often ignore research that shows that quality residential care is the best option for a subset of at-risk, high-needs children whose treatment needs cannot be met through less restrictive approaches like foster care and family-based programs. Related: Study Raises Questions About Group Homes For Kids: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/01/10/study-raises-questions-about-group-homes-for-kids/
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2015/01/26/bender-eliminating-residential-care-bad-idea/22341609/

US: House passes bills to fight human trafficking
The Hill – January 26, 2015
Another measure passed by voice vote, H.R. 468, would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to use grants for training staff on the effects of human trafficking among runaway and homeless children.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/230779-house-passes-bills-to-fight-human-trafficking

US: New app may help parents check child abuse
Economic Times – January 26, 2015
The SafeParent app created by Jeff Herman, child advocate and attorney for victims of sexual abuse in US, has a quiz for parents to take with their kids.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/new-app-may-help-parents-check-child-abuse/articleshow/46017345.cms

US: Reevaluating Child Welfare Priorities (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – January 26, 2015
A child’s safety should be the first priority in any child welfare system, shouldn’t it? As a lawyer, I’ve been examining the role the judicial system plays in making sure children remain safe once they have been removed from danger.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/opinion/reevaluating-child-welfare-priorities/9212

US: When Kids Are Sold For Sex –They’re Not ‘Child Prostitutes,’ They’re Victims (Opinion)
Huffington Post – January 26, 2015
According to federal law, any individual under 18 who performs a commercial sex act in exchange for compensation is by definition a victim of sex trafficking, not a prostitute. Yet, these young victims are labeled as “child prostitutes” in the media and are often treated as criminals before the law.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/sex-trafficking-children_n_6547668.html

US: Madison author: Sex abuse costs changed everything for Catholic Church
Daily Record – January 25, 2015
When the Catholic sexual abuse scandals of the last 15 years entered American courtrooms, a kind of showdown was at play: canon law versus civil law. It got the attention of Jo Renee Formicola, a political science professor at Seton Hall University.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/local/2015/01/25/madison-author-bankruptcy-within-catholic-church-changed-everything/22212891/

US: CDC: low awareness among women of birth defect risk from opioids
Medical News Today – January 23, 2015
“Taking opioid medications early in pregnancy can cause birth defects and serious problems for the infant and the mother,” says CDC Director Tom Frieden. “Many women of reproductive age are taking these medicines and may not know they are pregnant and therefore may be unknowingly exposing their unborn child. That’s why it’s critical for health care professionals to take a thorough health assessment before prescribing these medicines to women of reproductive age.”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288457.php?tw

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Egypt: Children’s Act amended in favor of earlier foster care
Egypt Independent – January 26, 2015
Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly said the president issued a decree amending certain provisions of the 1996 Children’s Act in favor of sending children to foster care earlier.
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/children-s-act-amended-favor-earlier-foster-care

Romania: Loving foster homes repaired brain damage of Romanian orphans
The Telegraph – January 26, 2015
A 12 year study by Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital in the US found that the brains of the orphans stopped developing properly after they were abandoned in the Bucharest institutions. Researchers discovered that those children fortunate enough to find loving foster homes were able to regrow the missing connections and restore lost function. Also: Institutional neglect changes kids’ brain structure: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/26/us-kids-brains-orphanages-idUSKBN0KZ2DD20150126?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11370571/Loving-foster-homes-repaired-brain-damage-of-Romanian-orphans.html

United Kingdom: Phone apps pose ‘biggest child protection challenge of this generation’
The Courier – January 26, 2015
Will Gardner, the chief executive of UK internet safety charity Childnet, said there is “an urgent conversation that has to happen in every home” regarding the use of phone apps.
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/phone-apps-pose-biggest-child-protection-challenge-of-this-generation-1.807085

US: 3 Black Adoptees Speak Out About Life With White Parents
The Root – January 27, 2015
The Root talked to three transracial adoptees, all adopted by white families in the 1970s, about their experiences and views on transracial adoption, as well as Costner’s new film. While all three appreciated the love and foundation their families provided, a common theme evolved: In a racially polarized society, children of color cannot be raised devoid of their history and culture.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/01/_3_black_adoptees_speak_about_growing_up_with_white_parents.html

US: How American Families Can Afford Adoption
U,S. News & World Report – January 27, 2015
Domestic and international adoption can cost thousands of dollars, but grants, tax credits and fundraising can offset costs. Information Gateway resource: Adoption Assistance by State: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adopt-assistance/
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2015/01/27/how-american-families-can-afford-adoption

US: The Voiceless in a Failing System (Opinion)
Huffington Post – January 27, 2015
We remain unaware of all of the young boys and girls who lack a voice, a family and/or a home because they remain in a system that leaves them powerless.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-hartman/the-voiceless-in-a-failin_b_6535918.html?utm_hp_ref=impact&ir=Impact

US: Violence intervention programs ‘could save hospitals millions’
Medical News Today – January 27, 2015
Researchers from Drexel University have analyzed the cost-benefit ratio of hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) and report that – as well as benefiting victims’ lives – HVIPs can make costs savings of up to $4 million over a 5-year period in the health care and criminal justice sectors.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288572.php?tw

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Australia: Child trafficking opponents criticise Federal Government’s decision to lift series of overseas adoption bans
South East Asia – January 27, 2015
Opponents of child trafficking have criticised the Federal Government’s decision to lift a series of bans on foreign adoptions, saying Australians should stay out of overseas arrangements.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-28/calls-for-end-to-overseas-adoption/6051990

Canada: More help promised for Manitoba child welfare
MetroNews Canada – January 27, 2015
Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross says there will be a 60 per cent increase in funding for in-home support services by social workers.
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1272170/more-help-promised-for-manitoba-child-welfare/

Korea: Birth mothers living in silence
Korea Herald – January 28, 2015
“When you get pregnant as an unmarried woman, you have to marry the father of your baby. Other options were unthinkable.” But nothing was worse than learning that her family members secretly sent her 11-month-old son for adoption to give Noh an “easier life.”
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150128001276

Spain: 10 priests charged in Spain child abuse case pope helped air
Jakarta Post – January 28, 2015
A Spanish judge charged 10 Catholic priests with committing or abetting sexual abuse of a teenage altar boy, court papers showed Wednesday, in a case Pope Francis helped bring to light.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/28/10-priests-charged-spain-child-abuse-case-pope-helped-air.html

United Kingdom: New research to explore child safeguarding inequalities
Care Appointments – January 27, 2015
It will then explore potential reasons for the inequalities in rates across the UK. Since 2008 there has been an 86% increase in the number of children being investigated over child protection concerns in England. And the number of children spending time in care each year has increased by 10,000 since 2010.
http://www.careappointments.co.uk/education-training/item/36425-new-research-to-explore-child-safeguarding-inequalities

United Kingdom: Mother’s stress hormone levels may affect fetal growth and long term health of child
Science Daily – January 26, 2015
The foetuses of the mice with raised levels of the stress hormone tended to be smaller, despite the mother overeating, suggesting that a mother’s stress levels may affect her child’s growth.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150126095717.htm

US: Child maltreatment not a clear path to adult crime
Medical Xpress – January 29, 2015
Research has found a significant link between childhood abuse and neglect and crime in adulthood. But a recent University of Washington study finds that link all but disappears when accounting for other life factors. Study: http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/10/01/0886260514552446
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-child-maltreatment-path-adult-crime.html

US: Menendez champions Obama immigration orders, singles out N.J. family on Senate floor
nj.com – January 28, 2015
At a rally last month in support of President Obama’s executive order on immigration, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez met a family from Jackson who have been able to remain in the country because of the White House’s actions.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/menendez_singles_out_jackson_family_as_he_champion.html

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Australia: Shopping for children: Australian adoption market puts them at risk (Opinion)
The Conversation AU – January 28, 2015
On Sunday, January 25, Prime Minister Tony Abbott released a little more detail about his plans for adoption in Australia. Although specifics are still pretty thin on the ground, the announcement makes the concerns that I and others raised previously very real.
http://theconversation.com/shopping-for-children-australian-adoption-market-puts-them-at-risk-36763

Lebanon: Illegal adoption agency charged with child trafficking
Lebanon Daily Star – January 28, 2015
An illegal child adoption agency which allegedly worked to convince migrant domestic workers to give up newborns in return for facilitating travel back home has been accused of child trafficking and forging birth certificates.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Jan-28/285558-illegal-adoption-agency-charged-with-child-trafficking.ashx

United Kingdom: Rotherham child abuse victims may be as many as 2000 says Sarah Champion
Daily Mail – January 29, 2015
Victims of the Rotherham child abuse scandal may number as many as 2,000 – hundreds more than were identified in a damning report – the town’s MP said today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2931126/Victims-Rotherham-child-abuse-scandal-2-000-says-MP-hundreds-coming-forward.html

United Kingdom: Trafficked children ‘should be given legal guardians’
Marilyn Stowe Blog – January 28, 2015
The Human Trafficking & Exploitation Bill requires the appointment of guardians that children who arrive in the province without a parent or career, through trafficking or other means, should have a guardian appointed to represent them.
http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2015/01/28/trafficked-children-should-be-given-legal-guardians/

US: $77 billion a year to cut child poverty in half? A bargain, report says.
Christian Science Monitor – January 29, 2015
When the Children’s Defense Fund went about putting together its latest report on child poverty in America, it did something new: It put a price tag on its proposals. To reduce child poverty by 60 percent in just a few years would cost $77 billion a year, it found.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0129/77-billion-a-year-to-cut-child-poverty-in-half-A-bargain-report-says

US: Do You Need Good Credit to Adopt a Child?
Nerdwallet – January 29, 2015
“Adoption agencies look at financial information” – in a general sense – to make sure the prospective parents are “financially stable,” explains Tomasa Duenas, an adoptive parent and intake counselor at the Independent Adoption Center in Concord, California.
http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/tips/good-credit-adopt-child/

US: The Aftereffects of Childhood Sexual Abuse (Opinion)
Psych Central – January 29, 2015
Our refusal to acknowledge the huge numbers of one in four girls and one in six boys being sexually assaulted translates into a failure to provide the healing help those victims need. If the victims don’t exist they don’t need resources to help them recover, right?
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/sex-abuse/

INTERNATIONAL

Botswana: High Court to Rule on Adoption of Children Born Out of Wedlock
Maravi Post – January 30, 2015
On Monday, 2 February, the Botswana High Court will hand down judgment in a constitutional challenge to the Adoption of Children Act. The Act permits a child who is born out of wedlock to be adopted by a third party without the consent of the child’s biological father.
http://www.maravipost.com/201501308087/Law-and-Order/sadc-news-botswana-high-court-to-rule-on-adoption-of-children-born-out-of-wedlock.html

Korea: & US: As Korean adoptees return, a complex relationship follows (Includes audio)
KPCC – January 29, 2015
Schildkraut returned to South Korea twice to find more information about her biological family and explored her experience in a book of poetry, Magnetic Refrain. She’s part of a wave of adult adoptees who have made that trip or relocated.
http://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2015/01/29/41304/as-korean-adoptees-return-a-complex-relationship-f/

United Kingdom: New children’s commissioner for Wales is expert in adoption and child protection
Community Care – January 29, 2015
Sally Holland, who is currently a professor at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, will take up the post in April.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/01/29/new-childrens-commissioner-for-wales-is-expert-in-adoption-and-child-protection/

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Child Abuse & Child Protection Around the World (January 2015)

Author: Mike Tikkanen

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