Submit written evidence to the inquiry: Improving family court services for children

In 2023, more than 130,000 children were involved in the family court system.  A large part of family courts’ work is dealing with disputes over children, such as deciding which parent a child should live with or whether a child should be taken into care for their protection.. The system relies on input from a range of bodies including  His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ); the Department for Education (DfE); and the Children’s and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), to provide adequate support and services for the children and families involved. 

The work of Cafcass was last examined by the Committee in 2010 when it determined that the service, which looks after the interests of children involved in family court proceedings in England, was not fit for purpose. However in the years since these findings Cafcass has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, although some past challenges identified by the PAC still apply today, including the pressure caused by high caseloads. 

The National Audit Office’s (NAO) work in this area in 2025 questioned whether the MoJ, DfE and other bodies involved in the family court system in England and Wales managing the system effectively to provide better outcomes for the children and families involved. In recent years the time taken to resolve cases in the family courts has steadily increased, with figures in March 2024 showing that families were waiting almost a year on average for decisions to be made.  

Based on the NAO’s work, the Committee will take evidence from senior MoJ and DfE officials, and representatives from other relevant bodies on topics including:   

A late decision to cut a support fund by 40% has led to a chaotic and distressing situation, with therapy for vulnerable children cancelled or delayed, writes Dr Leslie Ironside

As a consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist, I am writing to express serious concern about the government’s handling of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) this financial year. The ASGSF has long been a vital resource for adoptive families, enabling access to specialist therapeutic support for children who have experienced early trauma, loss and disruption. I have worked with many such families under this scheme and seen the positive, often life-changing impact it can have.

This year, however, the situation has been chaotic and distressing. The decision on ASGSF funding was left until very late in the financial planning cycle, leaving families and professionals in limbo. When the decision finally came, the funding had been cut by 40% – a severe blow.

How one experiences being adopted is not in itself unimportant. However, the experiences are not strictly necessary to be able to discuss the system.

Artist Jorun Stiansen wants nuance in the debate about intercountry adoption.

As a critic, I do not believe that one or the other experience should have less space than another. After all, they are experiences. These are not the objects of criticism and scrutiny.

The New York State Senate adopted a resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, introduced by Senator Jeremy Cooney, who celebrates his Indian origin. “Today, I had the privilege of introducing a Senate resolution to recognise the 75th Anniversary of the Indian Constitution. As an orphan from Kolkata, India, I'm incredibly proud to celebrate our Indian heritage and this important landmark with my colleagues and all New Yorkers,” Senator Cooney posted on X.

“I am introducing this resolution in honour of the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, a time to celebrate Indian independence and the many brave Indians who risked their lives for the betterment of their fellow countrymen,’ Cooney said during his address.

“As many of my colleagues know in the Senate, I was adopted from an orphanage in Calcutta and throughout my life, I have worked very hard to maintain a strong connection with India and Indians in my community. That connection continues today as we honour the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution,” he stated.

What Jeremy Cooney revealed about his birth and birth mother

Cooney has extensively spoken about his Indian origin. In 2018, he penned his birth story in a blog, though he said he does not know much of it. "I don’t know much about my birth mother, but I know she was alone. She came to my orphanage, the International Mission of Hope Society, pregnant and unable to keep her child. She was able to stay at the Christian mission and deliver me under medical supervision. I was born weeks later with only a first name. No substantial records were kept, assuring her anonymity," he wrote.

He was adopted by his single mother Anne when she was 40. "Years later, I would return to that same orphanage as Jeremy Cooney, with my (adopted) mother, Anne. Single and at the age of 40, my mother took a chance and adopted a little brown boy from across the globe. She did so in the name of love. Nevertheless, it was risky at the time. I was first Indian male adoptee from India in upstate New York," he wrote.

The 13-year-old allegedly conspired with two men to kill her adoptive mother over her opposition to the relationship and to gain control of her property.

In Short

• Victim opposed girl's ties with older men Ganesh Rath and Dinesh Sahu
• Girl, 13, conspired with 2 men to gain control over Rajalaxmi's property
• Murder covered up by claiming heart attack, body cremated in Puri

A teen and her two male friends were arrested in Odisha for the murder of the woman who had adopted and raised her since infancy. The victim, 54-year-old Rajalaxmi Kar, was allegedly smothered to death on April 29 at her rented home in Gajapati district.

Police say the girl, just 13 years old, conspired with Ganesh Rath, a temple priest, and Dinesh Sahu to kill Rajalaxmi over her opposition to the relationship and to gain control of her property. The teenager was allegedly in a relationship with Rath and Sahu.

Cherish Deven described Blake as malnourished and said she was forced to dismember his body after he died.

Posted 4:09 AM yesterday Updated 6:54 PM yesterday

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Oana Sârbu, one of the most beloved artists of the '80s-'90s generation, is living a different story today: that of a devoted, discreet mother deeply anchored in the life of her adopted son, Alexandru. The boy is 16 years old today and is the result of a choice made with her heart more than a decade ago – a choice that changed her life forever. And the story behind this adoption reveals a sensitive and deeply emotional side of the artist.
 

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1 Alexandru, the boy who changed Oana Sârbu's life 

2 A family story that began with two: Oana Sârbu and Robert Turcescu 

2.1 Robert Turcescu, another life, another marriage 

Completion of legislation for implementing reform of public adoption system centered on national and local governments
- Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the International Adoption Act and the Domestic Adoption Special Act are enacted and revised, and are scheduled to take effect on July 19 -

  The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Cho Kyu-hong) announced that following the promulgation of the Enforcement Decree of the Special Adoption Act (renamed the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption), the Partial Revision Decree of the Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act, and the Enforcement Decree (enactment) of the Act on International Adoption ('25.5.7.), it has enacted and revised the related enforcement regulations* ('25.5.14. promulgated), which will go into effect on July 19. 

   * Enforcement Decree of the Special Adoption Act (renamed as the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption), Enforcement Decree of the Act on International Adoption

  This is a follow-up measure to the revision of subordinate statutes in accordance with the revision of the law in July 2023 to strengthen national responsibility for domestic and international adoption of children in order to implement the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption*. 

Students who hide their pregnancy under thick sweaters and give birth alone, it still happens in the Netherlands. Stichting Beschermde Wieg, which helps women in all phases of an unwanted pregnancy, has seen the group of students grow in recent years. ‘Above all, these women want to prevent parental interference.’

It sounds like a story from another time. Yet last year a student gave birth alone in her student house. She immediately went out onto the street to give the baby up for adoption, wrapped in a blanket.

Kitty Nusteling, operational director at the Beschermde Wieg foundation, has seen these types of students more and more in recent years. ‘Sometimes they take another exam the following week.’ Every year, around 1,500 women contact the Beschermde Wieg foundation for help in all phases of pregnancy. This can involve a listening ear, advice, shelter or medical support, or giving babies up for adoption. This year, the foundation has already facilitated seven births of women who wanted to give their child up for adoption, three of whom were still studying. Two of those births were in Amsterdam.

Whether this also means that the number of students in the Netherlands who hide a pregnancy is increasing is difficult to say. However, Nusteling does see more women who only use natural contraception, methods to prevent pregnancy without hormonal agents, which are less reliable. Nusteling. 'In addition, there is always a number X, the women who do not report to us. Research shows that women who want their child never to be found succeed in their plan.'

Forced adoptions in Switzerland have so far received little research. According to historian Rahel Bühler of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and Arts (ZHAW), the procedures were mostly legally correct, but unmarried mothers were under enormous social and official pressure.

Young women were "put under severe psychological pressure and forced to consent to an abortion, sterilization, or adoption of one or more of their children." The Federal Office of Justice records this under the heading "Victims of Coercive Welfare Measures and Out-of-Home Care." 

Unlike, for example, indentured children, forced adoptions have received little public attention. From a scientific perspective, the events have also been little studied. "There are many unanswered questions," says Rahel Bühler (44) of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). The historian has co-authored recent studies on adoptions in forced situations in Switzerland since the 1960s.