Adoption And Social Networking

Really interesting piece on Radio 4′s All In the Mind this afternoon on adoption, covering the disruptive impact on small babies of being taken to and from contact with birth parents whilst care proceedings are pending, and the sometimes catastrophic impact of unplanned contact between adopted teenagers and birth parents via facebook or the internet. [...]

Lilo & Stitch

I have just taken time out in between briefs to watch Lilo & Stitch whilst feeding the boy his tea. I confess that I had one eye on the tv and one on the tuna sandwiches that were being liberally smeared all over the high chair and his face, and that were threatening to come [...]

‘Don’t you lot EVER think about the kids?’

No, you are absolutely right. We have spent years acquiring expertise, passed up the opportunity to earn three times as much money in any other area of law you care to choose, regularly work into the night reading graphic details about head injuries and abuse and neglect, and spend 50% of our time telling our [...]

Orphan Movie Upset

You can read an interesting post on Popehat here about the controversy Warner’s marketing of it’s new movie ORPHAN has stirred up. A charming and socially sensitive advertising campaign by the sound of it. But hey, it sells.

The Economics of Dysfunction

It frustrates me that, whilst care proceedings are sometimes a spur for parents to recognise the significance of their own past experience, personal issues and their pressing need for therapy to enable them to parent better and to lead more productive fulfilled lives, there is often no route through to achieve these goals because of ‘resource issues’. As [...]

Setting Aside Adoption Orders

The judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Webster v Norfolk adoption saga is available here. A very sad case. The judgment is very long, but in essence the Court of Appeal has held that the adoption orders cannot be set aside and there is no purpose in reopening the findings made against Mr [...]

A few titbits…

…to keep all the snowed-in out there occupied (if you aren’t out hurtling down a hill on a bin lid that is). I don’t have time today to chase up all these items but thought some of you might be interested… Children’s Society report (Thanks Teech Liz) – from a 2 second look at the [...]

Granny v Gay Adoption

I came across this article in the Telegraph which deals with the decision to place two young siblings for adoption in preference to leaving them with their grandparents in a kinship placement. Although I don’t know any more about this case than I have read in the article I want to offer a few thoughts [...]

adoption and father’s rights

John at Family Lore has beaten me to it on this story about the Court of Appeal decision that a father should not be told about his 4 month old baby prior to adoption. I agree with what John says about the Mother having the ultimate veto over the father knowing – this goes against [...]

Magistrate’s Religious Discrimination Claim Rejected by EAT

The EAT has rejected Mr McClintock’s appeal in this case. More detail than was previously available from press reports is apparent from the judgment, in summary: Mr McClintock’s strongly held view was that the question of allowing same sex couples to adopt children had not been sufficiently researched and tested and that by making it [...]