Over my decades of practice, seeing thousands of people who use donor conception to have their children, I have seen a steady increase in people who want to either co‑parent or who plan to use the sperm or eggs of someone they know and plan to call that person "mom" or "dad." While I have seen many of these beautiful arrangements work out well, many have not.
Elsa is a beautiful little girl, a raucous bundle of excitement and laughter. I am pleased to have seen photos of her. I know from reports that she lights up the space around her. She is happy and settled in her new family, as yet unaware of how she differs from other children. Her best chance in life comes with a permanent placement in an alternative family.
The company's overall rate of profit on these contracts is capped at around 6%, but Mears' operations across the UK exceeded that limit to the tune of 13.8m. Mears recorded its highest rate of profit in Northern Ireland, peaking at 17%. That was partly due to the fact asylum seekers in Northern Ireland don't have to be dispersed among different local authorities like they do in the UK, reducing transport and administrative costs.
Year-end giving can be a moment of reflection, but for businesses and philanthropy alike, it should also include looking forward and asking the question, what's next? One throughline from this past year is uncertainty. Uncertainty has rewritten how we work, live, and lead. Yet, one thing that still holds true is we share a responsibility to keep systems strong so no one is left behind, especially children.
The Department of Children and Families erroneously thought 4-year-old A'zella Ortiz had moved to New York before she was allegedly killed by her father in Worcester last year, a new report says, which argues DCF failed to support her and her siblings for years. "Although the ultimate tragic outcome of this case is rare, in other ways this case is like the vast majority of DCF cases," the new report from the state's Office of the Child Advocate said.
Technology has impacted every area of our lives, and its influence on families is undeniable. The modern parenting conversation around technology focuses on concerns like excessive screen time and overexposure through social media (Overuse of Devices and Social Media Top Parent Concerns, 2023). However, there's a hidden crisis within the modern family that we risk overlooking in our discussions about technology: parental and caregiver substance use disorder (SUD).
The attorney general, Judith Collins, said on Thursday the decision to establish a public inquiry was due to the significant public interest in the case, and concern with the children's welfare. The inquiry will look into whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare of the Phillips children, Collins said in a statement.
Nathan Trevallion, a former chef from Bristol, and his wife, Catherine Birmingham, a former horse-riding teacher from Melbourne, bought a dilapidated property in a wooded area in Palmoli, in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, in 2021. The aim was to raise their three children Utopia Rose, 8, and six-year-old twins Galorian and Bluebell as close to nature as possible. They grew their own food, generated electricity via solar power and extracted their water from a well.
It was a Sunday this past June, and Virginia Ortega was heading to work at her job cleaning hotel rooms, putting in overtime so she could pay her rent. She asked her son Cesar (a pseudonym), an autistic 16-year-old who also suffers from hallucinations, if she should find someone to watch him while she worked, but he said no, he was old enough to stay home alone.
Robert Albon, who calls himself Joe Donor, has appealed to the courts to gain access to at least four of his biological children against their mothers' wishes. In a rare move, a judge named him in 2023 to warn women of the risks of using his services, which he promotes on social media. Albon, who has appeared on This Morning and in a Channel 4 documentary,
Having a child should be the greatest day of a New Yorkers' life; it was for me. On that day, you should not have to worry about where you're going to take your baby once you leave the hospital. You should not have to worry about whether your child will grow up on the verge of homelessness or in a home. In 2024 alone, over 2,000 babies were born in New York City shelters that's 2,000 too many.
Thanks to the trend for gentle parenting, the concept of big feelings has become big money online, and for the most part I welcome that (Big Feelings isn't the only song that reflects this cultural shift; the animation Small Potatoes on CBeebies has a song that goes Feelings / I've got so many feelings, which my husband likes to sing to me when I'm premenstrual).
An investigation found that Lori A. Maricle, 31, locked the 6-year-old girl inside a closet and pushed a heavy wooden dresser in front of the door so she couldn't get out, police said. Maricle left the home for about an hour, leaving the girl confined in the dark closet. She also left two other children - a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old - unsupervised in the home, police said.
Men's heavy drinking is fueling a hidden crisis affecting millions of women and children worldwide. The harms, from violence to financial instability, are especially severe where gender inequality is high. Experts warn that alcohol policies must include gender-responsive strategies to protect vulnerable families. They call for reforms combining regulation, prevention, and community action. A sweeping global review has revealed that men's alcohol consumption is causing widespread harm to women and children, from violence and neglect to lost educational and life opportunities. Credit: Shutterstock
Los Angeles county will pay $20m to the family of a four-year-old boy who was tortured to death by his parents six years ago in a case that brought scrutiny of the region's child welfare system. Noah Cuatro died in a hospital in 2019, days before his fifth birthday, after being found motionless at the family's apartment in Palmdale, north of LA. His parents, Jose Maria Cuatro Jr and Ursula Elaine Juarez, later pleaded no contest to murder and torture charges.
The child welfare system is arguably one of the most difficult systems to navigate. The agencies that comprise the system wield enormous responsibility to ensure children's safety. But they often punish struggling families by removing their children rather than providing services to support them. And while some children may benefit from being in a state's custody, many more face mistreatment within a system that has lasting effects on education, mental health and more.
Kentucky, the state where I was born, raised and educated, has a rampant child abuse and neglect problem that's left thousands of children in out-of-home placements. Some children who can't find placement sleep in office buildings; others go to kinship care families who, thanks to a dispute between the executive and legislative branches of government, aren't getting the financial assistance they need.
She met him at work, and he has been known to jump from woman to woman there. I've heard that her fiancé will date women in his office and then all of a sudden start ignoring them-speaking to everyone around them but giving them the silent treatment. One woman already quit her job over how he treated her. Another chewed him out but says she won't give him the "satisfaction"
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald raised the heartbreaking case of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died in July. "He was failed by the Government. Harvey's case is not an isolated case. Such failures are shamefully a hallmark of your Government," she told Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also raised the case, slating the Government for painfully slow progress on the issue of disability. "Sixteen thousand children are overdue an assessment of need, essential therapies are non-existent and hundreds of children left in agony waiting for spinal surgery," she said.
Much has been written about the relationship between social media use and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It requires no citations to state that social media use has increased over the last 20 years, as have diagnoses of ADHD. The question is whether there is any kind of meaningful relationship between the two. Correlations between events can sometimes mean nothing other than both events are related to something else, but not to each other.
'The Family Preparedness Plan Act' creates a new joint guardianship process allowing parents facing any long-term separation to designate a joint guardian while preserving their parental rights upon their return," said the author of AB 495, Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez.
Jamar Murry-El, 31, was found guilty by a jury of Robbery in the Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office stated that Brady Kiser won't face charges related to the drowning of his 3-year-old son, as there is 'no reasonable likelihood of conviction.'
Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson's ruling established that Jorge Barahona is competent to stand trial concerning the death of his adopted daughter and the abuse of her twin brother. The judge determined that Barahona understands the charges and the potential penalties he faces, which indicates he can assist his legal defense. This assessment followed extensive testimony from forensic psychologists regarding Barahona's mental state and his cognitive function. The judge emphasized the importance of Barahona collaborating with his competent defense team.
