In the last episode for our storytelling series, Paula finds a way to challenge an interim care order and get her baby home, but will she manage to bypass the tactics inside the system and win her son back?

We will be back next week with interviews and more on the Voice of the Child.

Listen to this episode here. 

Based on real-life cases, the Voice of the Child presents fictionalised stories offering a glimpse into the UK’s child protection system.

In the first episode of “Practice Makes Profit”, a woman has her baby taken from her as soon as he is born, and tries to find out on what grounds social services have removed her newborn from her care.

Visiting the consultant whose report led to her baby being taken from her, the mother becomes suspicious that the removal process is fuelled by greed, and malpractice.

The surreal ending to this episode is not a fictional flourish.

WARNING: This podcast contains some explicit language.

You can listen to the first instalment of this story here. 

For our twelfth episode, the Voice of the Child looks at new research which suggests children in care are not getting appropriate contact with their birth families during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The survey, which is the first of its kind in the UK, was produced by researcher Laura Baxter*, and offers detailed information about how families have had to fight for video contact, after the government allowed councils to shut down its contact centres to try to stop the spread of the virus.

Despite guidance from the Department of Education which confirms that contact must be enabled and online solutions like Skype and Zoom offered to parents so that children can see their families, parents have described chaos in councils and a lack of support from social workers to ensure contact continues.

The research offers alarming details over children’s reactions to the change and sometimes complete cut-off of contact with their mothers and fathers.

Parents have also been left feeling anxious and uncertain, worried about their children’s wellbeing, and whether the break in face to face contact could lead to a cut in contact forever.

You can listen to the podcast here. 

*Not her real name.

For our eleventh episode, the Voice of the Child speaks with Cyrus Larizadeh QC, the Chair of the Family Law Bar Association (FLBA), on the new measures in place in family courts and his concerns around child contact and domestic abuse in children cases.

Conflicting guidance on what birth parents should expect in terms of contact with their children in public family law cases during the Coronavirus outbreak has created uncertainty, and anxiety, for both parents and children.

A growing number of reported cases now feature parents being denied contact in both private and public family law cases, causing worry around the welfare of the children involved.

Cyrus discusses the new regulations for family cases, incoming guidance on contact for birth parents in child protection cases, whether disagreements on contact with local authorities and separating parents can be resolved in court during the lockdown, and potential test cases where there isn’t agreement between the local authority and the parents, who may feel councils are in beach of their statutory duty to promote contact orders. 

The podcast includes a discussion on the FLBA’s concerns around the rise in domestic violence cases, transparency inside the court system and Cyrus’ predictions for the future of family law.

Cyrus also reveals that the Court of Appeal has quietly shelved its live-streaming of family cases, despite announcing the move last month. The Voice of the Child asks him why.

You can listen to the podcast on:

iTunes

Spotify

SoundCloud 

For our tenth episode, the Voice of the Child looks at how the UK Family Courts’ handling of the Coronavirus outbreak has affected child contact for families in child protection cases.

While guidance on what parents should do in relation to child arrangements orders (typically made in private family law cases) during the outbreak has been given by the President of the Family Division, very little has been done to address the massive council and contact centre closures which have impacted children’s access to their birth parents in public family law cases.

Sarah* a mother who has recently been through the family courts for child protection proceedings, explains how her court-ordered contact has been put on hold and the significant issues within her case which have led up to this moment.

Sarah also gives the Family Courts an important message at the end of the interview.

A very big thank you to Sarah for bravely taking part in the programme which was particularly emotional, and for being on the front line in the fight against COVID-19. Sarah is an NHS nurse currently working during the Coronavirus outbreak.

You can listen to the Voice of the Child here. 

*Sarah is not the mother’s real name.

In our ninth Voice of the Child podcast, we address the myths about the novel Coronavirus and how it affects children, and discuss the latest paediatric research focusing on the disease.

South Korea, which has been hailed by the World Health Organisation as a global model to follow for stemming the spread of COVID-19, is several weeks ahead of the UK in battling the virus, and emerging research from the country paints a more complex picture of the disease and how it is impacting children.

Dr Un Sun Chung is the national lead for South Korea’s School Mental Health Resource Center and is regularly invited to discuss child welfare issues by national and international media. She works as a child psychiatrist at Kyungpook National University Children’s Hospital, in Daegu, South Korea, which pioneered the testing kits being used around the world today.

In this podcast, Dr Chung talks about how South Korea managed to contain the first wave of its outbreak, misinformation around the virus and how it affects children, ways we can help children who are being abused at home, and what parents and carers can do to support their children during the outbreak.

You can listen to the Voice of the Child here. 

Useful Links

It Is Time for Doctors to Start Seeing the Signs and Hearing the Cries of Abused Children as Professional Guardians – Research Paper by Dr Chung

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Is an Important Issue for Korea in 2015 – Research Paper by Dr Chung

For our eighth Voice of the Child podcast, we look at how children are affected by domestic violence, and what we can all do as a society to protect them from harm during the UK’s lockdown phase as it battles with the novel Coronavirus.

Rachel Williams, a survivor and campaigner, Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA), and the founder of Stand UP To Domestic Abuse (SUTDA), speaks with the Voice of the child about her family’s own tragic experience of domestic violence, which led one of her sons to take his own life. She also offers important advice on how we can help children being abused during the outbreak.

TRIGGER WARNING: the podcast includes information about Rachel’s experiences, including a detailed account of the serious injuries she suffered, as well as discussions about suicide and abuse. 

You can listen to the Voice of the Child here.

Let us know what you think of the podcast in our comments section, Facebook page, or on Twitter using the hash tag #VOTC.

Useful Links

Bright Sky App

Incident Tracker (Please contact the foundation for the app’s name)

Silent Solution System (Texting in distress)

For our seventh Voice of the Child podcast we investigate whether councils and adoption and fostering agencies are breaking the law when they advertise children online.

Despite legislation which makes it clear that birth mums and dads with parental responsibility should be consulted on every significant decision relating to their child, local authorities and agencies are routinely failing to involve parents in the advertising process.

Whether through a lack of understanding, or a desire to ensure birth parents don’t cause difficulties during the placement process, most parents are never consulted about their children being advertised online.

And no one is asking those children how they feel about being exposed on the internet.

Simon Haworth, an expert and lecturer on social work, speaks to the Voice of the Child about the law and process behind this policy and why he feels adoption and fostering placements need to be reformed.

You can listen to the Voice of the Child here. 

Let us know what you think of the podcast in our comments section, Facebook page, or on Twitter using the hash tag #VOTC.

From the podcast:

Adoption Agency Marketing Children On Facebook Sparks Public Fury

Ombudsman Decision: London Borough of Bromley (18 015 715)

This week’s podcast looks at what life is like for children in care in the UK, with Ed Nixon, a senior social worker and former care home manager who co-founded Every Child Leaving Care Matters, a movement which aims to ensure that all children in care are properly supported until they turn twenty-one.

In this episode, we discuss life for children in care, unregulated care homes and why Ed believes the UK government doesn’t understand children.

On social care for children as a concept, Ed said during the programme, “Care is a bad thing, why would anybody suggest it was anything other than a bad thing? Much of my life has been trying to make it the best it can possibly be, but it’s not as good as living with your own family, happily and safely.”

You can listen to the podcast here.

What do you think of our podcasts? Let us know in the comment box below, or reach out on social media, using the hashtag #VOTC

When a British mother loses her child to adoption, she decides to try to access her son’s birth certificate, after being told by a friend that adoptions are not always properly registered.

In this podcast, Shelby* talks to the Voice of the Child about the extraordinary discovery she makes when she finally manages to access her son’s birth and adoption certificates.

Shelby*, who now campaigns to change the law on adoption registrations, explains the story behind her case, how the adoption process affected her son, and why she would like to see a mandatory duty in law which ensures all birth parents receive a copy of their child’s adoption certificate.

You can listen to the podcast here. 

Further Reading

First illegal adoption case launched in High Court (31 January, 2020)

There may be 15,000 illegal adoptions, Barnardos head claims

Freedom of Information Request on Errors in Adoptions

The Adoption Certificate Process (Includes samples of genuine certificates)