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News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Meera Mistry Meera Mistry 2021 Meera Mistry, a care-experienced Associate Director at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. Meera spent her teenage years in foster care. She was placed in families from different cultures and backgrounds which she says has 'given me a unique perspective'.  She is a Trustee at Become Charity. External Website

Children's Fiction Pictures of Hollis Wood Patricia Reilly 2002 Pictures of Hollis Woods is a 2002 young adult novel by Patricia Reilly Giff. The novel received a Newbery Honor Award in 2003. It was adapted for television in 2007. Hollis Woods is the place where a baby was abandoned is the baby’s name is an artist is now a twelve-year-old girl who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget. Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family. External Website

Writers Deidre Michell Deidre (Dee) Michell was born in 1956. She, along with her 5 siblings, was made a Ward of the South Australian State in 1960. Deidre was in foster care for 15 years with one of her sisters; her other siblings she did not see for 30 years. Deidre worked as an administrator for a multi-national corporation before going to university in her 40s, when she combined study with primary care for her three children. Deidre began publishing in academic journals in 2000 and from 2003 has worked in the university sector. She was awarded a PhD in 2008 and appointed as Lecturer at the University of Adelaide in 2011. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Indian orphans weave award-winning movie magic Sujoy Dhar 2008 When 10-year-old Sahiful Mondal from a children's shelter in eastern India won an international film award three years ago, many thought it was just a flash in the pan. Now he is 14 and with four accolades. External Website

Television Shows Devil in Ohio 2022 Devil in Ohio (2022), has a foster care character at the centre of the story. Teenager Mae (Madeleine Arthur) comes to the attention of hospital pyschiatrist Suzanne Mathis (Emily Deschanel) after she escapes a devil worshipping cult and she is admitted with an inverted pentagram into her back. Dr Mathis takes Mae into her home and the emergency foster care placement is extended because Mathis believes she is best placed to care for Mae. Mae is presented as a traumatised girl deeply affected by her childhood, and as a sinister character who pops up when least expected and manipulates events to suit herself. External Website

Actors Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. She was in residential and foster care as a child and was a member of the Central Junior Television Workshop in her native Nottingham, and later began her career in British television in 1991. She guest-starred in Soldier Soldier and Cracker and had a bigger role in the ITV series Band of Gold. Samantha Morton has received numerous accolades for her work, including a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a British Academy Film Award. She made the transition to film with lead roles in the dramas Emma (1996), Jane Eyre (1997). For her role in Longford, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Morton made her directorial debut with the television film The Unloved (2009), which won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama. External Website

Television Shows Grantchester 2014 Grantchester is a British TV series starring Robson Green, Tessa Peake-Jones, and Al Weaver. A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester. In Series 3, Episode 3, a murder suspect is identified because he has 'form', ie he was in Borstal as a teenager because of stealing. However, as the show progresses it is clear this was man was not the culprit. In Series 5, Episode 3, the murder victim is a young man who was in care as a child. He is a movie enthusiast, pretending he's American and a former scriptwriter with connections in Hollywood. He is killed by a young woman who finds out he can't help her become famous. In Series 6, Episode 2, the head of a local adoption agency is killed and the ethics of adoption is questioned. Series 8 opens with the murder of a young man who was orphaned as a child and taken in by another family. This is a “cuckoo in the next” story. The series initially featured Sydney Chambers (James Norton) as the vicar. Next was William Devenport (Tom Brittney) and from Season 9, it has been Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair). In series 10 it is revealed (from Episode 5) that Alphy Kottaram was a foundling and was raised in the Bithah Foundling Home. The man who runs the Foundling Home – which is closing - Stuart Potts (Paul Copley) is pleased to have him back and calls him Alpheus. In that same episode, one of the children, Joshua, falls down the stairs and dies. *Spoiler Alert* - it is one of the other children in the Home who is responsible for Joshua’s death. Discussion about what happened when Alphy was born and whether he should try to locate his mother is ongoing for the rest of the series. External Website

Writers Jean Rhys West Indian writer Jean Rhys (1890-1979)—born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams—was in kinship care from the age of 16. Jean Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica to a Welsh father & a White Creole mother. When she was 16, she was sent to England to live with an aunt while she finished her education. Encouraged by novelist Ford Madox Ford, Rhys began publishing during the 1920s. Her early novels tended to portray the bleakness of Europe prior to WWII and the struggles of being an outsider. Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) brought Rhys international fame & a CBE in 1978. External Website

Behind the Scenes Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (née McDonald; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant. At 8 years old, Josephine began working as a live-in domestic for white families in St. Louis. One woman abused her, burning Josephine's hands when the young girl put too much soap in the laundry. At 11, she witnessed the devastating 1917 East St. Louis riots, a traumatic event that marked her childhood. By 12, Josephine left school and lived on the streets, dancing for money. She had two brief marriages by age 15, using the surname Baker from her second husband professionally throughout her life. Despite her mother's disapproval, Josephine pursued a career in entertainment, joining vaudeville troupes and eventually moving to New York. Her talent led to international fame, particularly in France, where her career flourished. Despite the distance, she supported her family with gifts and financial aid. During World War II, Josephine Baker served as a spy for the French Resistance, using her fame to gather intelligence for the Deuxième Bureau. She charmed German, Italian, and Vichy officials at embassies and social events, relaying crucial information to French counterintelligence. After the German invasion of France, she sheltered Resistance members at her château and carried messages written in invisible ink on her sheet music while traveling under the guise of an entertainer. Relocating to North Africa in 1941, she continued her espionage and supported the Free French, even enduring severe health challenges, including a miscarriage and life-threatening infections. Post-war, Baker was honored with the Resistance Medal, Croix de Guerre, and the Légion d'honneur for her contributions. During her participation in the civil rights movement, Baker began to adopt children, forming a family which she often referred to as "The Rainbow Tribe". Baker wanted to prove that "children of different ethnicities and religions could still be brothers." Altogether she adopted 12 children! External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Henry Fielding, Tom Jones and care Amy Cotterill 2021 A discussion about 'The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling' by Henry Fielding which was first published in 1749. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Man who Made Husbands Jealous Jilly Cooper 1993 The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous is part of the The Rutshire Chronicles (1985-2023) a series of romantic novels. Set in the fictional county of Rutshire, characters recur across the series repeatedly, including the upper-class MP Rupert Campbell-Black. Rupert and his second wife Taggie O’Hara adopt two little South American children. This softens Rupert’s character considerably, as throughout earlier books he was notorious for being a ruthless, womanising cad. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Orphaned by the Colour of My Skin: A Stolen Generation Story by Mary Terszak Mary Terszak 2008 Orphaned by the Colour of My Skin (2008) by Mary Terszak weaves together auto-ethnography and archival evidence to tell the story of Terszak's removal from her family at the age of 2 in the context of the broader history of Aboriginal 'protection' in Australia. Terszak uses herself as a case study and includes a comparison of her situation with that of non-Aboriginal children who were also removed from families and institutionalised. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen to join Luke Wilson in upcoming Fort Worth film ’12 Mighty Orphans' Michael Granberry 2019 A review 12 Mighty Orphans, the movie version of the bestseller by Jim Dent that’s set in Fort Worth. External Website

Biography of Care Experienced People Charlie Chaplin (biography) Peter Ackroyd 2014 A biography of one of film's most legendary figures, Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin (1889-1997) had a difficult childhood. Because his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, he was in the infamous English workhouse, and Hanwell Schools for Orphans and Destitute Children. There were some advantages about being in Hanwell - education, warm clothes and food - compared to being at home where mum was struggling with poverty and ill health. But Charlie hated it. He survived by dreaming about becoming a great actor and developing enormous confidence in himself. Chaplin began performing early and began appearing for Keystone Studios in 1914. In 1919, he co-founded United Artists and wrote, produced and directed most of his films, in addition to starring in them. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Barrister and Chair of Independent Enquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Ivor Frank 2015 Ivor Frank is a barrister with four decades of experience in child protection, human rights and family law. He was brought up in care himself and has represented and campaigned for children in care as a member of the parliamentary groups Looked After Children and Care Leavers and Care Leavers' Voice. Ivor has advised the Home Office on the issues of forced marriages and international child abduction. He has served as a Trustee of Buttle (now Buttle UK) which makes grants to vulnerable children and young people in need. He now serves as a Trustee of the Rees Foundation which has similar objectives. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Benjamin Perks: Blogsite Benjamin Perks 2020 Benjamin Perks grew up in an English orphanage and is now Head of Campaigns and Advocacy for UNICEF in New York City. He is also a Senior Fellow in the School of Education, at the University of Birmingham. The subtitle for Benjamin's Blogsite is "Harnessing science and evidence to drive better policies for children & societies." There are a range of blogs, including some autobiographical ones of how Benjamine got from state care to university, his experience of stigma, as well as far-reaching topics such as poverty and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). External Website

Actors Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is an Aboriginal Canadian actor. Adam Beach was born on the Dog Creek Reserve near Ashern in Manitoba, Canada. Adam’s parents, Sally and Dennis Beach, died within forty-one days of each other. Adam and his brothers first went to live in Winnipeg with their paternal aunt. Five years later, they began living their paternal uncle, Chris Beach. Adam Beach became interested in drama during High School and he didn’t complete his final year. However, he did find work in film and television. Most recently he has starred in Hostiles (2017) as Black Hawk, and the Netflix original film, Juanita (2019) as Jess Gardiner. External Website

Television Shows The Good Witch's Family 2020 The Good Witch's Family is a 2011 Canadian/American family film and Hallmark Channel original movie written by G. Ross Parker and directed by Craig Pryce The film stars Catherine Bell as Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale whose parents died when she was a child and who grows up in the US foster care system. Cassie became accustomed to travelling and moving as she was passed through foster homes. She ran away and continued travelling the world and learning about many different cultures, all the while honing her special gifts. Cassie is psychic and uses her intuition (and at times, a little magic) for good reasons. Life is going well for Cassie as she settles into marriage with Middleton Police Chief Jake Russell and as stepmom to Brandon and Lori. But evil soon blows into town in the form of Cassie's long-lost cousin Abigail, who whips up wickedness like a tornado. The once peaceful Russell family bickers night and day; Jake is fired after an argument with the Mayor over a bridge expansion; and Martha, the Mayor's wife, and town busybody walks out on her long marriage. As the town divides further over neighborhood expansion, Cassie is drafted to run for Mayor. Within her once-happy marriage, her family is unraveling, and Abigail's diabolical "double, double, toil and trouble" is the apex of Cassie's misery. What's a good witch to do? External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Jackie Kay on putting her adoption on stage – and getting a pay rise for her successor Jackie Kay 2019 When Scotland’s national poet travelled to Nigeria to ask her birth father if he ever thought of her, he said no. Does it hurt to put this on stage? And should the next ‘makar’ be on £30,000? External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Evelyn: A True Story Evelyn Doyle 2004 Told through the eyes of his daughter Evelyn, this is the story of a father's fight to reclaim his children from the Irish government in the 1950s, now a major film. External Website