Part of the Family

A Wanting to be alone

B The brother I always wanted

C A friendly welcome

D A sad beginning

E One of the lucky ones

F A great surprise

G First meeting

0 ……….. G ………..

When Paul Stephenson first moved in with his new mother, father and sister, it was all a bit of a shock for him. He remembers feeling terribly nervous on the day he went to live with them. Although his new parents, Sheila and Bob Thomas, had visited Paul several times at the orphanage, he had neither met his new sister before nor seen the house he was going to live in.

1 …………………..

Paul bad spent almost all of the first six years at his life growing up in an orphanage. His parents got divorced when he was two months old and his mother couldn't afford to look after him alone. He had no photograph of her and, of course, he couldn't remember her at all. Paul doesn't want anybody's sympathy, though. 'Growing up in the Orphanage wasn't too bad, ' he says, 'but we didn't have any toys of our own and I used to sleep in a room with another nine boys! '

2 …………………

When Mr. and Mrs. Thomas decided to adopt Paul and the day came for him to go to his new home, he didn't know what to expect. When Mum and Dad showed me my bedroom, I couldn’t believe my eyes! ' says Paul. 'I was going to have the whole room all to myself and it had been filled with all kinds of toys, clothes and games! '

3 ………………

'It was also very strange for me when I met my sister, Josie. Of course, there were lots of girls at the orphanage and some of them were friends of mine. I didn't know what to expect from Josie, though. Imagine it. A strange boy, me, was going to come and live in her house and in her family. In the end, I think she was quite happy to have a new brother. She helped me to settle in when I first arrived and we soon became veryclose friends.'

4 ………………

Now, four years later, they are all still living happily just like any other family. Josie says, 'We forget that Paul is adopted and we never really talk about it because there is no need to. It feels like he has lived with us all our lives and I love him very much. I never wanted to be an only child and we get on really well, so we never fight. I have friends at school who are always fighting with their and sisters and that's terrible. I think it is more important that we have a loving relationship than whether he’s my biological brother or not.”

5 ………………

As for how he feels about being the adopted child in the family, Paul says, “I completely forget about it. I never feel different to my sister or feel that Mum or Dad love her more than me. Sometimes I feel like I must be the most fortunate boy in the world. There are so many other children who never have the opportunity to leave the orphanage. I love my parents and my sister so much. They are definitely my family and I couldn't ask for more.'

Reading 2: THE SCOPE OF FAMILY LAW

The word ‘family’ is one which it is difficult, if not impossible, to define precisely. In one sense it means all blood relations who are descended from а common ancestor; in another, it means all the members of а household, including а husband and а wife, children, servants and even lodgers.

We may regard the family as а basic social unit, which consists normally of а husband and а wife and their children. А husband and а wife can be considered as comprising а family before the birth of their first child and after all their children have been born – such family is called “a nuclear family”.

Some families consist of а child or children living with only one parent – such family is called “one-parent family”.

Some families can comprise parents, children, grandparents and other relatives living in the same place or nearby - such family is called “an extended family”.

Family law is divided into public and private law cases. Public law cases involve local government and other public authorities and include matters such as care of children, supervision and emergency protection orders. Private law cases involve divorce proceedings and access to children by the parents concerned.

When reaching а decision on cases concerning children, the court will make an order only if satisfied that this action is positively better for the child than making no order. In private law cases the child is able to express his or her opinion.

In public law cases the child is represented by а social worker appointed by the court to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child. Everybody involved in the court proceedings has access to the relevant information before the case is heard and all are expected to reveal their arguments and evidence in advance.

Parents have the legal right to immediate legal aid without а means test in all public law cases involving applications for supervision, care, child assessment orders and emergency protection proceedings.

Most private law cases involving children and families are heard in the county court by judges who are specially trained and experienced in applying family law. Most public law cases take place in family proceedings courts, which are part of the magistrates’ courts.

The cases are heard by magistrates who are specially trained in family and child matters. Some public law cases which are exceptionally important or complex are dealt with by the County court or the high court. Most court cases involving children concern private disputes between parents – often after separation. There is а variety of orders open to the court.

These include: а) residence order saying where the child should live; b) contact order, which may require the person with whom the child is living to let the child have contact with the person named in the order; с) prohibited steps order if оnе partner objects to something that the other is doing concerning their child, he or she can apply for this order to stop the other parent from taking the action outlined in the order without getting the court’s permission first; d) specific issue order, which settles disputes between former partners about certain aspects of their child’s upbringing.

There are two other private law orders that а court may make. If an unmarried father cannot reach а private agreement with the child’s mother, he may apply to the court for an order giving him parental responsibility for his child to be shared with the mother.

In certain cases а court can make а family assistance order which requires а local government authority or court welfare officer to give а family help and support; this type of order is made only where the court is hearing an application for another order.

Legislation entrusts local government authorities with the task of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in need in their area. If the authority feels that а child is in danger from the family situation, it is legally obliged to step in, even if the parents disagree. If it cannot get the parents’ agreement for certain action that it wants to take, it must seek а court order before taking action. In all cases parents have the right to put their case in court and to be involved in decision-making about the child’s welfare if he or she is being looked after by the local authority.

The welfare of the child is paramount in such cases. If the court is satisfied that а child is suffering significant harm from inadequate parental care or control, it can place the child under the supervision of а social worker. If а child fails to attend school on а regular basis, the local government education authority may apply for an education supervision order, placing the child under the supervision of an education welfare or social worker.

On law occasions parents are not able to give the care and protection that every child needs and may even be harming the child.

The local authority can apply to а court for him or her to be taken into care and, in extreme emergencies, can have the child removed from home immediately for eight days under an emergency protection order.

If а social worker is concerned about а child’s welfare and there is insufficient evidence to apply for а care order, he or she can apply to the court for an order requiring а medical, psychiatric or other assessment during а period of seven days.

Ex. 5. Fill in the missing words in the text below and then translate into Ukrainian.