What we do

CMT's independent, professional, specialised service, reunites Britain's former Child Migrants with their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and other relatives.

On behalf of all former Child Migrants, regardless of age, religion or migrating agency, the Trust conducts careful family research, often after obtaining files from the relevant agencies. Information regarding family origins is shared alongside specialist counselling. This is the first step to prepare individuals for a reunion with their families after painful decades of unnecessary separation.

Child Migrants Trust has reunited nearly 2000 families

The Trust provides a skilled and sensitive service based on principles of confidentiality and professional ethics, employing well qualified and experienced Social Workers to perform the delicate task of counselling and making contact with relatives.

The Trust provides the following services to former Child Migrants:

Family research

On behalf of all former Child Migrants, regardless of their migrating agency or country of destination, CMT conducts careful family research, often after obtaining historical child care files.

Nearly 2000 families have been reunited as a result of CMT’s intensive research across the UK and overseas. Many former child migrants have received a copy of their full birth certificate for the first time via CMT’s research.

Access to records

CMT is actively involved in obtaining records and files from agency and government archives. Wherever possible, this critical information is shared in person with former child migrants.

Specialist counselling

Information regarding family origins is shared alongside sensitive counselling. This is often the first step to prepare individuals for a reunion with their families after painful decades of unnecessary separation.

The Trust provides a trauma-informed, specialist service based on principles of confidentiality and professional ethics. CMT employs qualified, experienced Social Workers to perform the delicate task of making contact with family members, to reclaim identity and restore relationships fractured by child migration.

The Family Restoration Fund

This fund meets the main travel costs of family reunions and enables former Child Migrants to rebuild family relationships after decades of separation. This vital humanitarian resource helps overcome the barriers of cost and distance so that former child migrants can join in key family events like weddings or urgently visit relatives in times of medical or family crisis.

The Fund is financed by the UK Government and managed in partnership with CMT. Established after the nation’s apology in 2010, the Fund has supported over 1400 reunion visits. Contact us to find out more, or start by downloading the information pack and application form below.

Click here for an information pack Click here for an application form

Assisting former Child Migrants to apply for citizenship

The Trust has successfully advocated on behalf of former Child Migrants who were sent to Australia in the post-war era who no longer have to pay an application fee to take up Australian citizenship.

Access to Redress Schemes

CMT also supports former Child Migrants with their applications to redress schemes in both Australia and the United Kingdom.

Advocacy

CMT is the only independent, professional organisation working with former child migrants from all migrating agency backgrounds. Our work alerts governments to urgent unmet needs and unresolved issues.

You can learn about – and get involved with – our current campaigns here.

You can read recent news articles here, and press releases here.

Lessons learned, community and professional education

CMT works to ensure lessons are learned from the mistakes of child migration schemes. We highlight the risks of secondary abuse and the disastrous impact of governments failing to appropriately recognise and deal with damaging policies. We use our expertise to advise the governments and agencies of today on how to avoid repeating the same mistakes from the past.