Twenty-One Children, and a System Asked to Build What Was Broken

There is a particular vulnerability that belongs to the very young—a dependence so complete that the failures of adults become, for them, the architecture of their world. The children at the center of the California surrogacy scandal have known that vulnerability in ways that court documents can only partially describe. Their futures now rest in the hands of a system designed to protect them, but that system's path forward is neither simple nor quick.

The case involves at least 21 children, ranging in age from a few months to 13 years, most between one and three. They were born through surrogacy arrangements made by Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, who operated an agency called Mark Surrogacy from their home in Arcadia . Prosecutors allege the couple subjected the children to daily beatings by nannies while they watched through a system of 32 surveillance cameras, sometimes instructing the nannies to strike harder .

The children were removed from the couple's custody in July 2025, after a two-month-old infant was taken to a hospital with a traumatic head injury . They have since been in the care of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services . Xuan and Zhang were arrested this week on charges including child abuse, conspiracy, and dissuading a witness. Both pleaded not guilty. A judge set bail at $20 million each .

What happens next for the children is a question that child welfare experts describe as complex. According to Nicol Stolar-Peterson, a clinical social worker and child abuse investigator, California law requires court proceedings within 72 hours after children are removed from a home . The Department of Children and Family Services then works to identify appropriate placement settings—prioritizing relatives, extended family, or friends when possible. If no such placement exists, children may be placed with foster parents or in communal living settings .

Christina Paddock, an associate professor of social work at the University of Southern California, explained that the system's goal is permanency. "We always want to move towards that permanency, them having a permanent place to be and to grow, and to grow in a healthy, safe environment is really, you know, the priority," she said .

But permanency is complicated in a case like this. The children's parentage remains under investigation, and the surrogates who carried them occupy an ambiguous legal space. Some surrogates have expressed a desire to care for the children they birthed. Maria Castellanos, who delivered two babies for the couple, called lawyers after the children were removed, hoping to foster them, but said no one would help. She is now becoming a foster parent herself . Kayla Elliott is also seeking custody of a baby she carried .

The couple's parental rights have not been terminated as the criminal case proceeds . A lawyer representing the children declined to comment, citing privacy concerns .

For the surrogates, the case has raised painful questions. Vanity McGoveran, who gave birth to a baby girl in March 2024, felt relief at the couple's arrest but hesitation about learning what happened to the child. "Not if it's bad news, then I don't want to know," she said .

What lies ahead for these children is, for now, a matter of legal procedure and social work—of hearings and placements and the slow, careful work of finding stability after upheaval. The system that will determine their futures is not swift. But those who work within it describe the goal as simple, even if the path is not: a safe place to grow, and adults who will not fail them again.

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Sources: CBS News, CBC News, Courthouse News Service, AP News, AL.com, NDTV