Child Adoption Policies in India

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Child Adoption Policies in India- A Review

Paper presented by A.S. Shenoy, Chair, International Relations Committee,

Indian Council of Social Welfare, Mumbai

1st International Conference on Inter- country Adoption organized by Child NGOFederation- Nepal at Katmandu, Nepal on 10th, 11th and 12th March 2007

Introduction

The Government of India is fully sensitized and committed to the rights and welfare of

children. The Constitution of India under Article 24- Chapter on Fundamental Rights of

the Citizens provides the right against exploitation of the children below 14 years.Article 45 of the Directive Principles of the State Policy in the Indian Constitution

envisages for free and compulsory education of children.

Basic Indian Policy

At the International level, India has ratified the convention on the Rights of Child and the

Hague Convention on intercountry adoption of children. At national level, India hasprepared a National Policy for children in 1974 under which Ministry of Social Justice

and Empowerment (now known as Ministry of Women and Child Development) has got

the mandate to enact laws regarding welfare of children. The Juvenile Justice (Care andProtection of Children) Act 2000 is a landmark in this regard. This Act has

incorporated the provision of adoption of child as an alternative to institutional

care.

Adoption provides a very important function in Indian society. India has long tradition ofchild adoption. In olden days, it was restricted within the family and was covered by

social and religious practices. But with the changing times, adoption beyond the contourof family has been institutionalized and legalized.

What Government of India and State Governments is providing necessary support and

guidance through its policies and programmes, the Non- Governmental Organizations

(NGOs) provide necessary delivery system for the process of adoption which is aboveboard and transparent.

Implementation of Policy -- Central Agency

To strengthen adoption rules and facilitate adoption without any hassles, Government of

India under advice of Supreme Court constituted a Central Agency- Central AdoptionResource Agency [CARA] with New Delhi as base to set up guidelines for adoption time

to time safeguarding welfare and rights of children while granting adoption or

guardianship under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, Guardians and WardsAct 1890 or Juvenile Justice Act of 2000.


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Scrutiny Agency

To safeguard malpractices and deviations from prescribed guidelines for adoption

notified by Government of India, Supreme Court of India has appointed an independent

NGO with experience in child adoption The Indian Council of Social Welfare withhead quarters in Mumbai and branches in all state as Scrutiny Agency. This agency

verifies all the relevant documents and authenticity before orders are issued by Judicial

Courts for the formal adoption..

Guidelines for adoption

CARA has issued separate policy guidelines for intercountry and in- country adoptions.

The main policy adopted is placement agencies involved in adoption should strictly

follow and comply with the guidelines of CARA and register with respective state

governments. No Objection Certificate [NOC] from CARA is made mandatory in case of

all intercountry adoption, before placement agency process the application in competentJudicial Courts.

Agencies approved for adoption

For safe guarding interest and welfare of child, India Government has recognized

following agencies.1. Indian Placement Agencies - 73 (in various states)2. Foreign Placement Agencies Enlisted - 254 (in foreign countries)3. Voluntary Co- ordinating Agency in India - 13 (in various states)4. Scrutiny Agencies - 13 (in various states)

More than 2000 children are given for adoption within India while above 1100 children

are sent outside India for adoption.

Year In- country Inter- country

2003 2150 13842004 2350 1310

2005 2454 1266

Implementation of Hague Convention Recommendations

India Government has notified various adoption policies consistent with Hague

Convention as shown below.

Central Authority (Art.6)

Central Adoption Recourse Agency (CARA)

Setup as a Wing of the Ministry of Welfare on 28.06.1990

Made an autonomous body on 18.03.1999


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Child is declared adoptable (legally Free for Adoption) by the concerned public

authority, such as, Child Welfare Committee, etc. (as required under art. 4.a.)

Priority is given to in-country adoption before a child is proposed for intercountry adoption through the VCAs & State Governments concerned (as required

under art. 4.b. & 16.b.)

All authorities/agencies including CARA apply the principle of Best Interest of

the Child to an adoption case (as required under art. 4.b. & 16.d.)

Necessary consents of biological parents, adoptive parents and the older Childs

are obtained before an adoption is effected. (As required under art. 4.b. & 16.d.)

Adoption is permitted only through recognized placement Agencies with

professionally trained Social Workers. (as required under art. 11)

Adoptive parents are required to escort a child from India for the secured transfer

of the child as required under 19.2

Any improper financial or other gain is prevented (as required under art. 8 & 32)through:

Fixing adoption costs.

Prohibition of direct contact between Prospective Foreign adoptive parentsand Indian Agencies.

Prohibition of middlemen.

Giving recognition to those Indian Agencies for working under theConvention who work with non-profit motive.

Financial Returns furnished by the inter-country adoption Agencies tocharity commissioners, local state government & Ministries.

Procedure followed for inter country adoption are:

I. Child is made legally free for adoption

By relinquishment deed from biological parents

No legal claim certificate from child welfare committee formed bystate after making legal enquiry

II. Adoption Agencies


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Step I

For adoptive parents: Pre- adoption counseling

Application and RegistrationHome study report- Identifying thechild needs.

Step II

Identifying a child to meet the needs of adoptive parents.

Making arrangement to see the child by adoptive parents.

Take the child for medical check up.

File documents to court for adoption order.

III. Voluntary Co- ordinating Agency (now known as Adoption Co- ordinating

Agency)

Registration of adoptive parents

Registration of child available for adoption

Home study reports (by foreign enlisted Agency for VCA)

Furnishing data to CARA to create a data a bank

IV. CARA- Central Adoption Recourse Agency

To issue NOC to agencies to match child with foreign adoptivecouple.

V. Scrutiny Agency

Verifying documents and child and give its recommendation tojudicial courts.

VI. Judicial courts


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Court examines the documents filed by placement agency, Adoptiveparents and Scrutiny agency and satisfies itself everything is in orderbefore issuing order for guardianship. A double check is made by the

court about composite age, attitude and income of the adoptivecouples.

When orders are issued child is free to be taken outside country foradoption.

Conclusion

To conclude the trust of national policy of India for welfare of children is:

To protect abandoned and destitute children, goal is to find a family for as many orphan

children as possible and to safeguard their interest as visualized in the UN Convention on

child rights and Hague Convention on Inter country adoption ratified by Indiagovernment. The Best Interest of the Child is the guiding principle behind all adoptionlaws in India and social awareness programmes has helped to change the attitude of

society and people towards adoption in India.

The nations children are supreme important asset. Their nurture and solitude are

responsibilities of nation. Childrens programmes should find a prominent part in nationalplans for the development of human resources so that children grow up to become robust

citizens; physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy endowed with the skills andmotivation needed by the society. Equal opportunities for development to all children

during the period of growth is the aim, as this will serve larger purposes of reducing

inequality and increasing social justice.

Adoption Rules in India

Are you considering adopting a child? Here are some of the basic rules you need to know aboutthis process.

Who is allowed to adopt a child?

In India, an Indian, Non Resident Indian (NRI), or a foreign citizen may adopt a child. There are specificguidelines and documentation for each group of prospective adoptive parents. A single female or amarried couple can adopt a child. In India, a single male is usually not eligible to be an adoptive parent.An exception to this rule is the noted dance instructor Sandip Soparrkar, who has recently adopted ayoung boy. This is a special case rather than the norm. A single man desiring to adopt a child may beeligible if he applies through a registered agency. However, he will still only be able to adopt a male child.
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What are the conditions to be fulfilled by an adoptive parent?

An adoptive parent should be medically fit and financially able to care for a child. A person wishing toadopta child must be at least 21 years old. There is no legal upper age limit for parents but most adoptiveagencies set their own benchmarks with regard to age. For a child who is less than a year old, theadoptive parents can have a maximum combined age of 90 years. Also, neither parent must be older than45 years.

In the case of adoption of older children, the age of the parents may be relaxed accordingly. For example,for a one-year-old child, the age limit is 46 years, for a two-year-old child, it is 47 years and so on. Theupper age limit for an adopted child is 12 years while for an adoptive parent it is 55 years. In the case ofan adopted child withspecial needs, the age limit may be relaxed marginally by the state government,depending on the evaluation of the case. However, in all cases, the age of the parent cannot exceed 55years.

What are the laws governing adoption?

Indian citizens who are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, or Buddhists are allowed to formally adopt a child. Theadoption is under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956. Under this act, a single parent ormarried couple are not permitted to adopt more than one child of the same sex. Foreign citizens, NRIs,and those Indian nationals who are Muslims, Parsis, Christians or Jews are subject to the Guardian andWards Act of 1890. Under this act, the adoptive parent is only the guardian of the child until she reaches18 years of age.

Foreign citizens and NRIs are supposed to formally adopt their child according to the adoption laws andprocedures in the country of their residence. This must be carried out within two years of the individualbecoming a child's guardian. There is also a Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, a part of which deals withadoption of children by non-Hindu parents. However, this act is applicable only to children who have beenabandoned orabusedand not to those children who have been voluntarily put up for adoption.

Can a parent ask for a specific child?

An adoptive parent is allowed to ask for a child, as per her preferences. For example a parent may ask fora child of a certain age, gender (if it is the first child in the family), skin colour, religion, special features,health condition, etc. However, greater the specifications, more difficult it is to find a child who conformsto them. This restricts the pool of children available for adoption.

Depending on the adoptive parent's desired details, children are scrutinised to find a suitable match.When a child with the desired characteristics is found, she is shown to the prospective parents. In casethe parents are unhappy with the selection, about two more children with the same characteristics may bepresented to the parents.

The entire adoption process takes some months to complete. However, when all the hurdles are cleared,you are ready to welcome your new child to the family

Adoption Laws In IndiaA child is most certainly the best gift that God can give to a couple. The feelings that new parents go through

when their baby is born cannot be described in mere words. However, there are some people in this world who
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may not be so lucky and may not have the pleasure of having a baby. There is no need, for such people, to get

disheartened whatsoever, since every problem has a solution. This solution comes in the form of adoption.

Adopting a homeless child is one of the noblest things to do.

With celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and our very own Sushmita Sen going in for adopting kids, it

seems to have cut off from its initial apprehensive stage. Now, more and more couples and even single parents

are coming forward to adopt kids. There is a certain procedure to adopt a child and it is recommended that youfollow it in order to have a problem-free adoption and also avoid any future hassles. The procedure is a bit time

consuming due to immense number of applications from interested couples. Heres how to do it.

Adoption Procedure - What is It All About?

The adoption procedure starts with filling a formal application form by a couple who is interested in adopting a

baby at a well-known adoption agency. After this, a social worker from that agency studies the living

conditions and monitors the daily activities of the couple in order to ensure whether or not the couple is

capable of handling an adopted child. Usually, a couple is monitored on aspects like family background,

emotional health, quality of marital life, financial stability, etc.

Go-Ahead Signal

A No Objection Certificate is then issued to the agency by CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency )whenit is satisfied about the family and the couple submits certain documents necessary for evaluation. The couple

is not allowed to come and choose a child, as it is normally believed. They have to give details regarding what

kind of child are they expecting and the placement agency finds the child according to that expectation.

Foreign adoption is pretty much the same, with the difference that certain immigration laws have to be abided

to by the couple.

Reliable Indian Adoption Agencies

On the recommendations of the Supreme Court of India, the local VCA (Volunteer Coordinating Agency) in

Delhi has ten recognized adoption agencies. They are:

SOS Childrens Villages of India

Holy Cross Social Service Centre Missionaries of Charity

Church of North India

Welfare Home for Children

Delhi Council for Child Welfare

Matri Chhaya

Children of the World

Right to Life Society

Asharan Orphanage

Indian Adoption Laws

All the matters related to adoption are dealt by the Ministry of Welfare (now known as Ministry of Social

Justice and Empowerment), as stated by the Indian Government. One can go to the CARA that has its

headquarters in Delhi in order to deal with all matters related to adoption in India. The adoption procedure is

centered on the legislations as given below that are applicable and is based on the religion of the interested

adopter.


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The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA)

The HAMA is the only existing act that provides basic strategies and course of action for adoption to Hindus

in India. Hindu, in this category is defined as any person who is a Hindu by religion or its forms like

Buddhists, Jains, Brahmo, Sikh, Prarthna or Arya Samaj. According to this act, if a couple already has a child

then they can only adopt children belonging to the opposite sex of that child. The adoption cases are handled

by the city civil courts.

The Guardianship and Wards Act, 1890

The Guardianship andWards Act 1890 gives the full guardianship authority to non-Hindus who are governed

by their religious personal laws like Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews. The guardians have to give an

investment plan and invest a certain amount of money for the security of the ward. The adoption cases are

handled by high court or family court.

Child Adoption Policies in India

Documents

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