(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Union minister for women and child development maneka gandhi has directed officials in her ministry to change the guidelines for adoption of children so that persons of indian origin (pios) are treated as indians and not foreigners in the matter.
under the existing rules only 20 per cent of children in need of adoption can be given to families living abroad with preference being given to placing a child in in-country adoption.
in the case of inter-country adoptions priority is given to non-resident indians (nris) overseas citizens of india (ocis) pios and foreign nationals in that order.
at a review meeting with officials of the central adoption resource authority (cara) here on monday gandhi said the rules needed to be revised given the fact that there was a large number of indians settled abroad who were keen to adopt children from india and also in view of the fact that the practice of adoption is yet to catch on in the country.
sources said gandhi was unhappy over the fact that there was a waiting list of more than 10000 parents waiting to adopt children. she felt there was no reason to treat pios settled abroad as foreigners in this matter and they should be treated on par with indians.
gandhi said the ministry would revise the existing guidelines to simplify adoption procedures and reduce the excessive delays that occur in processing of cases at present.
she said cara would contact all child welfare committees (cwcs) in the country to expeditiously issue cwc certificates for legally free adoption to children and minimise the list of children waiting for adoption with them.
an official press release issued after the meeting said that detailed information related to children status at cwc name of the lawyer and so on would be made available in child adoption resource information & guidance system (carings).
gandhi also directed the officials to prepare a detailed checklist that will include all the details about specialised adoption agencies how the lawyers should brief the courts about adoption and so on. the meeting decided that the ministry would work towards giving statutory status to cara. it also decided that closed circuit television (cctv) cameras would be installed in all recognised children’s homes. the meeting felt that no child should remain in such homes for more than 100 days after declaration by child welfare committee as legally free.
gandhi said she would write to the chief justices of all high courts of various states and heads of district courts to minimise delay in issuance of court orders in such matters.
specialised adoption agencies will be blacklisted if they fail to update and upload information on carings she added.
under the existing guidelines prospective adoptive parents (paps) who are nris ocis pios and foreigners have to register with the authorised foreign adoption agency (afaa) or central authority or government department dealing with adoption matters in the receiving country. they should obtain the permission of the competent authority of their country for adopting a child from india.
a professional social worker of the afaa or central authority (ca) or government department dealing with adoption matters in the country of the habitual residence (365 days or more) of the pap(s) shall conduct their home study and shall prepare a home study report (hsr).
the afaa or ca or concerned government department of the receiving country shall forward one attested or notarised copy of the hsr to cara for identifying a suitable recognized indian placement agency (ripa).
after examining the suitability of the paps cara will identify a ripa which will be responsible for assigning referral and placement of the child. after completion of various procedures and issuance of a passport for the child the adoptive parents will have to come to india and accompany the child back to their country.
cara and the concerned ripa will have to be given quarterly post-placement reports in the first year and half-yearly reports during the second year of the child’s arrival in the receiving country. such follow-up shall continue upto a period of two years after the child acquires citizenship of the receiving country.
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