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 NGO Federation- 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 inter- country adoption of children. At national level, India has prepared 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 and Protection 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 of child 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 contour of 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 above board 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 Adoption Resource 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 Wards Act 1890 or Juvenile Justice Act of 2000.

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 with head 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 inter- country 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 inter- country adoption, before placement agency process the application in competent Judicial 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 2003 2004 2005 In- country 2150 2350 2454 Inter- country 1384 1310 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

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 inter country 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 parents and Indian Agencies. Prohibition of middlemen. Giving recognition to those Indian Agencies for working under the Convention who work with non-profit motive. Financial Returns furnished by the inter-country adoption Agencies to charity 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 by state after making legal enquiry

II. Adoption Agencies

Step I For adoptive parents: Pre- adoption counseling Application and Registration Home study report- Identifying the child 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 adoptive couple.

V. Scrutiny Agency Verifying documents and child and give its recommendation to judicial courts.

VI. Judicial courts

Court examines the documents filed by placement agency, Adoptive parents and Scrutiny agency and satisfies itself everything is in order before issuing order for guardianship. A double check is made by the court about composite age, attitude and income of the adoptive couples. When orders are issued child is free to be taken outside country for adoption.

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 India government. The Best Interest of the Child is the guiding principle behind all adoption laws 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 national plans 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 and motivation 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 about this 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 specific guidelines and documentation for each group of prospective adoptive parents. A single female or a married 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 a young boy. This is a special case rather than the norm. A single man desiring to adopt a child may be eligible if he applies through a registered agency. However, he will still only be able to adopt a male child.

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 to adopt a child must be at least 21 years old. There is no legal upper age limit for parents but most adoptive agencies set their own benchmarks with regard to age. For a child who is less than a year old, the adoptive parents can have a maximum combined age of 90 years. Also, neither parent must be older than 45 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. The upper age limit for an adopted child is 12 years while for an adoptive parent it is 55 years. In the case of an adopted child with special 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 55 years.

What are the laws governing adoption? Indian citizens who are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, or Buddhists are allowed to formally adopt a child. The adoption is under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956. Under this act, a single parent or married 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 and Wards Act of 1890. Under this act, the adoptive parent is only the guardian of the child until she reaches 18 years of age. Foreign citizens and NRIs are supposed to formally adopt their child according to the adoption laws and procedures in the country of their residence. This must be carried out within two years of the individual becoming a child's guardian. There is also a Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, a part of which deals with adoption of children by non-Hindu parents. However, this act is applicable only to children who have been abandoned or abused and 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 for a 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 conforms to 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 case the parents are unhappy with the selection, about two more children with the same characteristics may be presented 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 India

A 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

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 you follow 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 )when it 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.

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.