Adopting a Child in India
Updated: Feb 16, 2021
Author: Shriya Bhatkhande
It is important to realize we adopt not because we are rescuers. No. We adopt because we are rescued - David Platt, The Gospel, And Adoption.
Introduction
In the recent past, adoptions were disbanded at a breakneck pace which rose in an outburst. Authorities and experts functioning in adoption witnessed a number of dissolution cases. The fundamental meaning of dissolution of adoption is that parents decided on quitting the child upon acceptance of a court order settling and securing the child’s adoption into the family after following a lengthy procedure of almost 2 years for adopting a child.[1]
Adopting a child is effectively a legalized practice in India. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)[2], is a central department along with the Ministry of Women and Child care, control and administers the child adoption process in India[3]. The majority of adoptions come about either because the couple faces difficulty in conceiving a child or as a gesture where parents want to uphold and provide a new life to a child who has been left alone in the world. This is where Child Adoption comes into the picture.
Eligibility Criteria
There are certain conditions that are imperative to be qualified by the law to adopt it can be parents as well as the child. In order to be adopted, a child ought to be “lawfully-free” according to the child welfare committee. With a record of an abandoned child, the District Child Protection Unit is required to establish a vigil with the kid’s photographs and details in the state's standard document and appeal to the neighborhood police to keep track of the parents. A homeless, abandoned or a handed over child, if only asserted as free for adoption by law, qualifies for adoption as per the Government of India. Also, police need to pass a report declaring that the parents of the child have an anonymous record and the child has been cast aside. The parents who cannot provide basic needs of a child can put their child for adoption.[4]
The process of adoption varies according to the status of the custodian viz. an unknown citizen, an Indian native, or NRI. The age difference between guardians and the kid needs to be under 25 years. The guardians should not be above 55 years of age at the time of adoption, the optimum combined age is 90 years and should not exceed 110 years. The individual must be capable of adopting exclusively of their marital status. The couple is obliged to have completed 2 years of consistent marriage, mutual consent, and a unanimous agreement. The adopting party should have a healthy medical condition. The parents with 3 children do not qualify for adoption. A single man is not eligible to adopt a girl child while a single woman can adopt a kid regardless of their gender.
List of Documents
- Application of Adoption
- The reason behind adopting a Child on paper
- 10 copies of passport size photos of individual parents and full-size photos (4x6) of the couple respectively.
- Certificate of Marriage, Age proof, Birth Certificate
- Residence Proof, PAN
- Income certificate, investment statements
- 3 letter of references
- Clinical reports stating free from Hepatitis B and HIV[5]
Enrollment
At first, the anticipated guardians are required to get registered with a recognized Child Adoption Center. The comprehensive proceeding details and enrollments are administered by the two authorities namely Special Adoption Agency (SAA) and the Recognized Indian Placement Agency (RIPA) to complete the procedure. In order to finish the registration process, the proposed guardians must go to the Adoption Coordination Agency in their area to meet the social authority. Here the procedure is analyzed and all the documentation work is lined up.[6]
Home Examination and Counseling
An official from the enrollment department is appointed to inspect the house of the prospective guardian to write a report. Furthermore, the department may demand to assure that the parents attend counseling sessions to envision the encouragement, agreement, strengths, and shortcomings of the prospective custodians. As per CARA protocols, the house evaluation ought to be accomplished within 3 months from the date of enrollment and submit the decisive report before the court hearing.
Child Referral and Acceptance
The management will indicate the interesting couple at whichever stage a kid is apt for adoption and schedule a meeting. The department will then distribute personal assessment summaries, medical reports, and extra applicable data of the kid with the parents. Only after the parents agree to the information distributed, they are allowed to spend time with the child. When the couple feels satisfactory with a child, they should endorse a couple of papers to the acceptance of the child.
Court Session
A petition is filed in the hearing court. It is mandatory to submit each and every integral document to an advocate who forms an appeal for the parents to be brought into the court. Once the offer is qualified, the new guardians are called to the court to sign the appeal in the presence of the court official. Followed by the signing of the petition, the guardians are allowed to take the child to a pre-adoption unit where they assimilate the nature of the child from the nursing staff. Next, the parents must visit the court with the kid where the hearing takes place in an enclosed place in the presence of a judge, social worker, and legal advisor. The judge makes a quotation of the amount that has to be deposited in the name of the child. Finally, the guardianship of the child is given to the parents.[7]
Follow-up
The child adoption agency acknowledges a follow-up summary to the court about the child’s well-being for the next 1-2 years to assure that the child is in safe hands.
Conclusion
Child Adoption in India is a smooth process for the guardians who are capable and meeting all the conditions. Couples adopt for abounding reasons, and the proceeding may come to pass abounding ways once it commences. According to the family standing, there may be matters to be managed and solved right from the time the child is adopted. Nonetheless, with earnest work, education, and will, adoptive houses and kids thrive and blossom into the family they always craved for.
References:
[1] https://theprint.in/india/why-indian-parents-have-returned-278-of-6650-adopted-children 201719/319437/#:~:text=Inter%2Dcountry%20adoptions%20have%20fewer,the%20support%20system%20around%20them. [2] http://cara.nic.in/PDF/RTI/RTI%20Manual%20of%20CARA.pdf [3] https://wcd.nic.in/ [4] http://cara.nic.in/ [5] https://carings.nic.in/Parents/Documents-Required-For-Indian-Adoption.html [6] http://cara.nic.in/Regulation/SAA.html [7] http://cara.nic.in/pdf/schedule/32.pdf