Bringing home the child…..Flavia Agnes
The new adoption guidelines do not go the last mile
The new adoption guidelines do not go the last mile
The new guidelines for adoption of children, framed by the ministry of women and child development, under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2000, will soon be implemented through a gazette notification. The comprehensive scheme, to be implemented by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), will supersede the guidelines for in-country adoption issued in 2004 and inter-country adoption in 2006, which were popularly referred to as CARA guidelines.
The new guidelines seem to address three dominant concerns safety of the child through stringent post-adoption stipulations; an expeditious adoption process; and curbing of adoption rackets that have flourished in the past two decades. There have been instances, though few, of agencies luring poor parents to sell their infants, picking up abandoned babies, or kidnapping children to sell them to foreigners. These raised an important issue for the Indian state, especially after the courts expressed great concern in this regard.
The most important aspect the guidelines seem to tackle is adoption rackets, by bringing all adoption under a centralised scheme. The guidelines make it mandatory for Child Welfare Committees (CWC) in each district to verify the whereabouts of each child before it is placed for adoption and put an end all kinds of donations from prospective adoptive parents and foreign agencies to an adoption centre. Under the centralised system, applications for all in-country adoption will be received by CARA and forwarded to an agency where children are available for adoption. All agencies are required to register at the Central Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System and stringent procedures are stipulated for their functioning. There will be periodic inspections and even a procedure for de-recognition.
These look good on paper, but in a system plagued with malpractice, where police officials and CWC members themselves have colluded with racketeers, these guidelines do not inspire much hope. It is anyones guess how these guidelines will help to improve the situation on the ground.
The second aspect of the proposed rules is to cut the red tape and expedite adoption process by eliminating the requirement of certain clearances. Permanent recognition of foreign adoption agencies, authorised by CARA for sponsoring applications of prospective NRI, OCI, PIO and foreign adoptive parents, and Indian agencies is meant to minimise undue delay and ensure smooth functioning of the adoption process. A special process is also laid down for adoption of children with special needs.
The third important aspect is to provide safeguards through stringent post-adoption follow-up procedures. All in-country adoptions will be followed up for two years. All inter-country adoptions will proceed only after a final decree under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act to ensure citizenship of the adopted child. Adoptions will be made only to counties that are signatories to the Hague convention. This will ensure that the country of adoption is bound by the rules of the convention to provide due protection to the child. Only Indian nationals in non-Hague ratified countries will be permitted to adopt. In order to promote bonding between the child and adoptive parents, a provision has been made for pre-adoption foster care to provide early deinstitutionalisation of the child.
In view of the problem of repatriation of an adopted child, an issue pending before the Bombay High Court, in all cases of inter-country adoption, the adoptive parents will be required to make the provision of $5,000 in the name of the repatriated child.
The ratio of in-country and inter-country adoption, which was 50:50, will now be changed to 80:20, and more Indian couples will be encouraged to adopt. However, stipulations on the eligibility of an adoptive parent seem to be regressive. A couple in a live-in relationship are not entitled to adopt. A couple should be in a stable marriage for at least two years prior to adoption. A person below 25 years and beyond 50 years cannot adopt a child under three years, and the aggregate age of the parents should not be more than 90 years. For adopting a child above three years, the age bar is extended to 55 years and the aggregate age to 105 years.
A single person is entitled to adopt, but the age bar gets more constricted between 30 and 45 for adopting a child under three, and is extended to 50 years if the child is above three years. A single male cannot adopt a girl child. The presence of a female member is a precautionary measure. While gays and lesbians cannot adopt as a couple, they may be eligible as single persons. But if a preliminary enquiry reveals the gay or live-in status of the person, there is a possibility that it may cause a moral dilemma to the authorities.
With surrogacy gaining popularity and India becoming a cheap hub for childless and gay couples, there is a possibility that couples wishing to have a child may opt for surrogacy since there are no guidelines for the mother or the child. And this may render adoption a thing of the past.
The writer is a lawyer and director of Majlis in Mumbai express@expressindia.com
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bringing-home-the-child/806379/0