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Following upon the above
mandate, the Govt. of India has evolved several
programmes to ensure the betterment of children and
their development in a wholesome manner. The Ministry
of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India has been
mandated, amongst others, with the welfare of children
in difficult circumstances. The rehabilitation of such
children through adoption is one of the major planks of
the Ministry’s policies for children. This policy keeps
in mind the fact that the full and wholesome growth of a
child is possible only in an atmosphere of parental love
and guidance. It recognizes the family as the Central
fulcrum around which both mental and physical
development of a child is given full opportunity to
blossom.
In pursuance of land-mark
judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the Laxmi
Kant Pandey Vs. Union of India case of 1984, the Central
Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) was established by the
Ministry and subsequently the Revised Guidelines for the
Adoption of Indian children were issued in 1995 to
provide a frame work of Rules for regulating and
monitoring inter-country adoptions. These Guidelines
are now applicable all over the country and they provide
a uniform mechanism for processing cases of
Inter-country adoptions. Of late the Ministry has been
contemplating the need to provide a similar framework of
Guidelines for monitoring and processing of in-country
adoptions. Both the Supreme Court in its above
judgement and the United Nations Declaration of the
Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly of
the United Nations in 1989 as well as the Hague
Convention on Inter-country adoption of 1993 clearly lay
down that the best interest of the child without a
family is served by providing it an opportunity to be
placed with a family within its own socio-cultural
milieu. Thus every child has a right to be considered
for placement with a family belonging to its own
national and cultural background within the country.
Inter-country adoption is therefore, to be seen as an
option, which is to be considered only when the above is
not possible. This is also prescribed in the Guidelines
governing inter-country adoptions.
The importance of In-country adoption is, self-evident.
There is need to ensure that not only In-country
adoption is actively encouraged and propagated
throughout the country, but also a well formulated
procedure is followed for the purpose. The Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India has now
decided to issue common Guidelines for the procedure
that needs to be undertaken by adoption
Homes/Institutions before filing adoption petitions
under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA),
Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act,
2000 (JJ Act) and also Guardianship Petitions under
Guardian & Wards Act, 1890 (GAWA). These Guidelines do
not affect the provisions in the existing Acts and laws
but serve to provide a procedure for processing adoption
cases before they are actually brought before the
competent authorities/courts under the aforementioned
Acts for orders. The Guidelines will also ensure that
the best interests of the child are protected and all
adoptions are legally processed through licensed
Homes/Institutions only.
The Central Adoption
Resource Authority is the nodal body of the Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment to deal with all adoption
matters. After due consideration of all aspects and
consultations with experts in this field, the Government
of India, hereby issues the Guidelines for In-country
Adoption that shall come into effect immediately and
will supercede this Ministry’s earlier Circular
No.1-4/98 (CARA) Dt.14.09.1998. The Ministry of Social
Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, reserves to
itself the power, at its discretion to make such
amendments, additions, deletions or alternations in
these Guidelines as are deemed necessary from time to
time.
AIMS & OBJECTS :
The Guidelines for
In-country adoption aim:
· to regulate
and facilitate a common procedure for In-country
adoptions throughout the country;
· to encourage
adoption of destitute & orphan children within the
country.
1.1 ADOPTION HOMES
1.1.1 Role & Functions of LAPAs
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All such Licensed
Adoption Placement Agencies for In-country adoptions
will be registered under the Societies Registration
Act, 1860. They will adhere to any guideline or rule
laid down by the State Government/Central Government
governing in-country adoption from time to time. As
such they will obtain license from the State
Government to run child care homes and
recognition/permission to place children in adoption
within the country and will be known as Licensed
Adoption Placement Agencies (LAPAs). Adoption Homes
which have been recognised to also undertake
inter-country adoption by the Govt.of India will be
called Recognised Indian Placement Agencies (RIPAs)
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Details of all
Children admitted by LAPAs will be entered in the
admission register in the format prescribed at
Annexure-I.
iii.All LAPAs will
be members of the nearest Adoption Coordinating Agency. iv.They
will maintain a separate list of Indian
couples/individuals registered with them as prospective
adoptive parent(s).
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All the LAPAs must
have a high standard of child care facilities and
observe prescribed & adequate standards in child
care as per the broad criteria placed at
Annexure–IV. For children, between 3 and 6
years proper recreational and pre-school educational
facilities must be provided.
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It will be mandatory
for all the LAPAs to have qualified staff. The
following staff should be available in a home for 10
children:
|
1. |
Superintendent
|
1 |
|
2. |
Nurse-cum-supervisor |
1 |
|
3. |
Full time or
part time Doctor preferably Paediatrician |
1 |
|
4. |
Social Worker
|
1 |
|
5. |
Ayas (for
10 children) |
4 |
|
6. |
Accounts and
Administrative staff |
1 |
|
7. |
Chowkidar
|
1 |
The above is the
recommended staff structure and it may vary in
proportion to the number of children and size of the
Home. The professional staff such as Nurses and Social
Workers should have the relevant qualifications such as
Degree/Diploma in Nursing and MSW/BSW respectively.
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Every LAPA has a moral
and legal responsibility to function within the
ambit of the law and in the best interest of the
child. While admitting an orphan or destitute
child, the Home will give a name to the child,
record briefly the social background of the child,
record identification marks of the child, record
height and weight of the child, conduct medical
examination of the child and get the child
photographed. In case of all new arrivals, the local
authority should be informed within 24 hours and in
case of admission of any abandoned child, the Home
will file FIR with the nearest Police Station and
inform the local authority and the CWC within 24
hours.
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A monthly report on
the number of children available will be submitted
to the State Adoption Cell of the State Govt. The
death of any child will also be reported to the
local authority, ACA & State Adoption Cell
immediately, giving details, within 48 hours. The
Death Certificate alongwith the photograph, shall be
kept in the personal record file counter signed by
the Office bearer of the LAPA. Every LAPA shall
maintain a separate file for each child with the
child's complete case history. Every child should
have a Child Study Report which shall be shown
to the prospective adoptive parents. Format of such
a report is placed at
Annexure-V.
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All registered
prospective adoptive parent(s) may avail counseling
facilities which is to be given free by the LAPA.
They should be counselled in detail and made aware
of the legal obligation to be placed upon them once
a child has been adopted, the rights of the child
itself, the various Acts under which a child can be
placed with the family, procedures for obtaining
birth certificate etc.
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The LAPAs will submit
a list of children available with them with relevant
information every month to the ACA and State
Adoption Cell to facilitate search for suitable
adoptive parent(s) who may be registered with them.
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While filing an
application for adoption or placement of a child in
the appropriate Court, the LAPA will also be a
co-respondent. The child will be in the custody of
the LAPA until the final placement takes place
through the Court order. Therefore, parent(s) cannot
directly file a petition and the details of the
biological unwed mother cannot be disclosed to the
parent(s) as a part of the petition. If violation of
these provisions come to notice, action will be
taken against the LAPA by the State Government. The
surrender document should be treated as confidential
and submitted only to the court. The LAPA must
ensure that adoption petitions are filed in the
court expeditiously and render all cooperation to
the court for obtaining early orders.
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The LAPA will send a
monthly report to the ACA and the State Adoption
Cell as per
Annexure II.
1.1.2 Mode of
Admission of children of LAPA
A child can be admitted to
the LAPA by two modes:
i.Direct surrender by biological
parent(s)/unwed mother
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Child abandoned in the
LAPA or abandoned elsewhere brought by a third party
or police or referred by the Child Welfare
Committee.
1.1.3 Surrender of a Child
by biological parents (s)
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In the case of
surrender of a child, the biological parent(s)
should be counselled and duly informed by the LAPA
concerned of the effect of their decision and the
alternatives available for the care and maintenance
of the child. No LAPA will directly or through
agents, attempt to persuade the biological parent(s)
to surrender their children with monetary or other
incentives.
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The surrender document
should be executed truly by the biological parent(s)
with no compulsion, payment or compensation of any
kind by anyone.
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The parent(s) should
be informed by the LAPA of their right to reclaim
the child within 60 days from the date of the
surrender. They should be made aware that after the
period of 60 days the surrender documents will
become irrevocable and the child will be considered
free for adoption and the LAPA will be free to place
the child in adoption or guardianship.
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The surrender document
should be executed on stamp paper in the presence of
two responsible witnesses of whom one should be
responsible person who is not an employee of the
organization. The documents will also be signed by a
Notary/Oath Commissioner. The LAPA should be able to
produce these witnesses if the necessity arises. The
responsibility for the authenticity of the surrender
document would be on the LAPA. In case of a minor
surrendering a child, at least one signature(s) of
parent(s)/relative(s) of the minor should be
obtained in the presence of the minor. The State
Govt. will have the right to cross check all
surrender documents and copies of these are to be
sent to the Adoption Cell/Department. During the
surrender process, the LAPA should ensure that:
a) If a child born
in wedlock is surrendered, both parents sign the
surrender document and in case a parent(s) is dead,
proof of death is furnished. Where the death certificate
is not available, a certificate from local Sarpanch/Panchayat/Govt.
Authority should suffice.
b) In case of a
child born out of wedlock, the mother herself and none
else can surrender the child. If she is a minor, the
signature of an accompanying relative will be obtained
on the surrender document.
c) If the
surrender is effected by any person other than the
biological parent(s), the same procedure is followed as
that for an abandoned child under the JJ Act 2000, since
the child will be treated as abandoned.
d) When a child is
born to a married couple but is surrendered by one
biological parent and the whereabouts of the other are
not known the same procedure is followed as that for an
abandoned child.
e) If the document
of surrender is considered invalid/incomplete by the
State Govt. it may direct the concerned Agency to follow
the same procedure as under the JJ Act-2000. Any such
direction should however be communicated to the Agency
within 15 days of receiving the copy of the surrender
documents.
1.1.4 Abandoned Child
i.The
procedure regarding abandoned children is prescribed by
the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children)
Act-2000. While the CWC (Child Welfare Committee) is the
final authority to dispose of cases for the care,
protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of
the children (Section 31.1 of the said Act), a child can
be produced before the Committee by the following
persons (Section 32.1 of the said Act):
a)any police officer or
special juvenile police unit or a designated police
officer;
b)any public servant;
c) Childline, a
registered voluntary organisation or by such other
voluntary organisation or an agency as may be
recognised by the State Government;
d)any social worker or a
public spirited citizen authorised by the State
Government; or
e)by the child itself.
ii.Wherever
a LAPA receives an abandoned child under its care it
will immediately file a First Information Report in the
concerned Police Station and make an application to CWC
within 24 hours seeking permission to keep custody of
the child.
iii. The
LAPA may initiate the process of clearance from CWC
(Child Welfare Committee) at the earliest, in the case
of abandoned children and the Child Welfare Committee
will make all possible efforts within a period of two
months to declare the child legally free for adoption.
iv. In the
case of abandoned children the procedure for declaring
such children as legally free for adoption as laid down
under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000 shall apply. An abandoned child can
be given in adoption only when the Child Welfare
Committee under the Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2000, declares such a child
to be legally free for adoption. An abandoned child will
be legally free for adoption when such an order is
signed by at least two members of the Child Welfare
Committee as per Sec. 41(5)(a) of the JJ Act. 2000. On
receipt of a report under section 32, the Committee or
any police officer or special juvenile police unit or
the designated police officer shall hold an inquiry in
the prescribed manner and the Committee, on its own or
on the report from any person or agency as mentioned in
sub-section (1) of section 32 of JJ Act-2000, may pass
an order to send the child to the children’s home for
speedy inquiry by a social worker or child welfare
officer. The inquiry under this section will be
completed within such shorter period as may be fixed by
the Committee.
v.Where
there is no CWC functioning, the District Collector or
any other authority empowered by the State Government
for the purpose may issue the Certificate of
Abandonment.
1.1.5
Procedure For Incountry Adoption:
Stage I
Stage II
· A home study
report of the prospective adoptive parents will be
prepared by the social worker of the Agency. To allay
the fears and apprehensions of the prospective adoptive
parent(s), pre-adoptive counseling sessions will be
undertaken by the social worker during the preparation
of the home study report. Assessing the ability of a
couple to parent a child not born to them is of crucial
importance in a successful adoption. Therefore, their
suitability to care for an unrelated child is assessed
through this home study and counselling. Documents
relating to the financial and health status of the
prospective parent(s) will be part of the Home Study
Report.
· In case of
Inter-State adoption applications by parent(s), they
will be accompanied by Home Study prepared by a
qualified social worker working in a RIPA/LAPA. Where
State Govt.’s have officially delegated such work for
its Officials, the Home Study Report could be prepared
by the concerned Official.
· Criteria for
eligibility of parent(s) will be adhered to, as stated
in Para 1.1.7.
· The Agency
will make a suitable reference from amongst the admitted
children legally free for adoption. If no suitable child
is available, the family will be referred to the ACA.
Stage III
· After a Home
Study has been accepted and approved, a child will be
shown to the parent(s). The agency will take care to
match a child meeting the description, if any, desired
by the parent(s).
· In case of
placement of older children (above the age of 6), both
written and verbal consent of the child will be
obtained.
Stage IV
Adoption Act
The child can be legally
placed with the parent(s) under HAMA/GAWA/JJ-Act 2000.
The prospective parents should be informed about the
different Acts available and the ramifications of each
one. It would be left to them to decide as to which Act
they would like to file their petition under, provided
that they are eligible to do so under the chosen Act. As
stated above, the prospective parents must be made to
fully understand the status of their adoption under each
Act.
Follow up visits
Once an order has been
issued, it should be followed by regular follow-up
visits and post adoption counseling by the social worker
till the child is adjusted in the new environment. The
follow up should preferably be for a period of one year
at-least or as directed by the Court/JJB. Copies of the
follow-up reports will be sent to the District Social
Welfare Officer/concerned State Government Department,
concerned Scrutiny Agency and the Court/JJB from where
the order was obtained.
1.1.6 Adoption Costs
Maintenance charges shall
not exceed Rs.15,000/- at the rate of Rs.50/- per day
from the date of admission to till the child is placed
in pre-placement foster care. In case of special medical
care, hospitalization charges subject to a maximum of
Rs.9000/- may be claimed on production of actual bills.
Legal fees and scrutiny fees will be charged on actuals.
NGOs and Government Homes getting Grant-in-aid from the
Central Government under Sishu Greh Scheme can claim
maintenance and legal fee from the adoptive parents only
as per the provisions laid down in Para 5.4 of the
Scheme. The Fee structure for in-country adoptions has
also been drawn up to establish a uniform base for the
whole country (The prescribed fees will however be
subject to any direction given in this regard by the
Court issuing the Adoption Order). In addition to the
above charges the agency can claim Rs.200/- as
registration charges in each case from adoptive parents
and Rs.1000/- for preparing Home Study Reports.
1.1.7
Criteria for Prospective Adoptive Parents:
a) Marital Status, Age
and Financial Status with reasonable income to support
the child and clear police record should be evident in
the Home Study Report.
b) Prospective adoptive
parents having composite age of 90 years and less and
where neither parent has crossed 45 years can be
considered for adoption of Indian children. These
provisions may be suitably relaxed in exceptional cases
for reasons clearly stated in the Home Study Report.
However, in no case should the age of the prospective
adoptive parent(s) exceed 55 years.
c) In case of Special
Needs children with medical problems, the age limit of
adoptive parent(s) may be relaxed by concerned State
Government.
d) Single persons who
have not crossed the age of 45 years and who fulfill the
other criteria can also adopt.
e) The prospective
parent(s) should have a regular source of income with a
minimum average monthly income of at least Rs.3000/- per
month. However, lower income will be considered taking
into account other assets and support system i.e. own
house etc.
f) All the criteria
mentioned above for adoptive parents will also apply to
single parents with the additional requirements given
below:-
1. Age: Age of the
adoptive single parent should be above 30 years and
below 45 years.
2. Age Difference: The
age difference between the adoptive single parent and
adoptive child should be 21 years.
3. Family: The single
parent should have additional family support system.
1.1.8 Criteria for
eligible children:
· The child
should be legally free for adoption.
· Siblings/twins/ triplets etc. should not be
separated.
· The
consent of children above 6 years should be taken for
the adoption.
1.1.9 Procedure for Home
Study Reports (HSR)
The LAPA & ACAs may follow
the following procedure for preparing the Home Study
Reports:
1. It should be
prepared only after Registration of the parent(s).
2. It should be
prepared by a qualified Social Worker or designated
Officer of the State Govt. after interviewing both
parents individually and together.
3. Other members of the
family, if they live in a joint family should also be
interviewed.
4. Parent(s) should
be counselled on adoption issues including open
adoption.
5. All necessary
documents, marriage certificate, proof of income etc.
should be checked and annexed to the Report.
1.1.10 Safeguards
The following safeguards
should be ensured while placing the child in In-country
Adoption:
a) The child should
be legally free for adoption.
b) The two months
reconsideration period should be observed for a
relinquished child.
c) All efforts to
trace the biological parent(s) should be made as per the
prescribed framework for abandoned children
d) Priority should
be given to applicants already registered with the
Agency and they should be regularly informed of the
status of their applications.
e) The Child Study
Report along with PER should be signed by both adoptive
parents.
f) The parent(s)
should be advised to have the child assessed by their
own doctor in case of doubts.
g) A receipt should
be issued for the adoption fee.
h) Older children
above 6 years – special clearance from State Government
should be obtained.
i) In case of
prospective adoptive parent(s) willing to adopt a child
with disability/health problem, a document stating the
same shall be obtained.
j) Placement of
girls with a single male is not allowed as also
placement of children with same sex couples.
k) Siblings and
twins etc. should not be separated. Prospective Adoptive
Parent(s) should be made aware of this.
l) The
prospective adoptive parent(s) may take the child on
pre-adoption foster care signing a Foster Care Affidavit
only when the case is filed in the Court.
m) The prospective
adoptive parent(s) should fulfill the laid down criteria
of age, income etc.
n) Above all, the
Agency must satisfy itself that the proposed adoption is
in the best interest of the child.
1.1.11
Court Procedure:
i.The
adoption petition along with the relevant documents
should be filed before the concerned Family
Court/District Court/JJB as the case may be by the
Adoption Agency.
ii.The Court/JJB at its discretion may refer the
petition to Scrutiny Agencies in their respective
jurisdiction.
1.1.12 Birth Certificate:
The date of birth of the
abandoned child being given in adoption will be recorded
in the order of the Juvenile Justice Board. In all
other cases where the child has not been adopted or its
adoption has not been carried out under the JJ Act and
its date of birth has not been recorded officially
anywhere, the Adoption Agency concerned must make an
application to the local Magistrate along with any other
material which the Adoption Agency considers relevant in
the form of an affidavit made by a responsible person
belonging to the Adoption Agency. The local magistrate
will then pass an order approving the particulars to be
entered in the birth certificate and on the basis of the
magisterial order, the requisite certificate will be
issued by the local birth certificate issuing authority
of the city/town/area where the child has been found.
This process shall be initiated only after the adoption
is finalized, so that the particulars of the adoptive
parents are available for inclusion in the certificate.
In case the child has attained the age of three, and the
adoption has still not been finalized, the Agency may
obtain a birth certificate, if it is found necessary,
after informing the court in the form of an affidavit:
(a)That to the best of its
knowledge the child has attained the age of three
years;
(b) That his/her
adoption has not been finalized and is likely to take
some time or may never be finalized in all probability;
(c) That a
certificate is required for educational/medical/legal
purposes or any other reasonable purpose which may be
specified; and
(d) That person(s)
will stand in as local parents to the child (this
person/these persons shall be a responsible
person/responsible persons belonging to the agency) till
such time he/she attains majority, or is adopted,
whichever is earlier. In such cases a second birth
certificate may be issued after adoption to provide for
a change in the name/names of the child and the adoptive
parent(s) after obtaining an order to that effect from
the court, which had passed order for issuing the
original birth certificate.
1.1.13 Records and
Documents to be maintained by the LAPA
Every registered LAPA will
maintain the following records and registers:
(i) Admission
register – All details pertaining to the child including
its arrival date of birth, procedure for making the
child legally adoptable, pre adoption foster care,
adoption and post placements etc.
(Annexure-I)
(ii)Attendance register of
the children and staff present.
(iii) Register of
prospective adoptive parents with details. The copy of
the same will be submitted to ACA and State Adoption
Cell every month.
(iv) Register of
children showing their arrival, departure, admission
into hospitals, restoration to their parent(s) and
death, if any.
(v) Medical case
file of each child and individual case files. Wherever
possible medical records of the biological parent(s)
will be maintained.
(vi) Registers
pertaining to maintenance of the Home.
(vii) Monthly
reports in the prescribed format.
(Annexure–II)
(viii) Follow-up
register of children placed with the adoptive family
prior to legal placement and after legal placement.
(ix) The annual
report of the organization together with the necessary
details and statistics.
(x) Registers
pertaining to vouchers, cashbook, ledger – expenditure
statement, Annual Accounts, payment registers, records
of Minutes of Meetings, Grants Utilization Register and
Audited Statement of Accounts.
(xi) Documents of
promotional activities.
(xii) Other records
stipulated under the relevant Law and Licensing Act.
1.1.14 Transfer of
Children:
(i) For transfers
of children from one agency to another whether within
the city, district or inter-district, the prior
permission of the authorized Official of the State
Government such as District Social Welfare
Officer/District Magistrate/Adoption Cell of the State
Government is required. This is applicable in case of
transfer of children from branches of the same
organisation also. Wherever applicable, the procedure of
transfer will be followed as laid down in JJ Act. 2000.
(ii) The transfer
of the child should be accompanied by available
documents pertaining to its admission, preliminary case
history, documentary evidence to prove that the child is
legally free for adoption, and a letter of transfer. In
addition, the photograph of the child, CSR, PER and
other relevant documents should be sent. The accepting
Agency should verify all the facts before accepting the
child, as it will be legally responsible for it, once
the child is admitted.
(iii) In the case of
inter-state transfer of children, the following
procedures should be followed:
a) Children from any
orphanage/agency may be transferred to another State
with the permission of the State Government in whose
jurisdiction the child is originally residing.
b) A child should be
legally made free for adoption in the place of origin.
c) The child should be
registered with the nearest ACA and State Adoption Cell
within 15 days of its arrival in the new Agency.
d) If a child cannot be
placed in adoption with a suitable Indian family within
2 years of his or her admission into the Agency, he or
she may be transferred to the nearest Recognised Indian
Placement Agency(RIPA) with the prior permission of
the competent authority of the State Government. The
State Government, while examining such requests may take
into consideration such aspects that may be prescribed
by CARA from time to time.
1.1.15
Follow-up
The follow-up of children
placed within the country will be as follows:
(i) If any
pre-adoption foster care is effected, there will be
regular monitoring and evaluation of the foster care. A
professionally trained social worker shall visit the
family regularly. The Adoption Order should be obtained
within 6 months of the foster placement.
(ii) The copies of
the follow-up reports of the children shall be submitted
by the Agency to concerned State Government and ACA.
(iii) The Agency
shall see that legal adoption is effected at the
earliest, thereby safeguarding the interest of the
child.
(iv) After legal
adoption, the Agency shall maintain a follow-up with the
family for a period of at least one year or as
stipulated by the Court.
(v) Post-adoptive
counseling shall be provided by the agency to the
adoptive parent(s) and the adoptee.
1.1.16 Minimum
standards in Child Care Homes:
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