District Magistrate issues 12 adoption orders under amended rules
Among the adopted, eight were boys and four were girls; except for two children aged one year and two years, the rest were just months old
Twelve children have been adopted in Ernakulam district in the nine months since the introduction of the amended adoption rules aimed at speedy completion of adoption procedures.
Under the new adoption rules, as per Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Amendment Act, District Magistrates are authorised to issue adoption orders. The amendment was aimed at avoiding the inordinate delay when adoption process was executed through courts. The amendments came into effect on September 1, 2022.
Among the adopted, eight were boys and four were girls. Except for two children aged one year and two years, the rest were just months old. Five other adoptions are being processed by the district magistrate.
“Adoption is lot quicker now since District Magistrates are required to issue orders within two months of submission of files by the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU). There was no such time frame when the adoption process was carried out through courts,” said Sini K.S., District Child Protection Officer, Ernakulam.
As per the amended rules, the adoption process starts with the prospective foster parents registering and uploading around nine relevant documents on Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System (CARINGS), an online platform under the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Central Adoption Resource Authority. The platform aims at bringing transparency in the adoption system and also eliminating delays at various levels while facilitating adoption of children from anywhere in the country.
“Once the parents register in CARINGS, a social worker from the Specialised Adoption Agency and a protection officer from DCPU conduct home study of the prospective foster parents and upload the report on the online platform. Thereafter, the parents depending on their seniority in the waiting list and matching preferences start getting referrals,” said Staicy M. Manjooran, protection officer, non-institutional care, DCPU.
As soon as the prospective foster parents lock-in a match, the adoption committee concerned comprising the social workers of the DCPU and the specialised adoption agency and a doctor are supposed to either approve the adoption or reject it within a time frame of 30 days.
“The foster parents can then turn up before the adoption committee and take home the child. Then DCPU puts up the file before the district magistrate concerned who is supposed to issue the adoption order within two months,” said Ms. Manjooran.
The district now has only one Specialised Adoption Agency compared to three in the past. The agency can keep custody of children available for adoption till the age of four years after being presented before the Child Welfare Committee. However, children hardly ever remain with the agency till that age as they are given up in adoption in a matter of months.