Report slams two adoption agencies
Pune, June 4: A JOINT inspection of five recognised placement agencies in the city by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), New Delhi and State Department of Women and Child Development has found that services were unsatisfactory at adoption centres run by Renuka Mahajan Trust and Balwant Kartar Anand Foundation’s Preet Mandir. The inspection was carried out between May 7 and 9.
The Renuka Mahajan Trust’s placement agency is located at Tingrenagar and aims at rehabilitating destitute and abandoned children less than six years old through adoption. Child care standards at Renuka Mahajan Trust are not satisfactory with specific reference to space, physical amenities and hygiene, the team that comprised of C Saraswathi, assistant director, CARA, M L Deshmukh, District Child and Development Officer, Pune and officials from Women and Child Development Commissionerate said in their report.
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The team has reported that Balwant Kartar’s Anand Foundation unit at Preet Mandir was too congested to accommodate 70 children. The licence for the home at Coyaji Road is to accommodate 40 children. There are no parents’ meetings and while the procedure for inter-country adoptions has been made smooth, the team felt efforts wereneeded to promote in-country adoptions.
The team also observed that Preet Mandir had linkages at various districts in the State which informed the agency when the mother wanted to give up the child. Such a system requires probe, the team has said. Since the number of children below three years is high, there is a need for appointing a full time residential doctor and medical unit, the report states.
The adoption homes run by Mahila Seva Mandal at Karve Road, Society of Friends of Sassoon Hospital and Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra at Mundhwa have been given a clean chit.