Stringent rules bring down inter-country adoption rate

Pune: Stringent government rules have considerably brought down foreign adoptions in the country, women and child

development department data revealed.

From around 600 since 2016, the number of inter-country adoptions is down to 275 this year till November. In comparison, the

number of in-country adoptions is 2,000 in 2019.

The adoption agencies attribute the fall in foreign adoptions to the changes in the adoption procedures and the “stringent”

online portal managed by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA). Experts working in the field said among the reasons

for the drop was the longer waiting period for the “in-country” adoptions and fewer number of children up for adoption.

“Indian parents wait-list themselves to adopt children aged less than two years. Children available for adoption in this age

group are few. Children are put up for inter-country adoptions only after the Indian parents are approached,” an expert said.

“Agencies should have ample time to find out a child’s background and decide if adoption would be the best option,” another

expert said, adding that “compromising on time is better than compromising on a child’s life”.

The country had suspended operations of an American agency involved in the adoption of India-born Sherin Mathews, who

died in the US in October 2017.

CARA has told its partner agencies globally to ensure that applicants willing to adopt a child from India “undergo a

psychological evaluation by a licensed practitioner in order to determine their stress and frustration tolerance”.

In an order, CARA has told the nodal bodies, such as Authorised Foreign Adoption Agencies (AFAAs) and Central Authorities

(CAs), to assess the psychological health of parents willing to adopt children and prepare their Home Study Reports to

determine their eligibility.

“We would request that for ensuring the best interest of a child being placed in adoption, all Home Study Reports prepared for

the prospective adoptive parents incorporate assessment related to psychological profiling, details pertaining to non-family

stakeholders and any other relevant feedback on these aspects,” a CARA circular stated.

On the other hand, the external affairs ministry has made the passport norms for the adopted children stricter. Parents applying

for a passport for an adopted child would have to procure a “conformity certificate” from CARA after a court issues an order

legalizing the adoption.

This certificate will be in addition to the no-objection certificate issued by the nodal body at the time of matching a child from

the adoption pool with the prospective parents.