Maharashtra kicks off foster care scheme: Women and Child Welfare department invites people to register online

Forty children from orphanages in Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Amaravati and Palghar are set to get foster families. As part

of an experimental scheme initiated by the state government, those wanting to be foster parents can register online with

the Women and Child Welfare (WCF) Commissionerate (https://wcdcommpune.org), which is located in Pune.

After a scrutiny of family backgrounds and a rigorous selection process by the District Child Protection Unit, these

families will get Rs 2,000 per month from the government to ensure the protection and rehabilitation of orphaned

children.

Under this scheme, children below 11 years can be placed in foster care under the supervision of the child welfare

committees. To implement the scheme successfully, the department has already issued foster care guidelines and

organised special training sessions for childcare institutions.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (2009)

have various provisions for the protection of orphaned children, like keeping them in shelter homes managed by the WCF

department. These children can either be adopted or get sponsored guardianship for varying durations under the foster

care scheme. While adoption is a permanent feature, foster care involves temporary care while living in a family setting

from a government-approved sponsor for a specific period of time.

State WCF minister Yashomati Thakur said, “I am a daughter and a mother. I understand the importance of having a

family. The initiative has been launched to give orphaned children a safe family environment, love and support. The

children are our future and their care is our responsibility.”

Welcoming the decision, child rights activist Sanrosh Shinde said chapter 7 of the Juvenile Justice Act has a provision for

foster care. “Maharashtra would be implementing it for the first time and it’s a positive step. Even if the Act says that

institutionalisation is the best option, the children can grow better in families. It would be great if they live with them like

other members. It will be good for their future,” Shinde said.

Thakur said foster care could work parallelly with adoptions to ensure the mental, physical and social growth of a child. It

can also cater to children who are separated from their families or whose biological parents are unable to care for them for

various reasons.

Though the first non-institutional care scheme was launched in Maharashtra in 1972, it was later revised in 2005 as the

Bal Sangopal Scheme. In the late 1990s, Karnataka implemented a similar scheme for destitute children. In Gujarat, after

the 2001 earthquake, 350 were reportedly rehabilitated with their relatives and neighbours in their communities

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