{"id":34248,"date":"2018-10-30T16:30:29","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34248"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:30:29","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:00:29","slug":"death-of-baby-sherin-adoption-process-whos-eligible-what-safeguards-are-in-place-for-the-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/death-of-baby-sherin-adoption-process-whos-eligible-what-safeguards-are-in-place-for-the-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who\u2019s eligible, what safeguards are in place for the child"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/death-of-baby-sherin-mathews-adoption-process-whos-eligible-what-safeguards-are-in-place-for-the-child-4916240\/\"><b>Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who\u2019s eligible, what safeguards are in place for the child<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Context<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has requested Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi to look into the circumstances of Sherin\u2019s adoption.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What happened to Sherin?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The body of three-year-old Sherin Mathews was found in a tunnel in suburban Dallas in Texas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The child\u2019s adoptive father said she had choked on milk that he tried to \u201cphysically assist\u201d her in drinking.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Who can adopt an Indian Child?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to adoption guidelines notified in January this year, prospective adoptive parents have to be physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and should not have a life-threatening medical condition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singles are eligible, but a single male cannot adopt a girl child.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple must be married at least two years and their cumulative age at the time of adoption cannot exceed 110 years (55 in case of a single parent).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The minimum age difference between the child and either adoptive parent should not be less than 25 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption with Indian citizens and with due regard to the principle of placement of the child in his own socio-cultural environment, as per the Fundamental Principles of Adoption.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What formalities must prospective parents resident outside India fulfil?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All prospective parents irrespective of nationality have to register with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After registration, children are assigned by turn, and foreign couples are treated at par with Indian ones.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any Non-Resident <\/span>I<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ndian, Overseas Citizen of India or foreign prospective adoptive parents, living in a country which is a signatory to The Hague Adoption Convention and wishing to adopt an Indian child, can approach the authorized foreign adoption agency or the central authority for preparation of their home study report.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alternatively, they can approach the government department or Indian diplomatic mission concerned in that country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The home study report, which looks at the couple\u2019s family, circumstances, etc., is prepared by the adoption agency. It remains valid for two years, and is the basis of any adoption attempts that the couple make during that period.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parents are given a chance to adopt on a first registered, first served basis. They are shown photographs, child study reports and medical examination reports of up to six children in their preferred category. The process of matching must be completed in 15 days.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>When is a child eligible to be adopted?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A child has to be declared legally free to be adopted before being shown to a couple for adoption.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a missing child is found, the District Child Protection Unit has to advertise the particulars and photograph in a state-level newspaper with wide circulation within 72 hours of receiving the child.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local police have to submit a report about the child\u2019s parents or any living family. The Child Welfare Committee declares the child legally free for adoption as per laid down procedu<\/span>res.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What legal process has to be followed?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The adoption petition is filed in court by the adoption agency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adoption proceedings have to be completed within two hearings and the petition has to be disposed of within two months of its filing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The certified copy of the order has to be obtained by the agency within 10 days. It must also obtain the birth certificate of the child with the names of the adoptive parents.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How many children are adopted in India every year?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figures available with CARA show that between 2010 and 2017, adoptions have gone down drastically.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2010, 5,693 children were adopted within India and 628 outside the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fall is because norms have been tightened to protect the children. Despite the safeguards though, not all adoptive children stay safe.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women &amp; Child Development, Government of India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated \/recognised adoption agencies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CARA interacts with State Governments and UT Administrations through regular training and orientation programmes as well as meetings, consultations and visits to the States\/UTs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The implementation of the adoption programme in the States\/UTs is reviewed in various consultations organized by the Ministry as well as meetings of the Project Approval Board to consider proposals received from States\/UTs for release of grants under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who\u2019s eligible, what safeguards are in place for the child Context External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has requested Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi to look into the circumstances of Sherin\u2019s adoption. What happened to Sherin? The body of three-year-old Sherin Mathews was found in a tunnel&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/death-of-baby-sherin-adoption-process-whos-eligible-what-safeguards-are-in-place-for-the-child\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Death of Baby Sherin: Adoption process, who\u2019s eligible, what safeguards are in place for the child<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704899606},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}