Registration
Prospective adoptive parent(s) desirous of adopting, may register themselves with:
- A Licensed Indian Placement agency (LAPA).
- A Registered Indian Placement Agency (RIPA).
- The Adoption Coordinating Agency.
- The State Adoption Cell.
The agency will on the basis of preliminary information submitted by the prospective Aparent, assess th(eir)eligibility to adopt. A set of eligibility conditions have been prescribed by CARA and, subject to meeting those conditions, the registration will be formalized. At the time of registration the prospective Aparent will be required to give specifications regarding the age, sex, skin colour, religion, etc . They will also be required to submit a set of documents supporting their registration.
Home Study
A home study is an assessment of the ability (of a couple/ single parent) to parent a child not born to them . It examines the suitability of the prospective parent(s) to care for an unrelated child and validates the contents of the supporting documents such as the marriage certificate, financial statements (proof of income) and medical reports (health status) of the prospective parent(s). The Home Study contains details of the Adoptive Couple’s social status & family background; description of Home; standard of living; relationship with spouse and family members; health details; economic status etc.
In most cases the Home study involves the following:
- Interviewing both parents individually and jointly.
- Interviewing other members of the family, if they live in a joint family.
- Parental counseling on adoption issues.
Matching
After a Home Study has been accepted and approved, a child will be shown to the parent(s). The agency will take care to match a child meeting the description, if any, desired by the parent(s).
In case of placement of older children (above the age of 6), both written and verbal consent of the child must be obtained.
Petition in the Court/JJB
Once a successful matching has been done, the agency will file The adoption petition along with the relevant documents before the concerned Family Court/District Court/JJB as the case may be. The Court/JJB at its discretion may refer the petition to Scrutiny Agencies in their respective jurisdiction.
Foster Care
The prospective adoptive parent(s) may take the child on pre-adoption foster care signing a Foster Care Affidavit only when the case is filed in the Court. If any pre-adoption foster care is effected, there will be regular monitoring and evaluation of the foster care. A professionally trained social workerwill visit the family regularly. The Adoption Order should be obtained within 6 months of the foster placement.
Birth Certificate
The Adoption Agency must arrange for the issuance of a Birth Certificate with the names of the Adoptive Parents being shown as the parents of the child.
In all cases (except in the case of an abandoned child), where the date of birth has not been recorded officially, the Adoption Agency must make an application to the local Magistrate along with any material which the Adoption Agency considers relevant in the form of an affidavit made by a responsible person belonging to the Adoption Agency. The local magistrate will then pass an order approving the particulars to be entered in the birth certificate and on the basis of the magisterial order, the requisite certificate will be issued by the local birth certificate issuing authority of the city/town/area . This process shall be initiated only after the adoption is finalized, so that the particulars of the adoptive parents are available for inclusion in the certificate.
In the case of an abandoned child, the age verification is done by the Civil Surgeon/ assigned hospital, who will indicate the date of birth. The date of birth of the abandoned child will be recorded in the order of the Juvenile Justice Board on the basis of which, the Birth certificate will be issued.
Follow-up
Once an order has been issued, it should be followed by regular follow-up visits and post adoption counseling by the social worker till the child is adjusted in the new environment. The follow up should preferably be for a period of one year at-least or as directed by the Court/JJB.
Post-adoptive counseling shall be provided by the agency to the adoptive parent(s) and the adoptee as necessary.
