The government is expanding the adoption pool for children in cultural and creative institutions, giving preference to those with unsuitable guardians and without family visits

NEW DELHI: The government has initiated the process of screening and inclusion in foster care Adoption Pool des Central Adoption Resource Authority Children over six years old live in Childcare facilities (CCIs) who have not been visited by anyone from their family for a certain period of time or whose guardian has proven unable to care for them due to mental or terminal illness.
States review and process all of these cases for inclusion in the pool. Speech at the final session of the national consultation organized under the auspices of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Supreme Court and Unicef ​​​​on the protection of the rights of Children with disabilitiesAnil Malik, Minister for Women and Child Development, said that in order to include the identified children in the adoption pool, two new categories will be added relating to cases involving “unsuitable guardians” and “no visits”. These new categories were added in addition to the existing Orphaned, Abandoned and Surrendered (OAS) categories in the Central Adoption Resources Authority adoption pool.
Nearly 15,000 children from these categories have been identified across all facilities in the country who can be included in the adoption pool by CCIs.
The Supreme Court had in November 2023 directed the government to identify and register all children languishing in CCIs and those who do not reach the care facilities promptly.
The WCD Secretary reiterated that the move to include these older children in CCIs in the adoption pool is in line with the view of integrating as many children as possible into the mainstream by trying to ensure that they grow up in a family and have a social upbringing and not grow up in the narrow confines of a children’s home.
“If children are registered under the category ‘no visitors’ and ‘no visitors’,unsuitable guardians“ are concerned, these are primarily potential care cases. Once such children are declared legally free, their permanent rehabilitation through adoption can be facilitated,” CARA had said in its memorandum issued to all state adoption resource agencies, district child protection units, specialized adoption agencies and child care institutions earlier this year.
While emphasizing the growing focus on foster care, Malik also stressed that the process has been streamlined to expedite adoptions of children with disabilities, increasing adoptions in this category not only by foreigners and NRIs but also by prospective parents from within The country has given the country an upswing. Malik said they have noticed a positive change in attitude. The WCD secretary informed that 152 children with disabilities were adopted in 2022-23. Last year the number rose to 309. So far this year around 150 children have found a family.