Fewer children being adopted in India, Centre pulls up states

WCD minister asks states to ensure Juvenile Justice Act enforced

Fewer children are being adopted in the country, a concern raised by Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi who has asked states to implement in full the adoption guidelines to help more kids find a home.

Only 2,671 children were adopted within the country in 2016-17 (till March 14). Though there is no official data, surveys done by various NGOs say there are approximately 50,000 orphans in India.

“…This is of great concern as the adoption of children in need of care and protection under the JJ (juvenile justice) act, 2015, is not getting implemented ...” Gandhi wrote to states on Wednesday.

According to ministry data, 14,000 applicants are in the queue to adopt but only 1,800 children are available. The yawning gap is because several states have failed to set up child welfare committees (CWCs).

A CWC has the same powers as a judicial magistrate first class. A child can be brought before the committee (or a member of the committee). It ensures that the child is not stolen or forcibly being given up. “….in many of the districts, either the CWC is not in place or the quorum of minimum number of three members is not complete,” says the letter, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times.

The Centre came out with an exhaustive framework for adoptions in 2015 to plug holes in the system. The whole process has gone online and all orphanages have to register with Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara), the country’s nodal body for adoptions. But many orphanages fail to register children.

These children, Gandhi said, were more often than not put into the illegal system of adoption.

The minister also expressed concern over legal delays, saying a large number of adoption cases were pending in family and district courts. Courts are the final stop in the process, as they legalise the adoption.