‘Covid orphans’: Follow due adoption process

As the second wave of Covid-19 engulfed India, several messages started circulating on social media for the adoption of “Covid orphans”, children who have lost both parents to the disease. Such adoption posts are well-meaning, but they are also illegal, can be detrimental to the child’s wellbeing, and undermine safeguards. Activists have warned that such posts violate the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015, which prohibits offering or receiving children outside the processes laid down under the Act. Last week, the ministry of women and child development (WCD) wrote to states on measures related to the rehabilitation of such children to ensure safety and prevent trafficking. The ministry has also requested the ministry of health and family welfare that a column may be added to hospital admission forms seeking details of a person to whom children can be handed over. This must be implemented without delay.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority regulates the adoption of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children. While the scale of the tragedy must be recognised, delays should be avoided, and processes improved, the adoption process itself must be preserved. The State must, sensitively, focus on vulnerable children, provide adequate support to overcome the trauma of losing parents, and balance the urgency of the moment with its existing framework to ensure children have a secure and safe future.