Procedure for adoptions
“Adoptions that happen within the country are managed by the Provincial Probation departments,” opined Sudheera Nilanga Withana, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Childcare and Probation Services. “There’s a long waiting list for adoptions and parents should first register themselves. We don’t have a lot of children to be given away for adoptions. Therefore, we give a child for adoption after checking if parents are able to fulfill certain criteria.”
The criteria include age, income status of parents, their health, the inability to give birth to a child, status of employment, declaration of assets and once they are interviewed by the relevant probation department official a court case is filed. “Even in the case of private adoptions the child is given away only following a court case because his or her birth certificate and other documents have to be prepared,” he added.
Once a child is sent to his or her new home, probationary offices follow up on whether the child is in a safe and childfriendly environment. “This follow up is continued until the child reaches 18 years of age. Sometimes, parents resend children to care homes if they’re unable to look after them. However there’s a demand for adopting children in Sri Lanka. But we don’t have a lot of children to fulfill this demand.”
Responding to a query on foreign adoptions, Withana said that once a child is sent to a foreign home, designated institutions will followup on the child’s living environment and progress. “They will send a quarterly report of the child with photos, medical reports and other details. There aren’t many such adoptions happening in the Sri Lankan context. During the past year only around two children were sent for foreign adoptions.”
He further said that a committee has been appointed by the Ministry of Justice to look into bringing about certain reforms in the Children and Young Persons Ordinance. “The Department of Probation and several other line ministries and stakeholders are involved in this process,” he added.
“The criteria includes age, income status of parents, their health, the inability to give birth to a child, status of employment, declaration of assets”