Panel moots district-level survey to bring more children into adoption ambit
For Prelims:
About Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA):
- It is a statutory body under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and is under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- CARA is the designated authority in India for inter-country adoptions under the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993 which India ratified in 2003.
Legal Framework for adoption in India.
- In India the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 gives the rules for adoption for Ā Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists and the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 does the same for Muslims, Christians, Jews and Parsis.
For Mains:
The need for adoption in India:
- As per United Nations Childrenās Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and abandoned children.
- The number of parents wanting to adopt has increased, approximately Ā 27,939 prospective parents registered with the Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as of December 2021.
- However, though there were a total of 6,996 orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children residing in childcare institutions considered adoptable, only 2,430 children were ālegally freeā for adoption.
- The waiting time for adoption too has increased to three years from one year in the past five years.
Suggestions
- It is important to get a true picture of the number of children who are orphaned/abandoned through a district-level survey and the data needs to be updated on a regular basis.
- We need to ensure that orphan and abandoned children found begging in streets are produced before the Child Welfare Committee and are made available for adoption at the earliest.
- Many children are under parental care, but not optimal care. There are parents abusing their own children or neglecting them.
- We must have a zero tolerance towards abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect of children and then have an adequate safety net so that they get the help they need.
Source: THE HINDU
