India Asks State Governments to Crack Down on Illegal Adoptions

“The Centre, concerned at reports of illegal adoptions, has asked the state governments to crack down on childcare institutions that indulge in such practices.

Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi said the action should be taken under IPC provisions on illegal detention or confinement of children.

“Though the current Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, does not have any penal provisions against violations by non-registered childcare institutions, we may proactively identify such institutions. By clubbing the section of the act prescribing mandatory registration with IPC provisions on illegal detention, a criminal case can be initiated against such agencies

Under the new Juvenile Justice Act, which is still pending in Parliament, the central adoption research agency has also been given more teeth with the power to REMOVE SARA (State Adoption Resource Authority), remove adoption agencies or even completely ban them.

Others activists called for a “change of mindsets”. “Most Indian couples do not want to make adoptions public. They go for illegal methods because it comes with less paperwork. They also prefer choosing a child according to their cultural and religious backgrounds. Therefore, they want to adopt from places where the identity of the parents is known. So mindsets, too, need to change,” said Lorraine Campos, a social worker who works with adoptive parents.

In-country adoptions fell from 4,694 in 2012-13 to under 4,000 in the past two years, Central Adoption Resource Authority data showed.

According to the ministry, the waiting list of prospective parents runs to almost 9,000, while only 1,600 children – half of them with special needs – are available with the country’s 411 recognised adoption agencies.”

Nudge to stop illegal adoptions [Telegraph India 8/20/15 by Ananya Sengupta]

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