India’s New Rules For Domestic Adoption

“When hennai-based Nanditha and Tarun decided to adopt a child in 2001, they registered with several agencies in the city. When the agencies did not get back to them for over a year, they began to lose hope.Finally , a friend suggested that they should register with agencies in other cities. Three years since they first began the process, the couple, then in their mid-30s finally adopted a child from an orphanage in Orissa.Since the process took too long and caused more emotional turmoil than expected, they decided against adopting a second child, something they initially wanted to.

Last year, adoption support group SuDatta Vishwa Parivar published a report on experiences of adoptive parents. The report had a shocking incident. When a respondent approached a Gurgaon agency , she and her husband were asked to wait.”The receptionist asked our preference and within minutes a man came and put a girl and a boy on our lap. The amount to be paid was indicated depending on which child we chose (boy was `costlier’). It was too much to handle and we immediately left the place and it took us weeks to recover.”

Adopting a child in India has been a long and daunting process and last year’s revised guidelines governing adoption of children is a hope for many prospective parents. The new rules which came into force from August 1 seek to speed up the adoption process, and make it more transparent. Ramakanth M, a long-time employee at a city adoption agency , explains how the new guidelines will help. “Earlier, parents who wished to adopt would go to the nearest agency and register. The agency would match preferences of the couple with the children available. The match may or may not happen, and would take months, even years. Now, all adoption agencies have to upload details and the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) software will match preferences across the country .”

The matching process is where the delay lies, and most often there aren’t enough legally adoptable children in the adoption pool. With the new guidelines, homes have to report all legally adoptable children. “If the child is declared free for adoption they are included into the pool,” he said. With the larger number of children up for adoption, the hundreds of parents in Tamil Nadu can hope to find a match sooner.

Dr Anasua Bagchi, a medical professional is an adoptive parent of two. “When we adopted our first child in 2006, the pro cess was not so transparent. We went to several centres, many turned us away because of long queues,” said Delhi-based Bagchi, who adopted her first child from West Bengal. For the second child, they registered with agencies in Punjab and UP in October 2014 and the process was on course within four months

However, she says, conditions at orphanages have to improve, as many are dependent on donations. When she was trying to adopt her first child, some agencies asked for bribes to move them up the long list of parents. Bagchi, a public health specialist, says she works with adoption agencies and can understand why they ask for bribes. “These agencies take care of unwed mothers, and the child. Many of them are understaffed and employees don’t get paid well,” she said.

New adoption rules to help cut waiting time [Times of India 3/11/16 by Meera Vankipuram]

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