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Chapter
3
Official
Links From Government
of India: Guidelines for adoption of Indian children.
Contains extensive information on: Role of Government of India,
List of Recognized Foreign Agencies for Adoption, Procedure
to be followed etc.
CHAPTER III :ROLE
OF THE STATE GOVERNMENTS/UNION TERRITORY ADMINISTRATION
List
of Children's Home
3.1
The State Governments (the term "State Government" shall include
Union Territory Administration wherever applicable) shall
maintain a list of all children's homes being run for the
maintenance of destitute, abandoned, orphaned, delinquent
or neglected children by voluntary/private organizations,
which are registered, recognized or licensed under various
laws.
List
of Adoption Agencies
3.2
-The State Government shall also separately maintain a list
of all agencies handling in-country and inter-country adoption
of children and shall identify those institutions/agencies,
which have children who are legally free for adoption.
3.3
-The State Governments shall recognize Indian adoption agencies
for in-country adoption as per the procedure laid down herein
and shall forward applications of Indian agencies seeking
recognition for inter-country adoption to the Central Adoption
Resource Agency after proper verification according to the
criteria laid dowrl in these guidelines.
Each
State Government shall also:
(i)
monitor the adoption program within its jurisdiction and
coordinate the activities of placement agencies and VCAs
and scrutinizing agencies;
(ii)
encourage and promote placement of eligible children on
adoption or guardianship with families within the country;
(iii)
enforce the Orphanages and other charitable homes (Supervision
and Control) Act, 1960 and/or formulate suitable alternate
rules in order to maintain certain minimum standards for
child care and child welfare institutions;
(iv)
inspect organizations which have applied for recognition
for inter-country adoption to the Central Adoption Resource
Agency and after considering whether the applicant agency
fulfils all the requirements as laid down, forward the application
to the Central Adoption Resource Agency with its comments,
and this process shall be completed within a period of 60
days. If no response is received from the State Government
within this period, the Central Adoption Resource Agency
shall immediately take up the matter at an appropriate level
in the State and if no response is received within a further
period of 30 days, it shall presume that the State Government
has no objection to the grant of recognition, if the State
Government is of the view that the applicant agency should
not be recognized, it shall give relevant reasons for taking
this view and forward the same to the Central Adoption Resource
Agency with its comments;
(v)
form an Advisory Committee on adoption, which shall have
the following as members:
(a)
Secretary, Women & Child Chairman Development/Social
Welfare/Panchayat Raj
(b)
Director, Welfare/Social Welfare/Member Women & Child
Development
(c)
Two representatives of placement Member agencies, VCAs
and scrutinising agencies operating under the State
(d)
Three experts in the field of Member Social and Child
welfare.
The
Committee shall meet periodically to discuss child welfare
measures, specifically ways and means to promote in-country
adoption of children. The State Government may also set up
an Adoption Cell in the Directorate of Social Welfare to coordinate,
regulate and develop the work of adoption and render all assistance
to the advisory form on adoption. The tenure of such committee
shall be three years.
Inspection
of Adoption Agencies
3.4
The State Government shall periodically and at least once
a year, inspect or cause to be inspected, all agencies and
institutions handling in-country and inter-country adoption
as also their papers, documents and activities connected with
the service of children, generally, in order to verify:
(i)
that adoption as activity is being pursued by the organization
as a welfare measure in the interest of children and not
as a commercial activity;
(ii)
that proper records are being maintained for children admitted
to the homes;
(iii)
that the children admitted are provided with basic minimum
facilities for their care, at least education and development;
(iv)
that lists of persons interested in adopting a child or
taking a child under guardianship are being maintained by
the organization regularly;
(v)
that the accounts of the organization are being maintained
and audited annually without delay and that the auditor's
reports confirm that the accounts are fair and accurate;
that any organization which is in receipt of foreign funding
is duly registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs and
has otherwise compiled with the provisions of the Foreign
Contributions (Regulations) Act, 1976;
(vi)
that the organization is receiving regular progress reports
about the well being of children given in adoption;
(vii)
That qualified staff having social work experience are employed
by the agency organization to take care of the children
or they have access to such staff.
Monitoring
of Performance
3.5
The State Government shall call for information and data every
quarter from all agencies engaged in adoption in order to
monitor the functioning of these agencies. The data shall
be called for in a proforma to be prescribed by the Central
Adoption Resource Agency.
3.6
The State Government shall take all such measure as are deemed
necessary to actively encourage in-country adoption of children
in preference to inter-country adoption. Special care/efforts
shall be made for rehabilitation of children in orphanages
through placement by adoption.
Source: Embassy
of India
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