The Women and Child Development Minister Smt. Maneka Gandhi has decided to revise the existing adoption guidelines for simplification of adoption procedures and to curb the excessive delays in adoption. The Minister took a meeting of officials of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), here today.
In the meeting it was decided that the Ministry will work for giving statutory status to CARA. CCTV will be installed in all recognized homes. No child should remain in the home for more than 100 days after declaration by Child Welfare Committee as legally free, it was decided. It was also decided that the Women and Child Development Minister will write to all Chief Justices and district courts to minimize delays in issuance of Court order. Specialised Adoption Agencies will be blacklisted if they fail to update and upload information on CARINGS, noted the Minister.
Smt. Maneka Gandhi directed the officials that CARA will contact all CWCs (Child Welfare Committee) in the country to expeditiously issue CWC certificate for legally free adoption to children and minimize the list of waiting children for adoption with CWC. Cases of Indian Origin parents will be considered as domestic adoption. In CARINGS, detailed information related to children, status at CWC, name of the lawyer will be made available, it was decided. The WCD Minister also directed for preparation of a detailed checklist that will include all the details about specialised adoption agencies, how the lawyers should brief the courts about adoption, etc.