Our Correspondent
KOHIMA NOVEMBER 2
‘Adoption means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and become the legitimate child of his adoptive parents with all rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to the relationship.’
The statement was the core text of a leaflet issue by the State Adoption Resource Agency Nagaland (SARA) as part of a seminar in Kohima town on Monday that intended to offer discourse on adoption.
Through adoption a child is given the gift of life and an opportunity to fulfill their potential and also financial stability, education that his/her biological parent is unable to provide. At the same it also helps fulfill the dreams of a couple who is unable to conceive a child for various reasons.
Although adoptions have been practiced in the Naga society since time immemorial, they are however without any legal procedures since people choose to follow the customary adoption system which is easy, fast and with fewer hurdles. And also, there are many who go the illegal ways in connivance with medical practitioners in the hospitals and others. This however, results in some unfortunate children landing up in harsh homes who ended up facing discrimination and abuses in various ways.
Since the Naga society is comprised of various tribes with its own sets of language, culture, customs and traditions, implementation of any new set of guidelines and policies takes time, and it takes even longer time to educate the people especially those in far flung areas and who are strictly bounded by the traditional customs and practices.
State and local stake-holding agencies conducted a ‘consultative’ program on Monday about the New Guidelines Governing Adoption of children and training on revamped CARINGS. The event was oncudted in the Zonal Council in Kohima town.
The event was conducted to provide adequate knowledge, skill and motivate all stakeholders of the adoption program about the policy and procedure of adoption and related matters as provided under various Acts, Rules and Guidelines and to ensure capacity building of all stakeholders connected with adoption and non-institutional care,
The program was sponsored by Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), an autonomous body under Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
The resource persons were Rashmi Saxena Sahni, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Veerandra Mishra, Secretary CARA, Surabhi Sanduja, State Coordinator for NE States and Shama Khan Seth, Deputy Mission Director, CPS, WCD.
Addressing the stakeholders, Rashmi Saxena Sahni said ‘every child deserves a home to live in and is entitled to parental love, care and affection’ and therefore she stressed on the need to stop illegal adoption in the state and the need to follow the law of the land.
She said the new guidelines are an attempt to bring everybody into the system so that there is transparency, clarity and convictions in the system of adoption. She also assured that the Ministry is willing to provide trainings and find solutions and ways to any problems that may arise or are present in the state level monitoring agencies.
Emphasizing on the need to build a safety net for children and safeguard and secure the future of children, she maintained the government cannot do it alone and therefore need the support, help and partnership of all stakeholders to achieve its goals.
Highlighting on the new Guidelines Governing the Adoption of Children 2015 and revamped CARINGS which came into force on August 1, 2015, Veerendra Mishra said the basic idea is to provide greater transparency, bring clarity and simplify adoption procedure.
It also introduces e-governance in adoption system which will minimize delays in adoption process with fixed timelines and online system will keep track of the progress. Besides, it has the potential to expand adoption base by setting up linkages between Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) and Competent Court in India (CCI) to reach all adoptable children and also streamline inter-country adoption and exclude ARC clearance and will provide hassle-free adoption process with centralized data bank of children and of Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) besides others.
Underlining on some important measures that need to be followed during the adoption process, Mishra said there should be dedicated social workers to do the Home Study Reports (HSRs), because he noted that one day ineptitude leads to decrease in number of PAPs. He also strongly maintained that counseling of prospective parents is every important at all stages of adoption and that medical examination should be strictly done as per the procedures laid down by the adoption guidelines.
Mishra also expressed concerned on the fact that there are less or no adoptive parents coming forward for adoption of special needs children, though there are many in various homes and agencies in the country. Therefore, he also called on the need for parents to come forward for adoption of children with special needs.
The Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children 2015 draw support from the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and shall govern the adoption procedure of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children in the country and shall replace the Guidelines Governing the Adoption of Children 2011.
The program targeted participants from adoption agencies and other stakeholders engaged in child welfare activities like CWC, DCPUs, government officials, judicial officials, police, media, CRC, civil bodies, NGOs, medical practitioners and prospective adoptive parents.
