Parenting is a huge responsibility, a lot of hard work and a test of patience but it’s an experience to cherish. After all, a child brings immense laughter and joy in your life.
In today's scenario, with an hectic lifestyle, job pressures and late marriages, conceiving often becomes an issue and couples often have to resort to medical help to fulfill their desire for a child.
Adoption is a conscious decision in which not only the expectant parents are involved but also their close families. The process is long which requires patience and perseverance.
Prospective adoptive parents should be physically, mentally and emotionally stable. They should also be financially capable to support the new life that they are welcoming and they should not have any life-threatening disease at the time of adoption.
The consent of both parents is mandatory before adoption. But the option is not just limited to married couples. Single people, both female and male, can also adopt if they so wish.
Parents looking to adopt can be from any religion, non-resident Indians and even non-Indians based outside of India. They are all eligible to adopt a child under Juvenile Justice Act(C&PC), 2015.
The age limit of adopting parents depends upon the age of the child being adopted.
A baby, or a toddler or an older child can be adopted. But the composite age of the parents will keep on increasing as the age of the child increases.
If the prospective parents are older, adopting a baby or toddler might be difficult and agencies might suggest adopting an older child.
There is a simple online procedure by which you can register as an applicant willing to adopt.
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of Government of India is the nodal body that facilitates the adoption of Indian children according to official guidelines.
Firstly, the parents have to register themselves online on the website (http://carings.nic.in) to be considered as prospective adopters.
Secondly, for the successful submission of the registration form, a list of documents have to be uploaded on the website.
Once the documents are submitted online, the application is ready to be considered.
The status of application can be regularly tracked on the website.
Once the registration is completed, the parents are required to get a Home Study Report by contacting the concerned Specialized Adoption Agency.
This is done by a professional social worker who visits the home of the prospective parents. This report is completed within 30 days from the time of submission of the required documents. Once it is finished, it is shared with them and remains valid for a period of three years.
According to the Adoption Regulations 2017 the Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA) the charges of adoption are as follows:
• Home Study Report INR 6000
• Child care corpus fee INR 40,000
• Each post-adoption follow-up visits INR 2,000 (Total 4 visits in 2 years).
Unlike in the past, today people are more open and accepting about adoption.
These sessions are aimed at helping parents understand the adoption process and teach them how to resolve emotional, psychological or other child related issues. Overall, they help individuals become better parents.
But not only do such sessions focus on adopter parents, they also focus on adoptee children by educating them about the process of adoption.
Such agencies help the child discover where she/he came from.
In order to avoid the government procedural hassles, a lot of parents try to circumvent their way by choosing to adopt directly from nursing homes through middlemen. This creates serious problems in the future both for the parents and the child.
Under such circumstances, one should strictly follow the legal adoption process, no matter how intimidating it looks. It is the right way of approaching this very sensitive issue.
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(Nupur Roopa is a freelance writer, and a life coach for mothers. She writes articles on environment, food, history, parenting and travel.)
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