Indian Government May Relax Adoption Guidelines
Although the number is not an exact, there are an estimated 26,000 orphan children in India that are available for adoption. The Indian Government has been impressed with the care and education provided to children that have been adopted out of India through international adoption. However, the government has noticed that the number of children being adopted is decreasing and they are contributing this to the difficult and complicated adoption process that is currently in effect.
To encourage international adoptions and support parents from various countries adopting Indian children the government has set up a review committee that will revise the current guidelines of the process to create a simple and safe adoption process. The Central Adoption Resource Agency will be heading up this review board.
In 2006 only 853 children were adopted out of India and into families. The majority of those families are from Europe. The government is pleased with the care that the children are receiving as documented on the requirement post placement reports. In addition, they are pleased that foreign families are adopting girls and children with special needs. A growing number of Indian families are also beginning to adopt, despite the social barriers against adoption. This has raised the number of children being adopted from within India to 2,450! The new guidelines on adoption will make the process easier for those families within India to continue to adopt and for those families desiring to adopt Indian children who are foreign.
The Indian government should be applauded for their support of adoption, both international and internal. The review boards plans to promote adoption will take heavily into consideration guidelines that make sure adoptions are in the best interest of the children.
The Hindu
India’s National Newspaper
March 26, 2007
