More Than 16,000 Prospective Parents Waiting To Adopt A Kid For Past 3 Years: Central Adoption Resource Authority Data

Over 16,000 prospective parents are waiting for more than three years to adopt a kid, with officials attributing the deceleration to the availability of fewer kids who are legally free for adoption.

As per the data released by officials of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in reply to a Right to Information (RTI) filed by PTI, there are a total of 28,501 prospective parents whose home study reports have received the go-ahead and are waiting for adopting a child.

What Does Data Indicate?

Out of this, nearly 16,155 prospective parents whose home study reports were approved three years ago are still waiting for the go-ahead for adoption, as per the data.

Until June 28, 3,596 kids are legally free for adoption, including 1,380 with special needs.

"The average waiting period for adoption is 2-2.5 years and then there are very few children who are legally free for adoption, making it further difficult for prospective parents to find children for adoption," a senior official was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

As per the official data, 2,971 kids are living in specialised adoption agencies, which come under the category of being "not adoptable". Meanwhile, almost 7,000 children are in the specialised adoption centre.

Making Adoption Process Simpler!

During the last Parliament session, a parliamentary panel suggested that the adoption process in India be simplified and also emphasised the need for a close redoing of various regulations guiding the adoption procedure.

In 2021, the central government amended the Juvenile Justice Act, under which increased responsibilities and powers were handed to district magistrates to accelerate the adoption system in India. Previously, adoption processes were under the purview of courts.

Furthermore, child rights experts believe that even more is needed than just simplifying the process.

In order to adopt a kid, a prospective parent must upload their official application for adoption with all required documents on CARA's website, after which a social worker conducts a home study.

After this, the specialised adoption agencies share profiles of kids identified as legally free for adoption with prospective parents who select a child. The district magistrate then looks upon the matter.

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