FAQs

In India, a parent needs to register with CARA ( Child Adoption Resource Authority) to initiate the process of adoption. For more details, please visit cara.nic.in

While you are waiting for your child to come home, read adoption-related books, and listen to adoption stories. There are a lot of adoption groups on facebook and instagram. Join the groups to know more and take the support of fellow prospective parents and parents who have adopted. Register for counselling from an adoption counsellor.

In India, a parent needs to register with CARA ( Child Adoption Resource Authority) to initiate the process of adoption. Every country has their own adoption laws and process. We can only provide information about adoptions in India. The process of adoption from India is not tedious. Yes, there is paperwork, but even when we are buying a house, we have tons of paperwork, and here we are bringing home a child.

One can find all the details about the rules for adoption on the CARA website. Please check the Adoption Regulations for more information.

Parents who are ready to adopt need to register on the CARINGS portal. Adoption in India is governed by CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority). For more information, please visit cara.nic.in

The only legal method to adopt in India is through CARA. For more information, please visit cara.nic.in

All of India is governed by the Juvenile Justice Act. There is no separate adoption law for a State

Parents can register to adopt siblings but cannot adopt not two unrelated children at the same time. For more information, please check the Adoption Regulations

The Hindu Adoption Maintenance Act (HAMA) allows adoption between two private parties. The adoption has to follow the rules of HAMA for both the party giving up the child for adoption and the party adopting the child.

Yes, you would need an agency to conduct your Home Study and produce a Home Study Report which is an important document in the adoption process. During the registration process, you can select the agency for your home study.

As difficult as it might be for you, it is important to tell the child about their adoption. Disclosure is an important part of the adoption process for a parent and knowing about their adoption is a part of a child’s identity. Various NGOs counsel parents through this process. If you are unsure about how to, you can contact them for counselling and advice.

Please write to us at team@waic.in with details. We will be able to support you once we know what you need help with.
JJ Act allows only closed adoptions in India. The identity of the parents/relatives is not mentioned in the child’s file. Only the child has access to this once the child is 18 years old. It is called root search.
“If the child comes home at a young age, the adjustment is definitely faster. Each child is unique and different. There is no one size fits all solution to this challenge. Parents should be patient and need to make a judgment call, that not all challenges are related to adoption. Some of them are age-related challenges and need to be dealt with accordingly. If there is a specific challenge that the parent feels is due to adoption, then it is best to contact a counsellor for help. That said, there are a lot of children above 6 years old who are waiting for a family. To learn more about that segment of children, please read the article on our blog: https://waic.in/2022/04/13/adoption-of-children-above-6-years-of-age/”

image-accordian

if a family is unable or unwilling to raise a child, they can surrender the child at a specialised adoption agency or in front of a child welfare committee. Directly adopting the child from them puts you at risk of illegal adoption and trafficking. To find the nearest adoption agency,
please visit: cara.nic.in/Stakeholders/india_map.html
In India the law is called the Safe Surrender law. According to Juvenile Justice Act, 2021, Section 35, a child can be safely and legally surrendered in a specialised adoption agency or in front of a child welfare committee. To find the nearest adoption agency,
please visit:cara.nic.in/Stakeholders/india_map.html
When a child is surrendered, the family giving up the child is given 60-days reconsideration time to take the child back with due follow-ups. After the 60-days time is complete, the child is declared legally free for adoption and reaches the legal adoption pool and has the potential to reach a permanent family.

The process for an orphan child without any family is the same as an abandoned child. The Child welfare committee will ascertain that no living relative will care for the child and then declare the child legally free for adoption.

Every district has a Child Welfare Committee. The CWC is a quasi-judicial body for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP). The Child Welfare Committee has to write orders to process a child for adoption. Once all the pre-adoption steps are completed, the CWC declares the child legally free for adoption (LFA).

Every district has a Child protection unit called DCPU. The DCPU is a 12-member team who works on different issues related to child protection including, chidl labour, child trafficking,child marriage, adoption, foster care, sponsorship etc.
The DCPU is responsiblie for executing the orders given by the CWC. For example, giving a paper publication in newspapers for an orphaned/abandoned child, getting a non-traceability report from the police for the child etc.

Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) is a Child Shelter that has the charter of ensuring that eligible children between 0-6 years are evaluated for adoption and reach the legal adoption pool. All shelters that are SAAs need a license to be an SAA. There are close to 476+ SAAs in India.

SAA is important because every child who is legally free for adoption should be linked to an SAA. The SAAs are also responsible for ensuring children from CCIs who are legally free for adoption are linked and their records are uploaded to the CARINGS portal.

If you have not already checked the CARINGS portal, you should have access to the Immediate Placement List and the Special Needs list. The children in the Immediate placement list are children who have not been accepted by parents after being referred multiple times due to inane reasons or are siblings of different age groups. Children above a certain age are also placed on the Immediate Placement list so that they can be adopted quickly.

if you reserve a child from the Immediate Placement list, you can lessen your waiting time.

You can also check out the Special Needs category list. There are many children on this list with needs that are minor, treatable, manageable, and moderate and are waiting for a long time for a family.

If you reserve a child from either the Immediate Placement List or the Special Needs List, but for some reason are unable to bring the child home, your seniority does not change.