NEW DELHI: In a bid to make adoption a "transparent and simplified" process and bridge the huge gap between the number of available children and prospective parents, the Centre has decided to convert every child-care institution into an adoption agency.
According to official sources in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there are maximum 800 children available with the adoption agencies in comparison to the waiting list of over 9,000 parents.
"It is a big challenge. The number of children available with the adoption agencies is only about 900 all over the country and we have a waiting list of around 9,000 parents," a senior Ministry official said.
Under the new guidelines, notified last month, the Child Care Institutions or Children' Homes should be registered with Central or State Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) meaning that every institution has to be an adoption agency, the official said, adding, that non-compliant institutions will be forced to close down.
In order to apprise state governments of the new guidelines and seek their responses on the matter, the Ministry will organise a one-day workshop tomorrow to discuss the various technicalities of the revised framework.
The official said that there are a large number of unregistered Child Care Institutions running in the country and the state governments will be given strict instructions to bring them under the legal ambit.
"Through the workshop we are going to tell the states to ensure there are no unregistered institutions," the official said.
Veerendra Mishra, Secretary CARA said that the time taken in the entire adoption process (between five to six months), might remain the same even under the new guidelines due to shortage of children and the legal aspects involved but it will leave no room for any kind of unfair practices.
"It will be difficult to tell the time taken as we have long waiting list and the children are less. It is 1:10 ratio. The new process is more easier, transparent and fair. It has become online. So, the agencies cannot refer a child to a parent. It is all automatic," Mishra said.