India: Adoption messages could expose traumatised children to trafficking & labour; Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of children up for adoption, 30k families waiting to adopt
Adoption messages could expose traumatised children to trafficking & labour
MP has the highest number of children up for adoption, 30k families are registered & waiting in India
“A 4-month-old baby has been orphaned as both his parents passed away recently, after losing the fight to covid-19. Give this baby a home, call and adopt the baby.” Such messages are now trending on social media especially on messengers wherein people are willingly floating the messages feeling it could help someone.
However, the true scenario is much more twisted, as by floating these messages, we are not helping the baby but a fraudulent mind in many cases. Even if not fraudulent, adoption without legal procedure can cost someone’s emotion and just end up in cases of misery and conflict.
There are heart-wrenching stories of children orphaned by the pandemic, social media started blowing up with posts calling for donations and offers for the adoption of such children. But while the public might be sympathetic, such posts and the demand for donation and adoption clearly violate the law.
The Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and the guidelines issued by the Central Adoption Resource Authority are very clear when it comes to children in need of care.
Any child, who loses their parent, cannot simply be adopted or taken care of by an NGO or any person. Even for family members, there is a clear process in place under the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act) before they can assume guardianship of the child.
Under the law, the child will be taken before the district Child Welfare Committee, which would conduct an inquiry regarding the family prospects and consider whether the child can be put under ‘kinship care’- i.e. with family members/friends, or would need ‘institutional care’ and be sent to a childcare home.
Uncovering the possibilities behind acting or forwarding such messages, we investigated and found that many such messages just lure people into+ illegal adoption and even could be ways of minting money for child traffickers.
Three cases of new-born babies abduction & illegal adoption in a month
Three cases of new-born babies being abducted and children being sold illegally for money surfaced last month, as shared by Rahul Gothane, Indore child-line coordinator. “We had reported the three cases and also investigated along with special task force,” he said.
Further, Gothane said that in case of adoption with legal procedures, three or more cases were reported in a month wherein biological parents wanted the child back. “In such cases, it is difficult to even take an action as neither parents had any formal agreement on adoption. “There are many such complaints and leads, but we cannot act upon it without complete information,” he said.
Cannot put up children like merchandise!
“While people might be well-meaning, you cannot put up children like merchandise. There is an entire system in place. It’s a colossal failure of the government if there is any child at risk because people don't know what the process is. We expected the government to pre-empt the issue,” said Prabhsahai Kaur, a legal activist, said.
What should you do?
To follow the legal route to help a child get to an adoptive family, any concerned citizen can call Child-line at 1098 to report a child who has been abandoned or orphaned. A concerned citizen can also take the child to the nearest Specialised Adoption Agency, which is a child shelter authorised to carry out the adoption process.
* Immediately contact Childline on 1098
*Or, take the child to the nearest Specialised Adoption Agency, which can be found by selecting your state
* Do not give a child to any other shelter or person claiming they can find them an adoptive parent.
* Prospective adoptive parents can find out how to register for adoption at Central Adoption Resource Authority.
* Do not attempt to take any other route to adopt a child, it is illegal.
Highest number of children for adoption in MP
As per quarterly trends on children availability, as consolidated from the positions of children reflected in the CARINGS system of CARA, there are 30,000 parents waiting to adopt a child and have registered.
Madhya Pradesh has highest number of children available for adoption in the country.
Declaration must now
Union Ministry for Women and Child Development (WCD) has told the health ministry that parents infected with Covid-19 who are being admitted to hospitals should declare in a form who their children should be handed over to if they die.
Furthermore, in the last few days, authorities have made it clear that one cannot adopt children informally on the basis of social media posts, as that could expose traumatised children to the risks of child labour or trafficking.
“If anyone contacts you regarding orphan children available for direct adoption, do not get into the trap & stop them. It’s illegal. Inform local Child welfare Committee or Police or Childline 1098 about such children,” warns Gothane.
MP has the highest number of children up for adoption, 30k families are registered & waiting in India
“A 4-month-old baby has been orphaned as both his parents passed away recently, after losing the fight to covid-19. Give this baby a home, call and adopt the baby.” Such messages are now trending on social media especially on messengers wherein people are willingly floating the messages feeling it could help someone.
However, the true scenario is much more twisted, as by floating these messages, we are not helping the baby but a fraudulent mind in many cases. Even if not fraudulent, adoption without legal procedure can cost someone’s emotion and just end up in cases of misery and conflict.
There are heart-wrenching stories of children orphaned by the pandemic, social media started blowing up with posts calling for donations and offers for the adoption of such children. But while the public might be sympathetic, such posts and the demand for donation and adoption clearly violate the law.
The Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and the guidelines issued by the Central Adoption Resource Authority are very clear when it comes to children in need of care.
Any child, who loses their parent, cannot simply be adopted or taken care of by an NGO or any person. Even for family members, there is a clear process in place under the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act) before they can assume guardianship of the child.
Under the law, the child will be taken before the district Child Welfare Committee, which would conduct an inquiry regarding the family prospects and consider whether the child can be put under ‘kinship care’- i.e. with family members/friends, or would need ‘institutional care’ and be sent to a childcare home.
Uncovering the possibilities behind acting or forwarding such messages, we investigated and found that many such messages just lure people into+ illegal adoption and even could be ways of minting money for child traffickers.
Three cases of new-born babies abduction & illegal adoption in a month
Three cases of new-born babies being abducted and children being sold illegally for money surfaced last month, as shared by Rahul Gothane, Indore child-line coordinator. “We had reported the three cases and also investigated along with special task force,” he said.
Further, Gothane said that in case of adoption with legal procedures, three or more cases were reported in a month wherein biological parents wanted the child back. “In such cases, it is difficult to even take an action as neither parents had any formal agreement on adoption. “There are many such complaints and leads, but we cannot act upon it without complete information,” he said.
Cannot put up children like merchandise!
“While people might be well-meaning, you cannot put up children like merchandise. There is an entire system in place. It’s a colossal failure of the government if there is any child at risk because people don't know what the process is. We expected the government to pre-empt the issue,” said Prabhsahai Kaur, a legal activist, said.
What should you do?
To follow the legal route to help a child get to an adoptive family, any concerned citizen can call Child-line at 1098 to report a child who has been abandoned or orphaned. A concerned citizen can also take the child to the nearest Specialised Adoption Agency, which is a child shelter authorised to carry out the adoption process.
* Immediately contact Childline on 1098
*Or, take the child to the nearest Specialised Adoption Agency, which can be found by selecting your state
* Do not give a child to any other shelter or person claiming they can find them an adoptive parent.
* Prospective adoptive parents can find out how to register for adoption at Central Adoption Resource Authority.
* Do not attempt to take any other route to adopt a child, it is illegal.
Highest number of children for adoption in MP
As per quarterly trends on children availability, as consolidated from the positions of children reflected in the CARINGS system of CARA, there are 30,000 parents waiting to adopt a child and have registered.
Madhya Pradesh has highest number of children available for adoption in the country.
Declaration must now
Union Ministry for Women and Child Development (WCD) has told the health ministry that parents infected with Covid-19 who are being admitted to hospitals should declare in a form who their children should be handed over to if they die.
Furthermore, in the last few days, authorities have made it clear that one cannot adopt children informally on the basis of social media posts, as that could expose traumatised children to the risks of child labour or trafficking.
“If anyone contacts you regarding orphan children available for direct adoption, do not get into the trap & stop them. It’s illegal. Inform local Child welfare Committee or Police or Childline 1098 about such children,” warns Gothane.