NEW DELHI: In the times of social distancing to combat the spread of Covid-19, prospective parents will now have to meet the child they wish to adopt over video-conferencing at the stage of matching and acceptance when the referral process for in-country adoption resumes around June 15.
The referral process has been on hold since March 19 and as of now, nearly 25,000 parents are waiting to adopt. There are 2,774 children legally free for adoption and 1,475 of them are with special needs.
The Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara) has now issued a set of guidelines in view of the pandemic setting out safeguards before the referral process resumes.
CEO of Cara Deepak Kumar told TOI that given the nuances involved in the adoption process, the guidelines try to address every step from the referral to the adoption stage and post adoption follow-up. “We plan to start referrals for in-country adoption from mid-June. Based on how it works out by bringing in a mix of technology and real-time interaction, we will decide on continuing with these guidelines or make amends depending on the feedback and status of the pandemic,” he added.
A significant change involves extension of the timeline from one month to three months for preparation of the home study report of the prospective parents.
The parents will also have to give a self-declaration about their travel history, containment zone and any contact with a Covid patient or primary and secondary contacts before they meet the child.
Source : TOI
