1,991 kids available for adoption in India for 20,000 prospective-parents
The number of children available for adoption in the country is 1,991, including 1,322 girls, for about 20,000 prospective parents, an RTI revealed. "The number of prospective parents are ten times the number of children available for adoption," said Rakesh Srivastava, Secretary in Ministry of WCD, adding that this is the reason there is a two-year waiting period for prospective parents. Here's more.
Maximum number of children available for adoption are from Maharashtra
The highest number of children available for adoption is from Maharashtra at 376 followed by Odisha at 299. Srivastava said the main reason for the availability of less number of children is because many of them are with childcare institutions which have not been registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), the apex adoption body in the country.
One child for every nine prospective parents: CARINGS
According to Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), there is just one child available for every nine adoptive parents in India. The maximum number of children available for adoption are from the age group of 0-2 years at 417. In the age group of 2-4 years, 220 children are available for adoption, while in 4-6 years age group, 224 children are available.
Children available for adoptions in different age groups
As many as 158 children in the age group of 6-8 years and 187 kids in the age group of 8-10 years are available for adoption. In the age group of 10-12 years, 260 children were available for adoption. In the age group of 12-14 years, 302 children were available for adoption while in the age group of 14-18 years, 397 children were available.
WCD Ministry asked childcare institutions to link up with CARA
The WCD Ministry has asked childcare institutions to link up with CARA to bring the children staying in unregistered homes up for adoption within one month. The mandatory linking of childcare institutions to CARA has been provided in Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 which came into force over 2-years ago. However, some orphanages had challenged the validity of this clause.
