Section 78 in Chhattisgarh Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2006
78. Adoption.
- As the family is the best option to provide care and protection for children, adoption shall be the first alternative for rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who are orphaned, abandoned, neglected and abused.(1)Adoption Agencies. -(a)The State Government shall recognise children's home or State run Government homes for orphans as adoption agencies both for scrutiny and placement of such children within the country;(b)The process of scrutiny and placement of children on adoption shall be done by Probation Officer;(c)Any Government run hospitals or private nursing homes etc. which find an infant as abandoned within the premises shall report to recognised adoption agency;(d)The agency which receives a child or an infant should report to the nearest police station and also the child Welfare Committee at the earliest within six hours. Police on receipt of such reports shall make an entry in register and an intimation shall be sent to the Juvenile Police Unit for appropriate enquiry. The Police should 111c a status report to Child Welfare Committee within a week;(e)Any child who is eligible for adoption and residing in an unrecognised home shall for the purpose of adoption be transferred to a recognised home.(2)Procedure in the case of abandoned children. - (a) An abandoned child can be given in a adoption only when the committee declares such a child to be legally free for adoption an order to that effect is signed by atleast two members of the committee of which one shall be a Chairperson.(b)Before declaring the child as abandoned and certifying him as legally free for adoption, the committee shall institute a process of enquiry, which shall include -(i)A thorough enquiry shall be conducted by the Probation Officer or case worker or Special Juvenile Police Unit as the case may be, shall be conducted and a report in Form XVI containing finding submitted within a maximum period of 1 month;(ii)Declaration by the placement agency, stating that there has been no claimant for the child even after making notification in atleast one leading newspaper, television and radio announcement and after waiting for a period of one month the time which shall run Concurrently to the inquiry to be conducted and report submitted under clause (a);(iii)The Committee shall make a release order declaring the child legally free for adoption within the period of six weeks from the date of application in the case of children below the age of two years and three months in the case of children above two years. Provided that no child above seven years who can understand and express his opinion shall be placed in adoption without his consent.(3)Procedure in the case of surrender of child. - The following procedure shall be adopted in the case of surrendered child who has parents or guardian. Any parent who voluntarily surrenders his/her right over the child/children in various circumstances the following guidelines shall be adopted by the agency concerned : -(a)The Social Worker of the concerned agency shall counsel the parents explaining the consequences of adoption and explore the possibility of parents retaining the child;(b)If the surrender is inevitable to deed of surrender documents shall be executed in a non judicial stamp paper in the presence of Child Welfare Committee;(c)Such a surrendered deed shall explain the reason for surrender and other relevant information of the child. It shall be written in the regional language. The document shall contain the information that parent has a right to revoke the surrendered deed within two months from the date of execution of the said deed;(d)If both the parents are living, both of them should execute the deed;(e)If a surrender deed is executed by any one of the parent, in such case the person who executes deed should declare the present position of the second parent. In case of the death of any one parent, the death certificate shall be produced. In such circumstances the report of the Probation Officers shall be called by the Child Welfare Committee and the procedure relating to the abandoned children shall be followed.(4)Role of licensed or recognised Government and non Government agencies for adoption -(a)In the case of an abandoned child the recognized agency shall within 48 hours report to the Committee alongwith the copy of the report file with the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the child was found abandoned;(b)The adoption agencies may initiate the process of clearance at the earliest, in the case of abandoned children for the purpose of adoption within a period of two months and for placing application before the committee for declaring the child legally free for adoption;(c)In case of a child surrendered by his biological parent or parents by executing a document of surrender, the adoption agency shall make an application directly to the board for giving the child in adoption;(d)The adoption agencies shall wait for completion of reconsideration time of two months given to the parent or parents;(e)Serious efforts shall be made for counselling the parents so as to persuade them to retain the child and if the parents are still unwilling to retain then such children shall be kept initially in foster care or arranged for their sponsorship;(f)In the case of a surrendered or abandoned child who is legally free for adoption the licensed agency shall have the discretion to place the child in pre-adoption foster care under intimation to the board, within one week of its placement pending the final order.(5)Role of children homes/State run orphanages as placement agencies. - The recognised children home and State run orphanages recognised by the State Government as placement agencies, shall perform the following duties and responsibilities : -(a)Receiving of applications, screening and identification of prospective adoptive parents;(b)Conduct a home study report of the prospective adoptive parents upon identification;(c)Matching a child with the prospective adoptive parents and place the child on temporary Foster Care for a maximum period of six months;(d)Regular follow-up during Foster Care period and report preparations;(e)Process the adoption procedure in the Child Welfare Committee and Juvenile Justice Board;(f)Co-ordination with voluntary co-ordinating agency;(g)Maintenance of records relating to adoption;(h)Profile of children;(i)Follow-up for at least three years after adoption.(6)Guidelines for the preparation of home study report. - The following shall be the criteria for the preparation of home study report, -(a)Social status and family background;(b)Description of homes;(c)Standard of living as it appears in the home;(d)Current relationship between husband and wife;(e)Current relationship between the parents and children (if any children);(f)Development of already adopted children (if any);(g)Current relationship between the couple and the members of each others family;(h)Employment status of the couple;(i)Health details such as clinical tests, health conditions, past illness, etc.;(j)Economic status of the couple;(k)Accommodation for the child;(l)Schooling facilities;(m)Amenities in the home;(n)Reason for wanting to adopt a child;(o)Attitude of grand parents and relatives towards adoption;(p)Anticipated plans for the adoptive child;(q)Legal status of the prospective parents.(7)Follow-up. - The follow-up of child placed within the country will be as follows: -(a)If any replacement (foster care) is effected there should be a regular monitoring and evaluation of the foster care. A professionally trained social worker should visit the family regularly;(b)The follow up format should be completed and forwarded by the recognised placement agency to voluntary coordinating agency and the director/ commissioner social welfare once in six months;(c)The agency should see that legal adoption is effected at the earliest thereby safeguarding the interest of the child;(d)Even after legal adoption the agency should keep in touch with the family for a period of three years;(e)Post adoptive counselling should be provided by the agency to the adoptive parents.(8)Records. - The following records and registers shall be maintained by every recognised Children's Home and State run Orphanages : -(a)Admission register;(b)A separate file on each child in the prescribed format giving full details/history. Relevant legal documents of every adoption and child's background/history should be maintained atleast for a period of 18 years for future reference;(c)Register of prospective adoptive parents with details.(9)Disruption proceedings. -(a)Adopted children or Adoptive Parents or Probation Officers or Social Workers of accredited Children's Homes shall have the right to make complaints or initiate disruption processes by writing to the Child Welfare Committee/Juvenile Justice Board;(b)After the Child Welfare Committee has consented to the disruption, the child shall be returned to the Children's Home from where he or she was taken. A report of the circumstances under which this decision was taken and the efforts made to sort out any problems shall be recorded and submitted to the Child Welfare Committee, the Department of Social Welfare and the Voluntary Co-ordinating Agency;(c)The child may be removed and placed in an alternate home/transit home whenever there is serious mal-adjustment, after obtaining the consent of the Child Welfare Committee;(d)Upon disruption of a placement the Committee shall recommend alternate placement of the child with adequate provisions for counselling and care.(10)Juvenile Justice Board in Adoption. - Children who has been dealt with under the various provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 shall be placed in adoption. The Juvenile Justice Board is the Competent Authority to place such children in adoption. In addition to the guideline issued by the Government, the guideline on adoption issued by the Central Adoption Resource Agency and the Supreme Court judgment issued from time to time shall apply : -(a)In the case of surrendered child it shall be the duty of the Juvenile Justice Board to ascertain from the parents about the authenticity of the declaration given by the biological parents. While doing so the parents can be informed that their declaration can be used against them as witness;(b)The Board shall ensure that the child is placed on adoption within the country and licensed agency alone can approach the Juvenile Justice Board for adoption;(c)The list of approved agencies should be kept in every Juvenile Justice 'Board.(11)Juvenile Justice Board and Adoption Procedure. - The Juvenile Justice Board shall ensure the following process for declaring adoption of a children : -(i)The licensed agency shall furnish the following documents with their application for Adoption order(a)License certificate issued by the Government,(b)Registration Certificate,(c)Surrender deed, if any,(d)Abandonment certificate issued by the Child Welfare Committee (if any),(e)Authorisation letter from the authorised signatory of the agency, authorising the social worker to file the application before the Juvenile Justice Board,(f)Child study report and medical report,(g)Home study report about the prospective parents done by a social worker voluntary co-ordinating agency or any other licensed adoption agency,(h)Income certificate of the prospective adoptive parents,(i)Property certificate of the prospective adoptive parents,(j)Job certificate of the prospective adoptive parents,(k)Health certificate of the prospective adoptive parents,(l)Marriage certificate or evidence of marriage of the prospective adoptive parents,(m)three referral letters from the respectable people of the society,(n)A letter of consent for adoption,(o)Photos of the child and the adoptive parents duly attested by competent person;(ii)The prospective adoptive parents alongwith the placement agency shall file a joint petition before the Juvenile Justice Board with all the relevant documents. In case of single parent the person shall alone file a petition;(iii)The concerned institution or agency which offer the child for adoption shall be the co-respondent;(iv)On admission of an application from a recognised agency for adoption the board shall call for independent enquiry by recognised scrutinizing agency and the scrutiny report shall be submitted within a period of two weeks;(v)The Board shall undertake a process of enquiry which will include interviewing the prospective parents, verifying the documents and the report of the scrutinizing agency. If the board is satisfied that the placement is. in the best interest of the child, it will pass a final order giving permanent custody to the adoptive parent/parents. An order of adoption shall be signed by the Principal Magistrate besides atleast any one of the two members of the Board;(vi)The Board shall fix the date of birth on the report of the medical experts. The Juvenile Justice Board shall direct the appropriate authority to issue a birth certificate incorporating the date of birth, date of adoption and the names of adoptive parents.(vii)As far as possible the time taken for passing an adoption order shall not exceed 3 months of the date of filing. The order shall also include provision for a periodic follow up report either by the Probation Officer/Case Worker or adoption agency to ensure the well beings of the child. The period of such follow up shall be not less than 3 years and such other period as the Juvenile Justice Board may direct. The follow up shall be made once in 6 months.(12)Child Welfare Committee and Adoption Procedure. - The Child Welfare Committee shall ensure the following process for declaring a child who is legally free for adoption : -(A)The licensed or approved agency should furnish the following documents with petition in duplicate for declaring a child who is legally free for adoption : -(a)Photograph of the child be affixed on both the petitions,(b)Fit Institution Certificate Copy,(c)Licence Certificate issued by the Government,(d)Discharge Summary and Hospital Records in case the child was abandoned in the hospital,(e)Any orders of the Government authorising the Institution to take custody of the children who are abandoned in hospitals or public places,(f)A copy of the temporary custody order,(g)Registration Certificate,(h)Surrender Deed (if any),(i)Authorisation letter from the authorised signatory of the agency authorising Social Worker to file the petitions before the Child Welfare Committee.(j)Publication of the photograph and other details of the child,(k)Photos of the child being taken at the time of admission and the recent photo of the child with a declaration that both photos relate to the same child,(l)Copy of the report sent to the nearest Police Station together with acknowledgement received from the Police Station,(m)Health status of the child with probable age,(n)Descriptive marks of the child duly certified,(o)Declaration by the Agency that it has furnished all the information available with them and they are bonafide to the best of their knowledge;(B)If the Application from the agency shall be rejected if any of the documents is missing and agency has to file a fresh petition subsequently;(C)If the application is filed along with the relevant documents as specified in clauses (a) to (o) above the application shall be admitted by the Committee. On admission of an application the committee shall call for a report of Probation Officer;(D)The Child Welfare Committee shall determine the date of birth in the interest of the child based on the report of the medical expert;(E)As far as possible the time taken for passing an order shall not exceed 6 weeks in respect of a child who is below two years of age and in respect of child above two years of age, within three months from the date of filing;(F)The Child Welfare Committee shall ensure that no child is kept unauthorisedly in any of the organization which is not recognized under the provisions of the Act, either as a fit institution or as Children's Home or as licensed agency for adoption.
