#Drishti

ADOPTION : Adoption is a legal process by which a child is placed with a married couple or a single female who agree to raise her as their own child and assume all the responsibility for her

REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID ADOPTION No adoption is valid unless i) The person adopting is lawfully capable of taking in adoption. ii) The person giving in adoption is lawfully capable of giving in adoption. iii)The person adopted is lawfully capable of being taken in adoption.

Who MAY ADOPT A CHILD i) An Indian ii) Non Resident Indian iii) A foreign citizen A single female (unmarried, widowed or divorced) or a married couple

Who is eligible to adopt a child? The prospective adoptive parents should be physically, mentally and emotionally stable; financially capable; motivated to adopt a child; and should not have any life threatening medical condition; Any prospective adoptive parent, irrespective of his marital status and whether or not he has his own biological son or daughter, can adopt a child; Single female is eligible to adopt a child of any gender: Single male person shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child; In case of a couple, the consent of both spouses shall be required; No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable marital relationship; The age of prospective adoptive parents as on the date of registration shall be counted for deciding the eligibility and the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents to apply for children of different age groups shall be as under

Age of the child ,,, Maximum composite age of prospective adoptive parents ,,, Maximum age of single prospective adoptive parent Upto 4 years ,, 90 years ,, 45 years ,, Above 4 upto 8 years ,, 100 years ,, 50 years ,, Above 8 upto 18 years ,, 110 years ,, 55 years ,,

The minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents should not be less than twenty five years; The age for eligibility will be as on the date of registration of the prospective adoptive parents; Couples with more than four children shall not be considered for adoption;

Process OF ADOPTION STEP 1: REGISTRAION  Register in a genuine adoption coordinating agency  Never register with multiple agencies  Central & State Governments have recognized adoption agencies in most of the state  Prepare the documentation, submit the same to the agency and get registered. STEP 2: HOME STUDY AND COUNSELING  Home Study at the couple’s residence  Assess the couple’s parenting abilities - applicant’s motivations, preparations, strengths and weaknesses on the issue of Adoption 3: REFERRAL OF THE CHILD  The agency will show medical file, Physical Examination Report and other relevant information of the child.  Once the couple is comfortable about the details given about the child, the agency will show the child physically.  The couple can spend time with the child.  Once comfortable - future formalities STEP 4: ACCEPTANCE OF THE CHILD  Once the couple identifies the child, they can sign the documents pertaining to the acceptance of the child