CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY
(CARA)

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003. CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.

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I. Webinar with States and UTs

In the continuance of series of events being organised by CARA during International Adoption Month 2020 for promotion of Adoption Programme, A webinar with all States and UTs on special drive for Adoption of Divyang and Older Children was held virtually on 19 November 2020. The Webinar was chaired by Shri Ram Mohan Mishra, Secretary MWCD with the attendance of Ms Aastha Saxena Khatwani, Joint Secretary MWCD and Principal Secretaries, Directors/Commissioners of SARA of States and UTs. In addition, Director & Joint Director CARA and Under Secretary in-charge for CARA in the MWCD attended the Webinar. Total 63 dignitaries of the Ministry, States and UTs participated in the Webinar. The webinar witnessed thought provoking deliberations on the subject wherein States and UTs presented their suggestions and best practices for betterment of adoption programme and other aspects related to adoption with special attention to the placement of Divyang and Older children were discussed. On the directions received from Secretary MWCD to brain storm on the issue and submit a holistic report for improvement of the entire adoption programme, presentations of the states were collated in one and shared with all States to deliberate upon the best practices and suggestions. The Secretary mentioned that some of the States has done very well and put forth very pragmatic suggestions which are required to be looked into in entirety. During the concluding session Ms Aastha Saxena Khatwani, Joint Secretary, MWCD thanked all the States or their active participation and sharing Best Practices and Suggestions.

II. International Webinar
“Adoption across Borders : Sharing of Experiences”

The Webinar was held on 08 Dec 2020 from 2:30 P.M to 3:30 P.M. The Webinar was chaired by Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Minister Women and Child Development in the august presence of Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri, Minister of State Women and Child Development. The webinar was attended by Shri. Sanjay Bhattacharya Secretary, CPV & OIA, MEA, Shri. Ram Mohan Mishra Secretary, MWCD, Smt. Aastha Saxena Khatwani, Joint Secretary MWCD, other esteemed dignitaries and diplomats. A total of 12 Central Authorities of foreign countries, 14 Indian Diplomatic Missions and 3 Foreign Embassies located in Delhi participated in the Webinar. Central Authority of France & Malta presented their views and best practices and High Commission of India in Singapore also flagged their issues in the Webinar. India ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption in 2003. CARA is mandated to regulate all inter-country adoptions under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Adoption Regulations, 2017 and Hague Convention on inter-country Adoptions, 1993.
Central Authority of France, Central Authority, Malta, High Commission of India in Singapore and Embassy of Italy in India presented statistical data, presentations and insights on the Adoption across the border.
The Webinar was addressed by HMWCD, MoS WCD, Secretary MWCD and Secretary CP&OIA. The Hon’ble Minister expressed her gratitude to the Ministry of External Affairs for participating and supporting platform for the convergence of efforts, dialogue and deliberation on the “Adoption Across Borders : Sharing of Experiences”. HMWCD thanked the Central Authorities of France and Malta for sharing their experiences. HMWCD highlighted that this webinar has not only provided a platform to address the challenges but also alternative solutions. In midst of COVID-19 pandemic, 200 children being placed with families through the inter-country Adoptions and 1,564 children were placed in in-country adoption with families. HMWCD informed that the Ministry is working with CARA so that special care is given to children with special needs & older children and post Adoption monitoring is being strengthened. HMWCD called upon to the Ministry of External Affairs to collate the challenges being faced by the Mission abroad and address these issues in a structured manner. HMWCD emphasised that, in this challenging situation, cooperation has become a mainstay not only with dialogue but also our work process. This webinar has provided us an opportunity to learn a lot in terms of inter-country adoptions. HMWCD stated that the Ministry of Women and Child Development is already in the process of amending certain Regulations so that missions overseas can provide better services to the children and PAPs. HMWCD mentioned that many parents who undertake in-country Adoptions and move overseas due to socio-economic situations will be facilitated by these amendments in the Adoption Regulations through our IDMs abroad. Additionally, this platform has made it possible to hear multiple voices across the globe with regards to the issues of Adoption, welfare of children and commitment towards the adoptive families. HMWCD urged the MEA to collate the best practices and introspect on them. HMWCD concluded by expressing her gratitude to the participating Nations, Embassies and Diplomatic Missions.

III. Videos by NIMHANS

Counselling of the Adoptive Families is the most important aspect for the success of Adoption Programme in the country. Counselling plays a pivotal role in shaping up the approach of adoptive families towards adoptive children which in turn plays an important role in integration and adjustment of adoptive child and family members.
National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science (NIMHANS) on request of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has produced three Videos for counseling of Adoptive Families which were uploaded on CARA YouTube Channel and are being viewed by the masses.

IV. Web Lecture Series

Since the inception of Global Pandemic COVID-19 in the year 2020, social discourse has changed drastically. All gatherings and physical activities were forced to be discontinued leaving it all to the virtual platforms to push forward the activities of communication and dissemination of information. In the wake of reaching to the masses during International Adoption Month 2020, a Web Lecture Series was planned with underlying topics:

(a) Adoption Laws on 10th November 2020
(b) Adoption Process on 17th November 2020
(c) Experiences of Adoptive Parents and Adoptees on 24th November 2020
(d) Mental Preparedness for Adoption on 27th November 2020

The Web Lecture series was conducted by the field experts and was streamed live on YouTube Channel of the Authority to reach to the maximum people and stakeholders. There was active participation from all the states and UTs in the Web Lecture Series. The most appreciated lecture was “Experiences of Adoptive Parents and Adoptees” in which adoptive parents and adult adoptees shared their experiences with regard to the social and psychological aspects of the adoption.

V. Training Activities

In order to spread awareness regarding adoption and answer the queries of the PAPs and other stakeholders CARA has been undertaking various orientation and training programmes, awareness activities. During these times of COVID when the same seemed unattainable; all the stakeholders joined hands during the Adoption month and organised and implemented the programmes via print media and video conferencing sessions.

Aim of these endeavours is to promote legal adoptions in the country, create awareness about wholesome process of adoption, quash the taboos regarding the adoption process and ensure care and protection of children in Specialised Adoption Agencies while checking unlawful activities related to child trafficking and illegal adoption in the country.

1. SocialWorkers training Programmes

(a) 12th to 15th October 2020 & 22nd October 2020 Training of Social Workers of the 7 North Eastern States of India i.e Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland wherein 118 Social Workers form SAAs and DCPU participated.

(b) 9th to 12th November 2020 & 18th November 2020 Training of Social Workers of the 11 States of India such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Puducherry, Punjab, Uttarakhand wherein 100 Social Workers actively participated.

(c) 14th to 17th December 2020 & 22nd December 2020 Training of Social Workers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was conducted wherein 140 Social Workers participated.

2. Trainings through Webinars

There has been a deliberate shift in organising congregational and physical activities due to unprecedented situation of global pandemic COVID-19. Training programmes planned for the year 2020, were eventually cancelled. With the government’s initiatives of unlocking the activities post national lockdown, CARA started conducting all training programmes virtually in consonance with the views expressed by the subject experts in the webinar held on 26th May 2020. The following training programmes were conducted virtually through webinars:-

(a) 5th October 2020

A Webinar on “Strengthening the Adoption Program in the North Eastern States” was organized wherein Smt. Seema Khandekar and Smt. Kavita Bhandari participated as Resources Persons and 165 participants from various SAA and DCPU attended the programme.

(b) 8th & 9th October 2020

Webinar on training session on CARINGS portal in the State of Andhra Pradesh was conducted and 50 participants such as SAA Managers and Social Workers participated and were trained about the operational usage on CARINGS portal.

(c) 22nd October 2020

Webinar on CARINGS in the State of Maharashtra was organised and 55 stakeholders were imparted hand on operational training on CARINGS.

(d) 10th & 11th November 2020

An online training on Adoption under Juvenile Justice Act 2015 for Maharashtra Judicial Academy was organised wherein 247 Judicial Officers from Maharashtra State participated.

VI. Activities carried out by States and UTs

The second quarter of the Newsletter included the month of Adoption. i.e November.
The International Adoption Month was celebrated across all the states by carrying out various activities.

Andhra Pradesh

(a) Pendency clearance on CARINGS – 01st to 07th November 2020.

(b) Promoting Child Adoption through IEC activities – 08th to 13th November 2020.

(c) CRC Week Celebration – Sensitisation to the Key stakeholder on Adoption – 14th to 20th November 2020.

(d) Capacity building training to the Key Stakeholders – 21st to 25th November 2020.

(e) Innovative activities for promoting Child Adoption – 26th to 30th November 2020.

Assam

(a) Spreading awareness against illegal adoption through a Mobile Van Campaign by performing skits, doing public announcements, playing songs in vernacular language and distributing IEC material. (b) Four short videos were prepared and telecasted through local satellite TV channels.

(c) Organised two days training programme on alternative care for DCPU, CWC, PO NIC and NIC staff.

(d) Observance of Counselling Days by some Districts, distribution of IEC material and Print and electronic media campaigns.

(e) Organisation of virtual and physical Adoptive Parents Meets, Foster Care Meet, Mobile Van Rally and Training of Non-Institutional Family Care.

Arunachal Pradesh

(a) Display of Banners and Hoardings at public strategic locations.

(b) Panel Discussion on legal adoption on Door Darshan Itanagar.

(c) Talk Show on All India Radio, Itanagar and Ziro.

(d) Virtual orientation Workshops, distribution of IEC material, visit of CCIs by SARA.

(e) Creating awareness through Print Media (News Papers).

Bihar

(a) Creating awareness through display of Banners and Posters at public places.

(b) Creating awareness through public meetings and discussions at public places.

(c) Creating awareness through News Papers and IEC Material.

(d) A e-Rikshaw was decorated with Banners and posters and public announcement system for generating awareness.

Chandigarh

(a) Setting up music room in SAA for recreation, music therapy and learning. 52 different musical instruments were provided.
(b) Mass awareness crated by Radio Jingles through radio programmes.

(c) Organised painting and drawing competition for CCIs of UT.

(e) Visit of senior dignitaries to SAAs was conducted during the month.

(f) Screening of movies related to child adoption in CCIs.

(g) Makeover of SAAs by painting and decorating the walls.

Daman & DIU

Union Territory of DNH & Daman & Diu carried a number of activities during International Adoption Month to mention the following :-
(a) 14000 Pamphlet distributed through News Papers.

(b) Amla, Guava and Papaya were planted.

(c) Facebook Live/Google Meet on Adoption Process reaching 22188 people.

(d) Distribution of IEC Material at Bus stops.

(e) Placement of Standees in 21 Sub Centres of Daman District.

(f) Meeting with Doctors and Practitioners of Government and Private.

(g) Hospitals of UT to spread awareness about Adoption Programme.

(h) Organised a Talk Show on Adoption Programme on Akashvani Daman Kendra.

Goa

Organised a Webinar regarding Child Protection mechanism “Child Services”, “Demistifying Adoption Process” and “Non-Institutional Care”.

(b) Organised Web Lecture on mental well-being of children in the time of COVID-19.

Gujarat

a) Organised a Webinar on sharing the Best Practices with district level functionaries on 18 November 2020.

(b) Organised a Phone-in programme on adoption awareness on DD Girnar on 19 November 2020.

(c) Organised a Panel Discussion with the functionaries upto district level on 20 November 2020 on best practices on their jurisdiction/role and responsibilities.

(d) Carried out awareness generation through Social Media Platforms like FB, Twitter, Instagram etc.

(e) Organised Panel discussion on 23 November 2020 on sharing best practice for ‘Alternative Care’.

(f) District Child Protection Units organized awareness programme through 25 webinars with 232 members of Block Child Protection Committees and 637 members of Village Child Protection Committees.

(g) Organisation of 10 Webinars by DCPU in coordination with DEO for 347 participants BRCs and CRCs.

(h) Organisation of 40 Webinars for adoption awareness amongst 832 Anganwadi Workers, Supervisors and CDPOs.

(j) Organisation of Fancy Dress Competitions for children by 16 SAAs.

(k) Organised two webinars for spreading awareness amongst the PAPs with participation of more than 30 PAPs.

Karnataka

(a) Series of seven episodes of 15 minutes duration Radio Programme “SARA-AASRA” was broadcasted on AIR.

(b) Adoption Pledge was taken by all KSICPS employees with Director Child Protection Karnataka.

(c) Creation and distribution of IEC material like 10 Series of MIMI Books were released in English and Kannada by Director Child Protection Karnataka and distributed to DCPUs and SAAs.

(d) Extensive awareness through articles, write-ups and competition in Print Media (News Papers).

Kerala

(a) State organized a Live Phone-in programme on 23rd November 2020 where around 140 calls were attended by the experts and queries and questions were responded to.

(b) Webinar was conducted on 28th November 2020 for general public. The same was also streamed live on YouTube. Total 260 persons attended the webinar.

(c) Adoption Day was celebrated on 23rd November 2020 in the state with the help of Anganwadi Workers, DCPU and SAAs. Awareness on Adoption Programme was spread amongst the general public through various programmes like streaming of films etc through YouTube and Facebook.

Madhya Pradesh

(a) Principal Secretary and Director WCD MP interacted with the older children living in CCIs to counsel and convince them to go in familial care rather than continuing in Institutional care.

(b) A campaign called “Panch Palna” has been started mandating to establish at least five cradles in a district to establish at least 250 cradles in the state by the end of the year for safe surrender and saving the life of the children.

(c) An Advisory Group called “Advisory Committee for alternative care and after care” with special focus on adoption has been constituted by the State Government.

(d) Collective counselling of older children by trained counsellors was carried out by the state.

(e) Success stories of older adoptees were shared on Social Media Platforms to motivate children and stakeholders.

Maharashtra

(a) Conducted Special Workshops on Child Healthcare.

(b) Generated Awareness through Print Media (News Papers).

(c) Conducted Workshop for Legal awareness on Adoption.

(d) Conducted Special Awareness Programmes for Balgruh (CCIs).

(e) Organised Health Camps for Children.

(f) Run a Poster Campaign throughout the state.

(g) Stakeholders visited government offices to create awareness on Adoption.

(h) Organised a Radio Programme on AIR 102.7 FM on 14 November 2020 on adoption related isses.

(j) Run special drive to train Caretakers, Nurses and Supervisors of SAAs more than 300 person.

Meghalaya

(a) A special drive on Red FM was taken up by airing the Radio Jingle related to the Adoption of Divyang and Older children in English and local language. The Radio spots were aired wef 26th November to 30th November 2020.

(b) Created awareness through publicity in local News Papers emphasizing more on the theme of this year’s International Adoption Month.

(c) DCPU in collaboration with the NGOs carried out awareness activities in local areas and markets.

(d) Conducted slogan writing and drawing competition for the children of agencies with wide participation of children.

(e) Conducted an essay writing competition for the masses in open category on adoption related topics.

(f) Designation of counseling Centre for counseling of older children.

Mizoram

(a) Organised display of Hoarding/Poster/Streeet Banners at public places for creating awareness in the masses. (b) Development and distribution of Pamphlets/Leaflets/Adoption Cards.

(c) Live Talk show of Adoption was organized and streamed live through local Cable Network.

(d) Publication of articles and advertisements in the newspapers during the month.

(e) Video Clips and documentary on adoption was telecast at Door Darshan Kendra Aizawl during the month.

(f) Live discussion on and playing of Radio Jingles on AIR Aizawl.

(g) DCPU Aizawl organized on day district level capacity building programme on zoom.

Nagaland

(a) A state level consultative workshop was organized on 20th November 2020 for DCPU, CWCs, One Stop Centres, and Mahila Shakti Kendra of all districts.

(b) A video “Deafening Silence” was launched during the above programme.

(c) Poster Campaign was undertaken by the DCPU in the entire state during the month to create awareness on adoption.

Sikkim

(a) Placement of Banners in all districts of the state.

(b) Publication / advertisement in the local News Papers.

(c) Visit of SARA officials to SAAs were carried out to assess the childcare standards and services.

Dissemination through IEC Material
(Poster Series)

The international month of Adoption i.e. November was celebrated across the nation focusing on the crucial agenda of “Adoption of Divyang and Older Children.” Wherein the following Programmes were organised:
Dissemination of information regarding adoption through IEC (Information Education and Communication) material is one of the most powerful medium to reach the masses and generate awareness regarding Adoption and its intricacies. A campaign in this regard was mooted and around thirty posters were created with different IEC material like Legal Provisions of Adoption, Role of various Stakeholders, Adoption Quotes, Success Stories of Children, Success Stories of Adopted Children and Success Stories of Specialised Adoption Agencies. These posters were shared on Social Media Platforms of the Authority during the International Adoption month. The Campaign was appreciated by the states and stakeholders and shared on their platforms. The total outreach of the poster campaign on Facebook Page and Twitter Handle of the Authority is 146143.

Media and Publicity

In today’s fast moving world, social media has become an obvious instrument for communicating with the masses. Moreover, COVID-19 gave it additional edge in these times of virtual connectivity. CARA has been organizing a Q&A Session on its Facebook page on quarterly basis to reach the stakeholders and respond to their queries immediately. CARA organized a Q&A Session on its Facebook Page on 25 November 2020 from 11.30 AM to 1.10 PM. The outreach of the Q&A Session was as under:-

Total People Reached

5,581

Total Engagements

1458

Total Queries Answered

46 ADOPTION DATA

Amidst such challenging times of COVID 19 Pandemic CARA has surpassed the figures of Adoption in last two quarters in comparison to the corresponding quarters of the last year. In the second and third quarter of 2019-20, the adoption figure was 849 and 885 respectively, while in 2020-21 it increased to 966 and 983 in the second and third quarter respectively.

CIRCULARS

1. Extension in timelines related to In-Country Adoption Process due to COVID-19
http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/circular_covid.pdf

2. Online Psychological Foreign Adoption Agencies (AFAAs)/Central Authorities/Indian Diplomatic Missions (IDMS) http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/circular_Intercountry_OnlinepyschologicalAssesment.pdf

3. Rehabilitation of older children in Immediate placement (Ip) category in a better planned manner http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/SARA%20Advisori.pdf

4. Constitution of Sub-Committe of Resource Persons for the trainings of the Social Workers
http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/Office-Memorandum-11-01-2019.pdf

5. Sitting Fee For Members of Sub-Committees set up by CARA
http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/Circular%20on%20Sitting%20Fee.pdf

6. Travel Advisory for Adoptive Parents Travelling to India
http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/Travel%20Advisory%20for%20Adoptive%20Parents.pdf

7. Provisional Registration of Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) regarding requisite documents
http://cara.wcd.gov.in/PDF/Circular/circular%20provisional%20Registration%20of%20PAPs.pdf

Let's begin

CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY(CARA)