Thiruvananthapuram: Adoption rules made strict

Thiruvananthapuram: As part of its effort to make adoption more transparent and avoid malpractices, the Department of Women and Child Development has made adoption rules more stringent. The special secretary in charge of Women and Child Development Biju Prabhakar issued an order mandating home study by authorised officials under the department.

As per the new direction, the district child protection officer and Integrated Child development services supervisor should conduct the home study of the prospective adoptive parents and submit the report before the adoption committee.

Currently, the home study is being carried out by social workers appointed by NGOs and specialised adoption agencies in the state. It is learnt that there are 18 adoption centres across the state. Mr Biju Prabhakar told DC that the priority of the department is to make the adoption procedure more stringent and transparent.

“There are complaints of corruption involved in the home study process. Some people simply bribe the adoption agencies and manage to get a positive home study report which is unfair to the child and other eligible prospective adoptive parents. We want the process to be impartial,” said Mr Biju Prabhakar.

He said that there should be more support and guidance for the adoptive parents. “Many of them are unaware of how to deal with the child. Whether to disclose or not that they are not his or her biological parents. There should be further support and follow-ups,” he added.

Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW) general secretary Deepak S.P. said that the new direction has slowed down the adoption procedures. “Earlier the home study was not time-consuming. Now the officers will have to find time to carry out the study as they have other responsibilities too,” said Mr Deepak. He said that the council was able to do around 93 adoptions in the past 14 to 15 months in the state. He said that due to election code of conduct there was a delay in adoption procedures.