(Image source from: Businesstoday.in)
The heart-wrenching landslide in Wayanad has left many children orphaned. The devastating landslide has a significant death rate. The government started taking strict measures in the adoption process for orphaned children with strict legal procedures to ensure the safety and security of the children. Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015, the measures will be taken under the orphaned children adoption by natural disasters. The legislation was made after the Gujarat earthquake, where many children were orphaned during the earthquake after their families died. The CWC in association with the district child protection unit (DCPU) started working on the process. The children who lost their parents need protection and the legal framework has to be done for the adoption or for foster care, ensuring the child's interests and priorities.
Wayanad collector has released an official statement through her Facebook requesting to follow the process and asking people to register in CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) for whoever is interested. She wrote, “Can children who lost their parents in the Wayanad Mundakai tragedy be adopted? Children who have lost their parents and need care and protection are being taken care of by the government through the Child Welfare Committee under the Central Child Protection Act of 2015. Adoption and foster care are carried out through the legal procedures of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and Adoption Regulations 2022. Only those who register on the CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) website and meet the specified criteria can adopt children. For more information on adoption and foster care, interested individuals can contact the Child Welfare Committee or District Child Protection Unit in their respective districts.
Contact numbers:
04936 285050 - Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Wayanad
04936 246098 - District Child Protection Unit Wayanad
9446930777, 9496343949”
Families interested in adoption should start by registering on the website by giving sufficient details on the official website, http://www.cara.wcd.nic.in.
As per the district collectors' adoption decisions, several factors need to be considered before following the adoption process like background checks of both the child and the adopting family and even they will consider the child’s health condition and age and also about the studies of the child. The same rules as foster will be followed, like couples can adopt a boy or girl, but a single man can adopt a boy, and a woman can adopt a boy or a girl, according to Jo Paul, a High court Lawyer.
