Adoptive parents returned 179 children in last 3 yrs: WCD Ministry

New Delhi: Adoptive parents returned 179 children in the last three years after taking them in their care, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has informed Parliament.

While 174 children were returned after the legal formalities were over, five minors were sent back while the legal procedure was underway and the children were in pre-adoption foster care with prospective parents, the ministry has said in a reply to a query in Lok Sabha.

While there is no data available in the public domain on the total number of children given for pre-adoption foster care in the given three years from 2016-2019, the total number of successful in-country adoptions during the period was 9,860, the ministry said.

"The adoption process is conducted through online platform, i.e. CARINGS (Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System). The disruption (post legal formalities are conducted)/dissolution (before legal formalities) is mainly observed in cases of placement of older children primarily due to the adjustment issues of the child with the family," minister for WCD Smriti Irani said.

"Emphasis is being given for the counselling of parents adopting older children and the older children being placed in adoption. Regular awareness programmes and trainings for capacity building of various stakeholders are also organised from time to time to facilitate the adoption process,"

she said.