After issuing fresh set of guidelines for adoption, the Ministry of Women and Child Development on Monday issued ‘Model Guidelines for Foster Care’.
Speaking to Millennium Post earlier on the issue of foster care, Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development has said: “There will also be focus on a new foster care scheme, where if you have those people who do not want to adopt but then they can opt for a child under this scheme and bring them home. After this, the government will pay the foster carer/parents who will be taking care of the child’s welfare. You can adopt two to three children under this scheme. We will keep a check on the foster carer/parents who will be opting for this scheme so that children are not treated as servants by them.”
Issuing the model guidelines for foster care, the ministry said in a statement on Monday: “These guidelines have been developed through a consultative process involving representatives from states/UTs, non-governmental organisations, civil societies, academicians, experts and organisations working on alternative care.”
The model guidelines on foster care detail the procedures, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, along with various aspects related to the implementation of the foster care programme in districts.
“These guidelines have been strengthened by providing additional formats for preparing case study of the child, application form for the foster carer/parents, tools for counseling before and during the process while adopting the child, the foster carer/parents and the biological parents of that child, if present,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Information Education Communication (IEC) materials for supporting the foster carer/parents on helpful tips, rewards and challenges of a foster parent, and a summary card on steps on becoming a foster carer are also covered in the model guidelines.
These guidelines, however, do not cover pre-adoption foster care as in such cases Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015 will apply. “These guidelines may be adopted or adapted as per the requirement of the State/UT,” it added.