The Women and Child Development Ministry today directed all childcare institutions involved in the process of adoption to follow the new guidelines in the wake of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity refusing to give children up for adoption over "ideological differences".
"The Ministry recognizes the good work done by organizations like Missionaries of Charity. However, it is reiterated that the new guidelines, prepared after an elaborate consultation process, have to be followed by all child care institutions involved in the process of adoption," a senior official of the Ministry said.
The charity is reported to have refused to give children up for adoption to single parents, gays or lesbians. However, single parents were allowed to adopt even according to the 2011 guidelines and there is no mention of gays and lesbians in either the 2011 or the 2015 guidelines.
"It is clarified that the earlier guidelines of 2011 also provided that single parents can adopt a child and these provisions have been retained in the 2015 guidelines," said the official.
The revised guidelines of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 prescribe a legal obligation on all childcare institutions to promote and undertake adoptions as per the guidelines laid down by the Central Government.
"In case a childcare institution is not able to work as per the guidelines, it has option to transfer the children to other childcare institutions working under the Central government guidelines," the official said.
The guidelines were finalized on the basis of feedback from a large number of organizations and individuals.
"The objective is that a child with a childcare institution must find a home as quickly as possible," he said.
"The Ministry also started country-wide workshops to enable childcare institutions understand the new guidelines and work under the new I-T environment," the official added.
