For single people: First foster, then adopt

The Ministry of Women and Child Development recently released the revised Foster Care Guidelines, 2024 bringing in key changes to the 2016 guidelines that laid down the rules for Indians wishing to foster children. Among the most noteworthy changes, the new guidelines allow single individuals, irrespective of their gender, to foster a child. It also allows them to adopt the child after a period of two years.

In this Weekly, we’ll highlight the major changes and how they impact those who are looking to foster children in India. 

What is foster care and how does it differ from adoption?

Adoption refers to the process by which a child permanently leaves their biological family or a child care institution in case of orphans and becomes the lawful child of their adoptive parents. They get all rights, privileges and responsibilities of a biological child vested in them.

Foster care means placing a child under the care of an alternate guardian or family, away from their biological family or a child care institution in case of orphans  under the supervision of a government authority. This is generally a temporary process but can last for several years.  

What do the new guidelines change?

The new guidelines simplify the eligibility criteria for children who can be placed under foster care. Earlier, the law required the children eligible for foster care to be declared “legally free for adoption” by the respective child welfare committees. Under the new law, all children above the age of six years can be placed under foster care. 

The previous law permitted only married couples to foster children. The new law extends the opportunity to foster to all individuals, irrespective of their marital status or whether or not they have biological children. There are still certain criteria in terms of the age of the prospective foster parent. Only someone between the age of 35 years and 55 years can foster a child between the age of 6 years and 12 years. In the case of children between the age of 12 years and 18 years, the age limit for prospective foster parents range between 35 years and 60 years. Women can individually foster a child of any gender but men can only foster a male child. 

The 2024 guidelines further define the eligibility criteria for married couples. Only those couples who can demonstrate a “stable marital life” for a period of at least two years can foster a child. The cumulative age of a married couple must be 70 years to 110 years for children between 6 years and 12 years and 70 years to 115 years for children between 12 years and 18 years. 

Couples registered under the CARA portal for adoption are not eligible for foster care.

The  new law removes the provision of interim care, which the previous law allowed limited interactions between the foster care givers and the children. It also removes the provision of “suo motu care”, which allowed foster parents to apply before a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to take care of a child who may be in urgent need of foster care. 

Earlier, child care institutions could make children living with them available for foster care. Under the new guidelines, the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) is responsible for identifying and putting up children for foster care.

Finally, the revised guidelines require a minimum of two years of foster care before the foster care giver can legally adopt a child. Earlier this requirement was for a minimum of five years. 

How can prospective foster parents apply?

The new guidelines provide for an online portal for prospective foster parents to register on. They can also apply if their respective DCPUs put out ads inviting applications, by sending the application documents. Upon verification of the documents in both formats, the DCPU will prepare a ‘Home Study Report’ listing the social, economic and cultural background of the prospective foster parents. 

Once the DCPU approves the prospective foster parents, they will be able to access the details of the eligible children on the portal and apply to proceed with the matching process. DCPU recommends the respective CWC about the suitability of the parents for the children they have chosen on the portal.