Siblings up for adoption should ideally be placed in one home to ensure their transition smoothly
Siblings should never be separated in alternate care environments, says Anuja Bansal Being a part of a family is one of the greatest blessings that most of us have. However, only those deprived of the love and support of a family understand what it means to be without loved ones.
India is home to 20 million parentless and abandoned children, who have lost the care and support of their parents at a very young age, due to reasons beyond their control like abduction, trafficking, health issues of parents, domestic violence, parents coming in conflict with law, poverty, death of parents, abandonment and sometimes even stigma.
Even though there is no specific data available, it is believed that finding prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) willing to adopt all siblings who have lost parental care is tough. But it is imperative to keep siblings together while placing them under adoption or any other alternative care.
There are numerous studies that show that biological siblings positively influence each other. In one of the recent studies in the Columbia Dispatch, it was suggested that those who have siblings understand people better and are better adept at handling social situations. On losing parents, siblings become emotionally dependent on each other.
Children who are old enough to understand their background and situation are in an emotionally difficult state when they lose their parents. Siblings are their only source of solace and basis of trust. When these children are adopted together the transition becomes smoother and quicker.
Siblings display lesser instances of emotional and behavioural problems, improved socialising abilities and a stronger sense of identity and find themselves more stable placements. This, in turn, supports their emotional well-being. losing a sibling during this transition phase makes it difficult and often traumatic for the separated child. It becomes difficult for the child to trust the new environment and can make the settlement harder, especially for the adopting parents.
Siblings,when placed together during adoption, automatically, promote positive developmental outcomes. They are mentally and physically stronger due to their emotional strength, and do better in academics; they find it easier to adjust in the new family home, and eventually, become contributing citizens of the society.
The current procedure mandates that when declaring these children as legally free to adopt, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) must specify the status of the children as siblings. Similarly, when any adoption agency or a child care institution files an application in the court concerned, they too shall file a single application in the court, for siblings. This way, when Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), governed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, receives the application, they make efforts to find suitable PAPs, willing to adopt the siblings together. This helps CARA in finding a loving home for these children, together
In UK’s statutory guidance states that siblings should be placed together, unless it is not in the best interests of one or more of the sibling group, or there is any other good reason not to do so. If they are being separated, the reasons should be clearly documented. The same applies to USA.
Parents seeking adoption are usually looking to adopt a single child. It has also been observed that adoption of children who are older than five years and those with special needs is difficult.
Data on child care institutions (CCIs), released by Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) in May 2017 reported that about 70-80 per cent of prospective adoptive parents want healthy normal children below the age of two years. However, CCIs only have 1,766 children in their care across the country, out of which 1,279 are children with special needs and only 59 children fall in the age group of two years and below. That means around 10,000 parents want to adopt only from out of the 59 children, across the country.
The amended Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 recommends that “all efforts must be made to keep siblings together, unless it is in the best interest of the child”.