Adoption Awareness Month event in Kohima highlights new rules

Yongchingkumla, Tosheli Zhimomi, and other participants at Highland Park, Kohima, on Thursday.

• KOHIMA — Asserting that foster care is an important yet often overlooked issue, the Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, Department of Social Welfare, Yongchingkumla, on Thursday urged stakeholders to uphold guidelines and enforce them with compassion.
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• She was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the National Adoption Awareness Month event held at Highland Park, Kohima, for Nagaland. The event was organised by the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), under Mission Vatsalya, Department of Social Welfare, and sponsored by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), Ministry of Women and Child Development.

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• Yongchingkumla stated that every year, thousands of children enter the foster care system due to abuse, neglect, or circumstances that prevent their biological families from safely caring for them.
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• She informed that the Ministry of Women and Child Development has released the Model Foster Care Guidelines 2024, an updated version of the existing framework aimed at moving beyond institutional care and ensuring a nurturing family environment for vulnerable children.
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• The official highlighted that the key features of the 2024 Guidelines are grounded in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), which ensures that foster care practices are aligned with national child protection laws.
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• Pointing out the eligibility criteria, she said that children between the ages of 6 and 18 years who are in need of care and protection are eligible for foster care. Foster parents, on the other hand, must be Indian citizens residing in India, and they should be physically, mentally, and financially stable.
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• She also outlined the different types of foster care under the updated guidelines: short-term foster care provides temporary care to children until they can either return to their biological families or be placed in long-term care, while long-term foster care offers extended support for children who are unable to return to their biological families.
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• She stated that group foster care involves caring for a group of children in a family-like setting. Additionally, she informed that there is foster care leading to adoption, where the foster care arrangement may eventually result in the child being adopted by the foster family.
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• She noted that the Government of India has tailored the guidelines to extend protection to every child in need of care by making the eligibility criteria more flexible and simplifying the procedures.
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• “As implementing agencies of child care, it is now up to us to put these guidelines into practice and thereby provide opportunities to every child who deserves a loving and nurturing home,” she stated, calling upon all stakeholders to forge ahead, as it is not just about having guidelines but about enforcing them with compassion, transparency, and accountability.
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• Meanwhile, Tosheli Zhimomi, Director of the Social Welfare Department and CEO and member secretary of the State Adoption Resource Agency, said India is home to millions of children in need of care and protection.
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• While adoption can be the ultimate solution for these children, foster care offers an equally important and more immediate response for those who cannot stay with their biological parents, she added and briefly outlined the updated foster care guidelines.
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• The director maintained that the guidelines also broaden the pool of prospective foster parents. Single individuals aged 35 to 60, regardless of marital status (unmarried, widowed, divorced, or legally separated), are now eligible to foster children.
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• She added that single women can foster and adopt children of any gender, while single men are permitted to foster and adopt male children only. Married couples must have a combined age between 70 and 110 years to foster children aged 6 to 12 and between 70 and 115 years for children aged 12 to 18.
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• Zhimomi also highlighted several procedural changes under the new guidelines and noted that the mandatory fostering period before a foster family can adopt a child has been reduced from five years to two years, enabling quicker transitions to permanent homes.
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• Informing that prospective foster parents can now register online through the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), simplifying the application process, while the previous one-month interim order restricting interaction between the child and foster family has been removed to allow more immediate placements.
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• To oversee these processes, Zhimomi said each district will establish a Sponsorship and Foster Care Approval Committee (SFCAC), headed by the district magistrate. This committee is responsible for reviewing and approving sponsorships and foster care placements, ensuring decisions are made in the best interest of the child.
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• She emphasised the importance of fully understanding the 2024 foster care guidelines to avoid errors in implementation.