Adoption and Kafala

Adoption is the formal, permanent transfer of parental rights to a family other than a child’s own and the formal assumption by that family of all parenting duties for the child. Where a child’s parents are living and their parental rights have not been terminated, they must provide informed consent for adoption. In some countries it is not culturally acceptable to give the parental rights to a non-family member, and therefore alternative long-term care options must be pursued e.g. kinship care. In some Islamic countries, the term ‘Kafala’ in Islamic law is used to describe a situation similar to adoption, but without the severing of family ties, the transference of inheritance rights, or the change of the child’s family name.

Given the permanency of adoption, it should be used very carefully and only when it is in a child’s best interests. In some cases difficult choices must be made between keeping a child in a temporary care situation in the hope of eventual family reunification, and a child’s developmental need for permanent attachment and care within a family environment. Adoption should not be considered an option in an emergency context. In the case of family separation in an emergency all tracing activities must be exhausted before adoption can be considered.

The long term care of a child requires thorough assessment and planning, and should include the participation of all those affected, especially the child in question. The choice for adoption must meet the child’s long term needs and wishes, and enable their healthy development into adulthood. Wherever possible, children should remain with siblings and encouraged to maintain contact with relatives. All adoptive placements should be in keeping with applicable national law and international standards.

Ideally adoptive parents should come from a similar cultural and religious background to the child, so that the child can retain her heritage and sense of identity. This will be more likely when the adoption is within the country of the child’s origin. The child care policies of a country must therefore provide mechanisms for formal state adoption procedures, and provide workers to support this process. Intercountry or cross border adoptions should be used with caution since the child is likely to grow up in unfamiliar surroundings, and may therefore be more isolated and exposed to risk. When intercountry adoption is in the best interests of a child, international protection agencies should ensure standards are met and procedures should be in keeping with the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption.

This section of papers includes country and policy examples of the use of adoption and guidance on practice.

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Responding to Illegal Adoptions: A Professional Handbook

International Social Service (ISS), 2016

ISS has developed a handbook for professionals working in the adoption field that provides guidance on how to respond when illegal practices have been identified in an adoption case.

Government of India Press Release: Series of New Initiatives for Development of Women and Children Mark the Achievements of WCD Ministry this Year

Government of India, Ministry of Women and Child Development, 28 Dec 2015

A press release from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India recapped a series of new initiatives by the Ministry during 2015. The achievements relevant to children’s care are briefly described below and include the launch of the flagship programme Beti Bachao Beto Padhao for protection of the girl child; several initiatives to track, restore, and rehabilitate missing children; and adoption reforms and a new foster care system.

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Revitalizing Recruitment: Practical Strategies for Finding and Keeping Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Homes

New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 01 Dec 2015

This guide, published by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, provides a summary of promising practices currently used in recruitment and retention of foster/adoptive families.

Children’s attachment: attachment in children and young people who are adopted from care, in care or at high risk of going into care

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 25 Nov 2015

This guideline covers the identification, assessment and treatment of attachment difficulties in children and young people up to age 18 who are adopted from care, in special guardianship, looked after by local authorities in foster homes (including kinship foster care), residential settings and other accommodation, or on the edge of care.

Country Care Review: Brazil

Better Care Network, 29 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Timor-Leste

Better Care Network, 29 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Bangladesh

Better Care Network, 29 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Kazakhstan

Better Care Network, 29 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Child Welfare: Steps Have Been Taken to Address Unregulated Custody Transfers of Adopted Children

United States Government Accountability Office, 16 Sep 2015

In this report, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined (1) the reasons adoptive families consider unregulated child custody transfers, and services that exist to support these families before they take such an action; (2) what is known about the prevalence of these transfers; and (3) actions selected states and federal agencies have taken to address such transfers.

Changing discourses and changing institutional child substitute care: new terms and processes toward family-like and family based care

Ingrid Sindi - Child Care in Practice , 16 Sep 2015

This article is an attempt to analyse and describe the process of change in child substitute care that has taken place since the re-independence of Estonia in 1991.

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