|
Parental Age
|
·
Maximum age difference of 85 or 90
years between combined age of parents and child. Some Indian states
look for 90 years, but the majority prefer 85 years.
·
No more than 45 years (some agencies
enforce 43) between older parent and child.
·
Parents must be at least 30 and no
older than 55
|
|
Length of Marriage
|
5
years.
|
|
Divorce
|
Generally, no more than 2 total for
the couple, although some regions in India and some agencies have
stricter requirement.
|
|
Children in Family
|
While nothing is specifically
written, as a general rule families with no more than 1 to 2
children are preferred; greater flexibility with special needs
adoptions.
|
|
Single Applicant
|
Single females between ages of
30-45 are considered on case-by-case
basis.
|
|
Sexual Orientation
|
Does not knowingly place with
homosexuals.
|
|
Children Available
|
·
Average age upon
arrival home is usually around 12-24 months for Overseas Citizen of
India (“OCI”), and a little older (age 2 to 4) for non
OCI families;
·
Children with
special needs and older children also available.
·
In some parts of
India, many children are premature or low birth weight, likely due
to early induction of labor
|
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
East Indian
|
|
Gender
|
Girls and boys; parents may request
gender; longer wait for girls
|
|
Adopting more than one unrelated
child at same time
|
Not allowed
|
|
Travel in Country
|
- There is a fair degree of discrepancy for travel
requirements, depending on which Indian child welfare institution
your agency working with and which Indian adoption law you are
following (see discussion under Additional
Information).
- Some require travel for one parent for anywhere
from 3-5 days to 5 to 6 weeks.
- Some require both parents to travel.
- It is culturally preferred for single women to
have a travel companion.
- Parents do not travel in groups.
|
|
Referral Method
|
Standard.
|
|
Wait for referral (after dossier
submitted)
|
12-18 months for girl; wait for boy
depends on availability, shorter wait for an older child or a child
with special needs; shorter wait for OCI families
|
|
Wait after referral
|
4-6 months to receive Indian legal
document and permission to travel to pick up child; this depends on
the part of India and the length of the court process.
Sometimes there are delays and the wait could stretch to 8 months
to a year.
|
|
Approximate Cost
|
$13,000 to $16,000+ travel+ visa in
India + cost of finalizing the adoption
|
|
Youngest Age Upon Arrival
Home
|
10-14 months for Overseas
Citizen of India (“OCI”) families and 2 to 4 years for
non OCI families
|
|
Orphanage/Foster
Care
|
Orphanage, quality is reported by
parents and IA doctors as good.
|
|
How children enter government
care
|
Most infants come into after
relinquishment or abandonment by single mothers due to poverty and
societal pressures against unwed motherhood. Toddlers and older
children generally come into care after termination of parental
rights due to neglect, abuse, or death or illness of
parents.
|
|
Prevalence of FAS
|
Historically drinking during
pregnancy is not common and IA doctors report that they are not
seeing much evidence of FAS.
|
|
Adequacy of medical
reports
|
Varies according
to the orphanage; generally, children with special needs have more
information; additional information is not always
available.
|
|
Program
Stability
|
Stable, although significant
delays can happen when judges change or the orphanage is being
relicensed; therefore, ask your agency about these possibilities
for the region and orphanage they work with.
|
|
Number of children placed in the US
2002- 2008
|
2,706
|
|
Growing/Declinin
|
Decreased from a high of 542 in
2001 to 308 in 2008.
|
|
Post placement
Reports
|
A report every 6 months for
the first 2 years. Report should be prepared by social worker until
adoption is finalized in the US. The remaining
reports can be prepared by the parents and submitted with
photos.
|
|
Hague Treaty
|
Yes
|
|
Additional
Information
|
- Low birth weight is very common.
- Requirements vary greatly with each region with
judges following their own court rules. Agencies work in specific
regions and should be your best guide to the idiosyncrasies of the
judges in that region.
- Adoption agencies must be Hague accredited in the
US and must be registered by the Indian Central Authority (CARA).
For profit agencies are not allowed.
- There are three possible Indian laws that may be
used to adopt a child for international
adoption. Depending on the law used, the final
adoption may take place in India or the US. Ask your agency for the
details. However, the majority of adoptions are
‘guardianships’ which are finalized in the state of
residence of the adoptive family. The child then
comes home on an IR-4 visa and becomes an American citizen when the
adoption is finalized in the state of the child’s
residence.
- India gives preference to
families where at least one parent is of Indian descent and some
agencies only work with these couples.
|
|
Useful Links
|
US
Department of State: http://adoption.state.gov/country/india.html
Joint Council on
International Children's Services www.jcics.org, click on country
information
IChild Indian Adoption Resources
http://www.ichild.org
India’s Central Adoption
Resource Agency (CARA) http://www.adoptionindia.nic.in/
|
|
Creating a Family
Sponsors
|
Dillon
International
|
