Adoption queries w.r.t. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 20151.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) A. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 20151. What is Adoption? Adoption means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from hisbiological parents and becomes the lawful child of the adoptive parents with all the rights, privilegesand responsibilities that are attached to a biological child. (As per Section 2(2) of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015 read with Adoption Regulation,2017 hasrecognized five kinds of adoption namely,i.an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living within thecountryii.an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living outside thecountryiii.a related child by relatives living within the country iv.a related child by relatives living outside the countryv.adoption of a child by step parents within the country 2.Who can be adopted? A child can be adopted if s/he is:i. An orphan, abandoned or surrendered (OAS) child who has been declared legally free for adoption bythe Child Welfare Committee (CWC) (As per the provisions of the JJ (C&PC) Act 2015 and the corresponding rules) ii.A child of a relative (a relative means the child's paternal uncle or aunt, a maternal uncle or aunt orpaternal and maternal grandparents) iii.A child or children of spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by the biological parent(s) for adoptionby the step-parent. (Section 38 and 56 of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 4 of Adoption Regulations) 3.Who can adopt? Generali.Prospective adoptive parents (PAP):- who are physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financiallycapable and who do not have any life threatening medical conditions are eligible to adopt. ii.The minimum age difference between the child and PAP/s shall not be less than twenty-five yearsMarried:i.Married couples with at least 2 years of stable marital relationship ii.Both spouses must consent for adoption in case of a married coupleiii.The composite age of the married couple does not exceed 110 years Singlei.Single persons with or without biological or adoptive children can adopt provided they satisfy thefollowing:(a)A single female can adopt a child of any gender(b)A single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child(c)Age of a single parent does not exceed 55 years. (d)Must have less than four children unless they are adopting a child with special needs, a hard-to-place child, a relative’s child or a step-child.The age of the child that could be placed with PAPs differs based on the age of the PAPs on the date ofregistration as given in the following table:Age of the childMaximumcomposite age of theprospective adoptive parentsMaximumageofsingleprospective adoptive parent0-18 years90 years45 years4 to 18 years100 years50 years8 to 18 years110 years55 yearsNote: Section 57 of the JJ Act(C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 5 of Adoption Regulations, 2017