Central Adoption Resource Authority

CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY

 

What is Central Adoption Resource Authority? 

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. Its mandate is to find a loving and caring family for every orphan/destitute/surrendered child in the country. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) was initially set up in 1990 under the aegis of the Ministry of Welfare. Pursuant to a decision of the Union Cabinet dated 2nd July, 1998, the then Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment conferred the autonomous status on CARA w.e.f. 18.3.1999 by registering it as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It was designated as Central Authority by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on 17.7.2003 for the implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children & Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption (1993). The Ministry of Women & Child Development has of late been mandated to look after the subject matters `Adoption’ & Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2000’.  

 

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Child Protection in India

Child Protection in India

 

Protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation in different settings, including family, community and wider society is essential to ensure that they are given all the rights due to them

 

Protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation is integral to the holistic development of children, as it enables them to become active participants in their own development and the development of the Nation.  

A child who sells flowers or magazines at a traffic light every day is not just another salesperson, but someone who is deprived of a normal and secured family life, and denied his or her basic rights of nutrition, health, education, and development.  

Unfortunately, it is common to see children in vulnerable and difficult situations. At an age where they should be in school and learning, children are married off; engaged in work– in farms, households, restaurants, and in industries; trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation; and exposed to abuse and violence.  

According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), around 170 million or 40 percent of all children in India are either vulnerable to or experiencing difficult circumstances, such as violence at home, separation from family and street life (Integrated Child Protection Scheme– ICPS). If we look at sexual abuse, a study conducted by MWCD in 2007 shows that more than 53 percent all respondents reported to have faced one or more forms of sexual abuse.   

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