Centre’s scheme to rehabilitate children

HT Correspondent

Mumbai, July 02, 2010

The Centre is in the process of formulating Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for rehabilitating of children who are in need of child and care as defined under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Jagannath Pati, deputy director with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) informed the Bombay high court on Thursday that the ICPS will be having a corpus fund which could be used for rehabilitation of children who are repatriated after a failed international adoption.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud is in the process of framing guidelines for better monitoring mechanism of international adoption and ensuring rehabilitation of children in case of failed adoption.

The court took up the matter after 14-year-old Anita (name changed) was repatriated to India after she could not adjust with her adoptive parents in the United States.

The Massachusetts-based couple had sent an application seeking revocation of their guardianship of Anita as she developed behavioural problems.

“You [CARA] also need to have guidelines for time-bound disbursement of the funds, especially in case where child is being repatriated,” Justice Chandrachud said.

Pati said that about 22 states have signed the memorandum for the ICPS and Maharashtra is in the process of signing it