The Bhutanese Leading the way.
According to the National Commission for Women and Child (NCWC), the number of applicants aspiring to adopt children and to provide Kinship and Foster care to children has been on the increase in recent years.
In 2020, 15 children were adopted, followed by 17 in 2021, 31 in 2022 and this year so far, 16 children have been adopted by the Bhutanese parents.
A total of 179 domestic adoptions were processed from 2007 to 2023, out of which 104 are female and 75 are male and a total of 18 children were adopted outside the country (2007-2023).
On a daily basis, the agency receives calls from those who wish to adopt a child and seek advice or avail of the services through mobile apps and calls. Last year approximately 144 individuals contacted NCWC for adoptions.
The official from NCWC shared that the biggest concern is the child born out of wedlock. There are cases of unplanned pregnancies. and young couples are not ready to become parents. In such cases, the infant is usually terminated. Therefore, the services of adoption and alternative care can address issues of child abandonment and unsafe abortion. Also, now people are aware of the adoption process compared to the past.
Currently, most children from divorced parents, orphans and children born out of wedlock are common adoptions in the country.
The NCWC has processed 17 children in kinship care and 25 in foster care from 2014 till date.
The official said, as per the Child Adoption Act (CAA) 2012, the NCWC facilitates both domestic and inter-country adoption.
Domestic adoption means a Bhutanese child adopted by another Bhutanese. Domestic adoptions are approved based on the criteria that the applicant is of good moral character, financially secure; has no criminal records, capable of support and care for the child and is at least thirty years of age and has an age difference of at least fifteen years between the adopting parent and the child.
Similarly, Inter-Country adoption means the adoption of a child between a Bhutanese and a foreign national. However, the adoption rules and regulations of Bhutan 2015 restrict inter-country adoption only to those countries where there is a Bhutanese Embassy or Permanent Mission located.
The eligible countries for inter-country adoptions are Thailand, Brussels, Belgium, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Kuwait, India; and, the USA.
The main objective of restricting inter-country adoptions is to have close monitoring of children who are adopted from Bhutan.
In the past, the monitoring of cases has been a major problem for the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) since there is a long list of Bhutanese who want adoption. Inter-country adoption may be considered as an alternative means for a child for whom suitable adoption parents cannot be found in the country.
When a Bhutanese adopts a child, the NCWC does a home assessment once every two years until the child attains the age of 15.
“While we assess, we look at aspects such as home environment, the health of the Child, education, their relationship and the living condition is also looked into. The assessment is done under strict monitoring by visiting the homes. We validate in the respective schools because a few pretend to act well at home. However, there are no recorded cases so far,” said the official.
The Child Care and Protection Act provides for separation of a child from their parents, if it is in the best interest of the child and if the Competent Authority deems it necessary. Further, for children whose adoption cannot be processed, the NCWC places these children under alternative care services such as kinship care or foster care.
The official highlighted the challenges of pending and delaying the process whereby some of the applicants withdraw their applications.
He said that the procedures demand a lengthy process taking into consideration the overall development and well-being of the child to be placed under such care.
Delay in the process is because the applicants failing to submit the required documents further prolonging the process. The biological parents not cooperating to attend the pre-counselling session and adoption services is an issue as the service is provided only from Thimphu creating difficulty for applicants to appear for pre-counselling sessions.
Meanwhile, adoption policy, review, drafting, roles and responsibility will be taken care of by the NCWC Secretariat and adoption service and alternative care services will soon be taken care of by The Pema Secretariat.
