A GR entitles parents to adoption leave only if child is up to one yr old

Even as adoption centres all over the country are trying to promote adoption of older children, a central government resolution (GR) is inadvertently working against the effort. The 1989 GR states that government employees will be entitled to adoption leave, which would be the same as maternity leave, if they adopt a child up to one year old.

“Setting of this age limit is detrimental to our efforts of placing older children,” said Madhuri Abhyankar, executive director of Society of Friends of Sassoon Hospital (SOFOSH) who has sent a letter to the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA), asking to drop the age tag, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing adoption week.

“The GR was passed in 1989 after we took up the case of a lady scientist working in National Chemical Laboratory who had adopted a child and needed leave from work. The resolution at that time was such a victory that the one-year tag that came with it was not reflected upon. But since then we have appealed a number of times for a change but to no avail,” said Abhyankar.

Recently when the government sent another circular extending the leave entitlement for adoption from 135 days to 180 but keeping the age provision intact, SOFOSH decided to pursue the matter again. “The point is that for the child being adopted the first day with the parents is like the first day of being born. In fact an older child needs even more time with the parents because he or she may have been the victim of some trauma. Also these children are not used to relationships and they need time to bond. So whether the child is one month old or five year old the leave entitlement should be there for the parents,” said Abhyankar.

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