Disabled kids to get priority in adoption (The Himalayan Times)

Disabled kids to get priority in adoption (The Himalayan Times)

2011-09-10

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The government is to give priority to ‘children with special needs’ –– those who have some kind of disability –– for inter-country adoption, said a committee established to monitor inter-country adoptions.

To pave way for the new provision, the government in January amended the Inter-Country Adoption Regulation.

Inter-country Adoption Management Committee Chairman Mahendra Shrestha said the provision will be implemented as the panel prepares a new list of kids, who are to be made available for inter-country adoption.

“After collecting data on children eligible for the adoption, we will invite applications by next month,” said Shrestha. “Although some countries have banned adoption of Nepali children, citizens of some European countries have shown interest in adopting children with disability,” he added.

A dozen European countries such as Noway, the UK and Italy soon followed suit and barred their citizens from adopting Nepali children.

Shrestha said the government was planning to introduce programmes to encourage domestic adoption as well. “To encourage domestic adoption, we are planning to build regional centres for destitute children by using the revenue received through inter-country adoption,” he informed.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Disabled+kids+to+get+priority+in+adoption&NewsID=302399

Nepal has adopted a remarkably broad definition of special needs (see below). Adoption reformers fear this is an attempt by corrupt insiders to game the adoption process. Almost any child will qualify as "special needs" under the new rules:

Government of Nepal

Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare

Kathmnadu,

Date of Decision : 5 January 2011

In accrodance with the Article 15A. of Terms and Conditions and Process for Granting Approval for Adoption of Nepali child by an Alien (First Ammendment), 2067 (2010), the Ministry has defined and classified the special needs children as mentioned below :

Definition: Children who need more care, concern and love from the parents due to the abnormal medical, physical, emotional, and developmental condition and sometime due to their special circumstances Older age children living under special conditions

Classification:

Category-1

Older children over 6 years/sibling group

Category-2

Low Birth weight

Category-3

Children with following Conditions:

Acute Ricketts
Blind
Blood disorders
Brain Lesion
Burns
Chronic Asthma
Chronic Eczema
Cleft Lip-Cleft Palate/Cleft Lip
Colostomy
Deaf
Diabetes
Dwarfism
Ectodermal displacia (no sweat glands)
Epilepsy (does not include fever induced
convulsions)
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fingers-toes missing
Hare lip
Heart conditions of a severe nature
Hemophilia
Hepatitis B+
Ichthyosis (Collodian baby)
Indeterminate sex
Limbs Missing
Microcephaly
Neurological disorders
Paralysis
Partially Blind
Partially Deaf
Pier Robin Syndrome (no tongue)
Polio
Severe disfiguring birth marks
Severe Orthopedic conditions
Severe Seizure disorders
Speech dysfunction-dysphasia
Spina Bifida
Thalasemia Major

Category-4

Prior traumatic background, disruption, long institutional care, difficult circumstances, psychiatric and mentally challenged parentage.

Note: Older Child means the child above 6 years of age upto 16 years of age.

http://www.mowcsw.gov.np/uploads/Child%20adoption%20details/Nepal%20criteria%20special%20need_final.pdf

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