No direct adoptions of children orphaned due to COVID-19, says Min Shashikala Jolle

Bengaluru: State’s Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle has said that children orphaned after losing both their parents to COVID-19 cannot be directly adopted either by relatives or non-relatives.

Speaking at a news conference here she said that if any relative wishes to adopt such an orphaned child then they must submit a consent letter.

“All such orphaned children should be handed over to the department and then processed for adoption. If any direct adoption occurs outside the rules, then such adoption will be deemed illegal and action will be taken according to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Adoption Regulations, 2017,” she added.

“Even the religious mathas in the State are not allowed to adopt children directly and should contact the government and adopt according to the law,” she said.

“Presently, there are 993 organisations related to child protection registered with the department. There are 33 child adoption centres across the State. For adoption, one can call the number 1098. Already 23,613 calls have been received on this number,” Jolle said.