Foster care and Adoption

Children are a supremely important asset for any nation. Their nurturance and solicitude is our responsibility. Every child needs a family and a home. It is a well accepted fact that family takes care of the best interests of the child and is, therefore, considered of prime importance for their proper nurturance, growth and development. Hence every child as a matter of right should be placed in a family. Those children who are deprived of biological parents for whatever reasons should be either fostered or adopted instead of being placed in institutional care.

The importance of In-country adoption is evident. There is an urgent need to ensure that adoption is actively encouraged and propagated throughout the country and that well formulated procedures are followed for the purpose. The Central Adoption Resource Authority the nodal body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment which deals with adoption issues has worked out common guidelines for the procedures that need to be followed by adoption homes/institutions, etc. before filing adoption petitions in the court on behalf of the client wanting to adopt a child.

Foster care is another option that could be considered for placing children in a family. There is a need to have conceptual clarity regarding the difference between adoption and foster care. Also there is need to distinguish and decide on merit in each individual case whether adoption should be considered or foster care would be more appropriate. Dissemination of information regarding: who is eligible to adopt; agencies that deal with adoption and foster care; the processes and procedures that need to be followed in each case; etc. are all equally important.

With a view to disseminate this information the Department of Adult Continuing Education and Extension in collaboration with PARIMAARJAN – An NGO for Advocacy, Training and Research in Sustainable Development is organizing a One Day Seminar on “Foster care and Adoption: Issues and Procedures” on Monday 4^th December 2006 from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Department of Social Work, 3 University Road, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007.

Experts in the field of adoption and foster care shall deliberate and would empower the participants to disseminate knowledge in the communities that may help the needy children as well as those in need of children. Participation in the Seminar does not involve any registration fee, etc. TA/DA, however, shall be borne by the participants or their organization.

Professor Sneh Lata Tandon
Head, Department of Social Work
University of Delhi

Empowering Communities through Micro Credit

Over the years various poverty alleviation programmes have been initiated by the government as well as voluntary agencies in our country. Despite these efforts, not much has been achieved in the reduction of poverty. Micro-credit has, however, acquired greater dimension and recognition over the last two decades, as an effective instrument for meeting the credit needs of the poor for starting micro enterprises. Micro-credit has emerged as a financial strategy for alleviating poverty of the rural and the urban poor and is emerging as an effective movement in poverty alleviation at the global level as well. Micro-finance institutions, therefore, need to move forward and scale up operations so as to expand and cater to the needs of borrowers in areas like savings, insurance and remittances as well.

The institution of self-help groups (SHG) has provided strength to the micro-credit system. It is important to have clarity on: how these institutions are formed; how effectively do they function; what are the problems faced by them; and also the myth and realities of self-help groups and the micro-financing institutions? To deliberate and understand these issues the Department of Adult Continuing Education and Extension in collaboration with Parimaarjan. - An NGO for Advocacy, Research and Training in Sustainable Development, is organizing a one day Seminar on “Empowering Communities through Micro-Credit Approach” on Friday 24^th November 2006 from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Seminar Room of the Dept. of African Studies, Social Sciences Building (Opposite Daulat Ram College for Women), University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007.

Professor Sneh Lata Tandon
Head,
Department of Social Work
University of Delhi