Central authority seeks eligibility check report on Sherin Mathews

PUNE: In a development related to the Sherin Mathews case, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has sought details in connection with the “checks of eligibility of parent” from the US-based authorized foreign adoption agency (AFAA).
The AFAA’s detailed report is awaited, said senior CARA officials. The authority has sought the report after the US police confirmed the death of Sherin Mathews on Tuesday.The three-year-old had been adopted by Indian-American foster parents Wesley and Sini Mathews.
Secretary and CEO of CARA Lt Col Deepak Kumar told TOI that CARA had conducted a complete check towards sourcing the child from India and, according to post-adoption follow-up checks, they had received four reports from the agency that had assisted the inter-country adoption.
While the parent country investigates the source of the child, AFAA is supposed to check the parents’ eligibility. “As is the rule, four reports had been received from the time of adoption. The child was adopted on August 7, 2016, and we received the first report on September 12, 2016. The second report was received three months later, followed by reports in March and June. This completes the post-follow-up report in the first year. We should have received the report in the next six months,” Kumar stated as he explained CARAs role on the post-adoption process.
On Tuesday, the US police declared that the missing toddler was dead. The Richardson Police had earlier announced that they had discovered the remains of a child in a tunnel beneath a road. Sherin Mathews’ body was found about a kilometre from her adoptive parents’ home.
Kumar stated that this was a rare case. “CARA has undertaken over 500 inter-country adoptions in the last two years and there has never been a single case where the post adoptive report was found unsatisfactory,” he said.
According to CARA, there were 566 cases of inter-country adoptions in 2015-16 and 578 cases of similar adoptions in 2016-17. “We have nearly 27 agencies in the United States of America. A central authority monitors all the agencies and we will await the central agency’s report,” said Kumar.
As per rules, the AFAA, the central authority of Indian diplomatic mission or concerned government department, as the case may be, shall report the progress of the adopted child for two years from his/her date of arrival in the receiving country.
The CARA official told TOI that the AFAA is supposed to conduct the post-adoption follow-up, which include home visits, studying whether the child has adjusted to the new environment, and if the child is happy with the adoptive parents.