TIME TO RETHINK FOSTER CARE IN INDIA

Foster Care, as a family-based alternative to institutional child care, has great potential to foster the purposes of inclusive development in India. Insofar as it provides protection, participation, and a favorable environment for children deprived of their parents support, foster care is consistent with the larger vision of equity and social justice enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Yet, despite policy support in the form of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Model Guidelines on Foster Care, 2016, and the Mission Vatsalya scheme, significant gaps persist in the slow and uncertain development, partial implementation, and limited integration of foster care into Indias child protection systems. This paper analyses key policy gaps that have inhibited the development and accessibility of foster care in India, while considering how both democratic institutions (the legislature, judiciary, executive, and civil society) have responded to the foster care needs. The study relies on secondary sources to frame its argument that India needs an inclusive, rights-based child welfare strategy through a national Policy on Foster Care to deal with the crisis of children in agony. The paper is hoped to contribute to policy formulation to improve institutional responses, accountability, and local engagement with the foster care system, which would help position foster care as more than a protective measure, but also as an empowering strategy for inclusive development. The study is a call to democratically organized efforts to make sure that every child, irrespective of background, gets a chance to grow and prosper and be grounded in a family-like structure. Keywords: Foster Care, National Policy, Policy gaps, Rights-based welfare, deinstitutionalization