Dear ASPs,

The Office of Children’s would like to inform ASPs that an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. Once it is signed into law, this amendment will allow district magistrates to issue adoption orders in India. It is not yet clear how this will impact families who have begun the process in the courts, rather than with district magistrates. The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has requested additional information from CARA about this amendment and its impact on pending adoptions. In the meantime, we wish to alert Adoption Service Providers and adoptive families to expect possible delays in receiving a response from CARA related to adoption cases. We also kindly request that families and ASPs inform us if local courts or magistrates appear unwilling to process their cases due to the amendment.