…does not discriminate based on sexual orientation
Persons desirous of adopting a child are now required to submit a sworn affidavit of income to the Adoption Board, according to the board’s newly appointed Chairman, Attorney-at-Law James Bond.
“We now require persons to have a sworn affidavit of income. Also, in terms of persons whom the adopter (has) listed as their support, they would also be required to submit an affidavit to say that they consent to be the support person for the adopter,” he said.
Newly-appointed Adoption Board Chairman, Attorney-at-Law James Bond
However, persons submitting false information would immediately be disqualified from adopting a child.
In an exclusive interview with this publication, Bond said those changes were brought into effect following the board’s meeting on Wednesday last, and are part of the regularisation and streamlining of the adopting process.
The Adoption Board falls under the purview of the Ministry of Social Protection, and currently comprises six persons. The board meets on the last Wednesday of every month and processes approximately nine applications at every sitting, according to Bond.
He also informed that persons from overseas, and even locally, who are adopting are not allowed to remove the child from the orphanage or care centres to enable a ‘bonding’. “Bonding must be in a controlled environment. This (measure) is for the safety of the child, (and came about) because we found that an adopter had come and was staying at a hotel with her son (the child who was up for adoption) for a number of days, and we frowned upon that. We said bonding must be in a controlled and safe environment, where the security of that child must not be breached,” he said.
The adoption process begins with an application to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CH&PA), wherein the adopter expresses the desire to adopt a child. Following that application, the adopter is expected, through legal representation, to obtain the first order from the court, and this order puts the child in the care of the Adoption Board.
“Once we would have obtained the first order, we have the legal processes, where you have to dispense with consent – that means the mom and the dad of the child must consent to the adoption; except if we can prove that they can’t be found or that they have neglected or abandoned the child. Those are cases the court can dispense without consent,” Bond informed.
After the dispensation order is consented to, the adopter is then subjected to rigorous investigation, not limited to their finances, medical history and living arrangements. Following the investigative process, the application is either given the green light, deferred, or rejected by the board; and once the green light is given, a sitting judge would okay the process.
At the end of the adoption process, the adoptee is, in the eyes of the law, given all the rights of a biological child.
Anyone is eligible to adopt, providing they are 21 years older than the adoptee. However, relatives of the adoptee who have attained the age of 18 years are also eligible to adopt. “A male would not be allowed to adopt a female, except in exceptional circumstances which the board must satisfy itself of,” Bond informed.
“Single parents adopting multiple children, we tend to be cautious with that; because we look at the issue of dividing attention and resources among the children. So we are guided by the basic universal principle of the welfare of the child,” he explained.
Asked about same sex couples adopting, Bond said the laws of Guyana do not recognise unions among same sex couples, and the board is guided by that. He added that the board would look at the application as a two-part application without considering the sexual orientation, race or union involved.
“The Adoption Act does not speak specifically to whether same sex couples can adopt or not. We haven’t crossed the border as yet; we have not encountered a case like that. Probably that is uncharted territory, but I can tell you this: in terms of the adoption process, we do not discriminate in terms of sex and sexual orientation,” Bond clarified.
Bond has been acting as Chairman for the Adoption Board since 2015, following the departure of former Chair person Clarissa Riehl, who is now Guyana’s Ambassador to Canada. He has recently been confirmed to the post.
The other members of the board are Geoffrey Sankies, Kashir Khan, Clonel Samuels-Boston, Punilall Latchman, Patricia Gray, and a representative of the parliamentary opposition.
