Changes have been made to the process of matching prospective parents with children without parental care and arranging meetings between them.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the changes are set out in a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev amending the rules for adopting children without parental care, including the adoption of Azerbaijani children by foreign citizens and stateless persons.
Under the decree, meetings between a prospective parent and a child without parental care will be arranged at the institution where the child is staying, for at least 20 hours over a one-month period. The meetings are intended to help them get acquainted and build family ties.
For children without parental care aged 0 to 3, the Ministry may shorten this period to as little as 10 days and up to six hours, based on a social worker’s report.
During the period stipulated in clause 7.4 of the rules, a social worker will observe the prospective parent for at least 10 hours. In cases covered by clause 7.5, the social worker will observe the prospective parent throughout the entire period. No later than three working days after it ends, the social worker will prepare an assessment of the meetings between the prospective parent and the child at the institution and enter it into the subsystem.
Previously, meetings between prospective parents and children without parental care were arranged at the institution where the child was staying for two months, for at least 40 hours per month, to help them get acquainted and build family ties.
For children without parental care aged 0 to 1, the Ministry could shorten that period to as little as 20 days and up to 12 hours, based on a social worker’s report.
Under clauses 7.4 and 7.5, a social worker previously observed the prospective parent for at least eight hours each month and, no later than three working days after the period ended, prepared an assessment of the meetings between the prospective parent and the child at the institution and entered it into the subsystem.
