The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, organized its Fifth Regional Consultative Workshop for the Eastern Zone in Ranchi, Jharkhand, on October 27, 2026. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Government of Jharkhand and the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), Jharkhand, as part of CARA's Adoption Awareness Campaign 2025 with the theme "Promoting Non-Institutionalised Rehabilitation of Children with Special Needs (Divyaang Children)".
The event brought together approximately 175 stakeholders representing 115 districts across Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal, though the Eastern Zone also includes Sikkim. The workshop focused on strengthening family-based care and expanding adoption opportunities for children with special needs, with particular emphasis on addressing field-level challenges and developing practical strategies for rehabilitation.
Key attendees included Smt. Bhavna Saxena (CEO, CARA), Shri Uma Shankar Singh (Secretary, DWCD&SS), Smt. Keerthishree G (State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities), Smt. Kiran Pasi (Director, Social Welfare, Jharkhand), and Shri Bijay Kumar Sinha (Director and Member Secretary, JSCPS). Participants represented various organizations including State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARAs), Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs), Child Care Institutions (CCIs), District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), healthcare institutions, and child protection organizations.
Deliberations centered on key challenges including medical assessments, legal and procedural requirements, financial considerations, grievance redressal, and inter-departmental coordination. The workshop emphasized strengthening linkages between healthcare institutions and child protection systems to facilitate timely medical evaluations and smoother adoption processes. Group discussions allowed stakeholders to examine region-specific challenges and formulate practical, actionable recommendations with time-bound implementation plans.
During the workshop, a short documentary film was unveiled portraying a successful adoption story involving children with special needs, highlighting the transformative impact of family-based care. This was the fifth in CARA's series of Regional Consultative Workshops, following previous consultations in Rajasthan (Northern Zone), Assam (North-Eastern Zone), Madhya Pradesh (Central Zone), and Maharashtra (Western Zone). The recommendations from the Eastern Zone consultation are expected to inform future interventions aimed at improving adoption facilitation and strengthening convergence between healthcare and child protection systems nationwide.