Republic Act 10165: What is Foster Care?

Foster Care refers to the provision of planned temporary substitute parental care by a foster parent or foster family to a child whose biological parents are temporarily or permanently unable to care for him or her due to family dysfunction, or medical and economic reasons.

Foster Parent refers to a person, duly licensed by the NACC to provide foster care, during which supervision is provided by a social worker to facilitate the child's adjustment and assist in performing foster parenting responsibilities.

TYPES OF FOSTER CARE CARE

• Regular Care/Placement - refers to the mode of foster care placement where a child shall only be placed with a licensed foster parent and only after the issuance of a Foster Placement Authority (FPA).
• Kinship or Relative Foster Care - refers to an out-of-home arrangement for full-time care by relatives of the child, when a child is an orphan or removed from home due to safety concern such as abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment. If eligible, child's identified relative is licensed by NACC as foster parent.

DURATION OF FOSTER CARE CARE

• Short-Term Foster Care Placement - refers to the duration of placement wherein a child is under the care of their foster parent for a period of one year and below.
• Long-Term Foster Placement - refers to the permanency plan where a foster child has been under the care of their foster parent for at least seven years.

WHO ARE CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR FOSTER CARE?

• Children from infancy to below 18 years of age who are under any of the following circumstances:
• Under the custody of DSWD or any child placement agency and are not yet legally free for adoption, but need individual attention in a family setting.

WHO ARE CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR FOSTER CARE?

• abandoned by parents in hospitals or other places or with relatives who are not qualified or incapable to care for them
• awaiting adoptive placement
• needs special care and protection due to sexual or physical abuse
• with developmental or physical disabilities

WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A FOSTER PARENT?

• Should not be over 60 years old but not under 25 years old (16 years older than the child unless a relative);
• Legally married, widowed, solo parent or single;
• Has good moral character, emotional security and financially able to provide the family’s needs;
• Have a genuine interest in parenting a non-related child and;
• Should be willing to help the child reunite with his/her birth family or move into an adoptive family when the time comes;
• Should be mentally and physically fit and free from contagious and infectious disease;
• Willing to be trained to further hone knowledge, attitudes and skills in caring for children with special needs.

RA No. 10165 - The Foster Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11222: The Simulated Birth Rectification Act

Simulation of Birth Record refers to the tampering of the civil registry record to make it appear in the record of birth that a child was born to a person who is not such child's biological mother, causing the loss of the true identity and status of such child.

The RA 11222 was signed into law by then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on February 21, 2019. It was published in the Official Gazette on March 14, 2019 and took effect on March 29, 2019.

The main purpose of the law is to fix the status and filiation of a child whose birth record was simulated prior to the effectivity of the law and who has been with the known parents for at least three years before the effectivity of the Act.

The law exempt from criminal, civil and administrative liability those who simulated a child's birth record prior to the effectivity of the Act, provided a petition for Administrative Adoption with application for Rectification is filed.

The law aims to encourage those who, in the best interest of a child, resorted to simulation of birth, to come without threat of prosecution and to provide a process by which they may not only rectify the simulated birth record but also legally adopt the child through a simplified administrative adoption process. There will only be a ten-year period from the effectivity of this act to rectify simulated birth records occurring prior to the enactment of the law. (2019 - 2029)

Coverage:

a. Administrative adoption of a non-relative child;

b. Administrative adoption of a relative child (within the 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity waived the CDCLAA requirement);

c. Administrative adoption of an adult, who has been consistently considered and treated as daughter or son since birth or minority.

Exclusions:

1. Rectification or correction of entries;

2. Administrative adoption by the relatives of the deceased person(s) who simulated the birth of a child or an adult adoptee;

3. Administrative adoption by person(s) other than the parent(s) named in the simulated birth certificate;

4. Administrative adoption of a child by the purported father only, when the mother named in the birth certificate is the biological mother of such child;

5. Administrative adoption of a child or person who has a registered original Certificate of Live Birth or Certificate of Foundling.

The Petition together with complete supporting documents shall be filed by the petitioners with the Local Social Welfare and Development Office of the city or municipality where the child currently resides, regardless of the place where the simulated birth record was registered.

RA No. 11222 - The Simulated Birth Rectification Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11642: Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO)

Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) refers to the Regional Offices of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) created from the Adoption Resource and Referral Section (ARRS) of the DSWD Field Offices. They are tasked to ensure a well-functioning system of receipt of local applications to adopt or to foster, local petitions for CDCLAA and adoption, and other requests regarding alternative placement and well-being of children. There are 16 RACC Offices all over the Philippines. For any adoption and alternative child care concerns, kindly refer to the details below.

How to Adopt in the Philippines: The New Law on Adoption

A lot of you might ask what is the first step of the adoption process. The Domestic Administrative Adoption process starts with the Attendance to Forum by the adopters also known as the adoptive applicants/parents. Each Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) in the Philippines schedules Pre-Adoption Forum where social workers provide orientation on adoption. Once the adoptive applicants have decided that they are willing to adopt, they have to submit a complete set of requirements to the RACCO. 

Upon receipt of the documentary requirements, the RACCO social worker will then schedule a home visit to assess the application. The social worker may conduct the home visit more than once depending on the circumstance and will also conduct collateral interviews. Right after the thorough visits and validation, the social worker is now ready to prepare the comprehensive Home Study Report. 

The adoptive applicants together with their adoption social worker will then appear before the Regional Child Placement Committee (RCPC) for approval. The RCPC is the matching committee organized by the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), through the RACCO, that is tasked to deliberate applications for adoptive parents and conducts regional matching of children legally available for adoption. The approved adoptive applicants will then be included in the National Roster of Approved Applicants.

The approved applicants will then be presented during the Regional Matching Conference. This is where cases of children legally available for adoption will be presented along with the approved adoptive applicants. The RCPC will match the children to adoptive applicants who could best provide for their needs. Adopters may choose the gender and age of the child that they prefer to adopt. A Certificate of Matching will be issued once a child is matched to adoptive applicants. The social worker will then inform the adoptive applicants of the result of the matching conference. The adoptive applicants has to respond in writing within two working days, whether they will agree with the proposed placement or not. The adoptive applicants may decline placement of a child to them provided that their reasons are valid, subject to the assessment of the social worker. 

Adoptive applicants who will accept the proposed placement will be issued with a Pre-Adoption Placement Authority (PAPA). The social worker will then schedule the adoptive applicants for a visit to the Child Caring Agency where the child is temporarily sheltered. The adoptive applicants may visit once or twice to be familiar with the child and establish a bond. The child has to be placed to his or her adoptive parents within ten days after issuance of the PAPA.

A supervised trial custody for a period of six months, which may be reduced or lengthened, shall be conducted by the adoption social worker. This is the period during which the social worker oversees the adjustment and emotional readiness of both adopters and adoptees in stabilizing their filial relationship. After a thorough assessment of satisfactory adjustment where bonding and rapport have taken place between the child and the adoptive applicants, a final supervisory report, an updated social case study report and recommendation for filing of the domestic administrative adoption shall be prepared by the adoption social worker. 

After which, a petition for Adoption shall be prepared and signed by the petitioners or the adoptive parents. The notarized petition together with complete and original supporting documents shall be filed by the petitioners with the RACCO of the city or municipality where the adoptive parents reside.

To further ascertain the fitness, good intentions and sincerity of the adoptive parents, the RACCO shall require them to personally appear before it at least twice during the application period and on specific dates determined by the RACCO. Likewise, a copy of the petition shall be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. 

In all proceedings for adoption, the NACC shall decide on the basis of all the documents presented to it, as well as the evidence gathered during the personal interviews conducted by the RACCO with the adoption social worker, adoptive parents and the adoptee.

If the NACC is convinced that based on the petition and its supporting documents the adoption shall redound to the best interest of the child or prospective adoptee, the NACC through the Executive Director, shall issue an Order of Adoption. 

A Certificate of Finality shall be issued by the Executive Director after the lapse of ten calendar days from the receipt of the Order of Adoption by the concerned parties (adoptive parents, RACCO, LCR and PSA) and no motion for reconsideration or appeal was made. 

The adopter or adoptive parents shall submit the certified true copy of the Order of Adoption and a Certificate of Finality to the Local Civil Registrar where the child was originally registered thirty calendar days from the receipt of the Certificate of Finality.

An amended Certificate of Live Birth shall be issued to the child and shall not bear the annotation or any remark that will disclose the facts of the adoption. 

For more information, you may visit https://www.nacc.gov.ph/.

#EveryChildDeservesLove #EveryChildMatters

***RACCO - Regional Alternative Child Care Office : Regional Offices of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC)

***Adopters: Adoptive Applicants/Parents

***Child: Adoptee

RA No. 11642 - The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11642: Who May Be Adopted?

a)     Any child who has been issued a CDCLAA;

b)     The marital child of one spouse by the other spouse;
c)     A non-marital child by a qualified adopter to improve status to legitimacy;

d)     A Filipino of legal age, if prior to the adoption, said person has been consistently considered and treated by the adopters as their own child prior to reaching the age of majority for a period of at least three (3) years prior to the filing of the petition;

e)     A foster child who has been declared as legally available for adoption;

f)      A child whose adoption has been previously rescinded;

g)     A child whose biological or adoptive parents have died provided that no proceedings shall be filed within six (6) months from the time of death of said parent/s;

h)     A relative of the adopter under the relevant conditions.

***Certification Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA): written administrative order issued by the NACC declaring a child legally free for adoption

RA No. 11642 - The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11642: Who May Adopt?

Under the Philippine Law on Adoption (RA11642), the following may adopt:

• Any Filipino citizen at least twenty-five (25) years of age, who is in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights; has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude; is of good moral character and can model the same; is at least sixteen (16) years older than the adoptee; and who is in a position to support and care for adopted children in keeping with the means of the family.

Provided, that, the requirement of 16-year difference between the age of the adopter and adoptee may be waived when the adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee or is the spouse of the adoptee’s parent.

• The legal guardian with respect to the ward after the termination of the guardianship and clearance of financial accountabilities;
• The foster parent with respect to the foster child;
• Philippine government officials and employees deployed or stationed abroad provided that they are able to bring the child with them;
• Foreign nationals who are permanent or habitual residents of the Philippines for at least five (5) years possessing the same qualifications as above stated for Filipino nationals prior to the filing of the petitions provided that they come from a country with diplomatic relations with the Republic of the Philippines and that the laws of the adopter’s country will acknowledge the Order of Adoption as valid, acknowledge the child as a legal child of the adopters, and allow entry of the child in such country as an adoptee.

Requirements of residency may be waived for the following:

i.   A former Filipino citizen, habitually residing in the Philippines, who seeks to adopt a relative within the fourth (4th) civil degree of consanguinity or affinity; 

 

ii.  One who seeks to adopt the marital child of the Filipino spouse; 

 

iii. One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with the spouse a relative within the fourth (4th) degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse.

Spouses shall jointly adopt, except in the following cases:

a)   If one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other;

b)  If one spouse seeks to adopt own illegitimate child provided that the other spouse has signified consent thereto;

c)   If the spouses are legally separated from each other.

 RA No. 11642 - The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11642: Salient Points

1. Transfer of Adoption proceedings from judicial to administrative and reorganize the ICAB to NACC to implement the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care programs.

2. Adoption Telling is expressly stipulated in the law. This is premised on the idea that the earlier adoption telling is done, the better its impact on the child.

3. It is mandatory for social workers to conduct adoption-themed activities to adopted children. Adoption telling is mandatory before the adoptee reaches the age of 13 years old, to be disclosed by the parents (adoptive parents).

4. Inclusion of social media as means in locating the birthparents.

5. Process of Matching is expressly stipulated in the bill.

6. Database on Adoption will be maintained by the NACC to have a general statistics of domestic adoption in the country.

7. The legal relationship created by adoption is extended to the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) relatives (**This includes the PAPs’ parents, legitimate siblings and descendants)

8. Foreign Nationals who are permanent or habitual residents of the Philippines for at least five (5) years may adopt.

9. Requirement for Foundling children to be registered/issued with a Birth Certificate of Persons with Unknown Parents prior to issuance of Certification Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA).

10. For cases of Independent Placement (IP), the law covers only those independently placed children before the effectivity of the Act.

11. Mandatory appearance of PAPs before the RACCO during the application period and on a specific date to be required by the office.

12. Designation of the 2nd week of June as Adoption and Alternative Child Care Week

***RACCO - Regional Alternative Child Care Office : Regional Offices of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC)

***Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) : Adopters

***Independent Placement: Entrustment of a child by the birth parents to a relative or person without undergoing the process of legal adoption.

RA No. 11642 - The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations

Republic Act 11642: The New Law on Adoption

The Republic Act 11642 also known as the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act was signed into law on January 6, 2022. It took effect on January 28, 2022. A Ceremonial Signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations was held on June 28, 2022 at Diamond Hotel, Manila.

The best interest of the child is the paramount consideration in the enactment of alternative child care, custody, and adoption policies.

The law states that no child shall be subject to administrative adoption unless the status of the child has been declared legally available for adoption except in cases of relative, adult adoption or step-parent adoption where such declaration is not required.

Independent placement cases or the entrustment of a child by the birth parents to a relative or another person without seeking intervention from the government, non-government organization or any social worker, will be covered by the provisions of the Act if the child is already in the custody of the custodian before the effectivity of the RA 11642.

The Act shall provide for and allow simpler and inexpensive domestic administrative adoption proceedings and shall streamline services for alternative child care.

Hence, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) was created. They shall exercise all powers and functions relating to alternative child care including, declaring a child legally available for adoption for both domestic administrative adoption and intercountry adoption, foster care, kinship care, family-like care or residential care. 

RA No. 11642 - The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act Implementing Rules and Regulations