Child Rights Promotion and Protection: The Department Of Social Welfare and Inter-Country Adoption in Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of services delivered by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in inter-country adoption procedures. Qualitative research methods were employed and data were collected through in-depth interviews and documentary analysis. Twenty three participants were drawn from officers of the Department of Social Welfare, Judicial Service, adoption facilitators, biological parents of adopted children, and personnel from Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service. The findings suggest a lack of understanding of adoption by many Ghanaian parents. These parents equate adoption to foster care where children return to their biological families at maturity age. The research points to four categories of adopters who adopt children inter-country from Ghana. The children adopted include biological children, children of relatives, house helps; children surrendered by their parents, and abandoned children. The reasons for adoption range from the desire of childless couples to parent a child to circumventing visa procedures in the case of relatives to enable the adopter travel across borders with a child or children. In addition, the research found that, poor Ghanaian families are lured by adoption facilitators into terminating parental rights and placing their children for inter-country adoption. The findings indicate that Department of Social Welfare is failing to uphold child rights and sometimes aiding adoption facilitators to circumvent procedures. The Children’s Act, Act 560 of 1998 and the Adoption Rules, Constitutional Instrument 42, of 2003 are not elaborate on inter-country adoption making the regulations weak for the practice. Institutional strengthening and amendment of adoption laws in order to promote child welfare in inter-country adoption is recommended. Lastly, it is further recommended that a separate law and regulation be enacted for the inter-country adoption of children in Ghana.