The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Authority for Child Care (NACC)—formerly known as the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB), have issued guidelines to ensure the continuous processing of child placement and adoption processing services while the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for Republic Act (RA) 11642 or the “Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act” is still underway.
The issuance of Memorandum Circular No. 03, S. 2022 or the Guidelines on the Implementation of Section 56 of RA 11642 will serve as the basis for the implementation of Section 56 of the new adoption and alternative child care law.
Section 56 of RA 11642 highlights that there will be a three-year transition process for the implementation of law.
During the pendency of the establishment of the NACC, functions relating to foster care, issuance of Certification Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (DCLAA), and adoption processes under RA 11222 or the Simulated Birth Rectification Act of 2019 will remain under the DSWD.
Among the vital procedures which will continue to be facilitated by the DSWD in coordination with the NACC are:
* Adoption cases withdrawn from the court;
* New petitions for Administrative Adoption;
* Child case management by DSWD Residential Care Facility (CRCF)/Child-Caring Agency (CCA) and Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO);
* New applications for adoptive parents in Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) and child placing agencies;
* Procedure for matching and issuance of Inter-Country Adoption Clearance;
* Procedure for foster care and simulated birth rectification;
* Procedure for Inter-Country Adoption;
* Procedure for disrupted pre-adoptive placement;
* Process of registration of the order of adoption;
* Petition for rescission of the adoption; and
* Travel clearance for cases under the NACC jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, for domestic administrative adoption cases and inter-country adoption processes, a transition team composed of the DSWD and the ICAB shall act as the NACC, with the ICAB Executive Director serving as chairperson and the DSWD-Program Management Bureau (PMB) Director will serve as the vice chairperson of the transition team.
The DSWD and NACC have committed to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the guidelines in order to uphold the best interest of children at all times.