Documentation framework

A clear documentation framework for children's care and protection.

We help government bodies and NGOs caring for children agree how each child's records are created, kept and passed on, so every child has a complete record that moves with them. We bring the strategy and focus; the people caring for children own the records, with the child's wellbeing in view at every step.

Grounded in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) and the CARA guidelines for adoption.

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The path

The path looks different for every child. The goal stays the same.

  1. 1Know the child
  2. 2Understand their story
  3. 3Establish their identity
  4. 4Understand and resolve their circumstances
  5. 5Prepare the child and the adults around them
  6. 6Identify the right family-based pathway
  7. 7Support the transition
  8. 8A place to belong

The child's story determines the path. Depending on what is safe, appropriate, and legally possible, that may lead to:

  • Return to birth family
  • Kinship care
  • Foster care
  • Adoption
  • Another legally appropriate permanent arrangement

What guides each of those steps?

Next: Principles

Principles

What guides how we work for each child.

Child-centered

We begin with the individual child, not a predetermined outcome.

Family-centered

Children thrive through safe, stable, meaningful family relationships.

Story-centered

A child's history should not disappear because it is complicated.

Permanency-focused

Temporary care should never become permanent by default.

Trauma-informed

We understand the impact of separation, loss, and institutional life.

Collaborative

We strengthen the people and systems already working for children.

Legally grounded

Every outcome follows the law, child protection, and the child's best interests.

Locally rooted

We work in person with the people who care for Nashik's children, building relationships that last.

So what exactly gets recorded?

Next: Four phases

Four phases

What is recorded, and when.

  1. 01

    On admission

    The first record sets the foundation for every decision that follows.

    • Date and circumstances of admission
    • Who brought the child
    • Police station, district and taluka
    • Health at admission
    • Family and social background
  2. 02

    Clearing the way

    Legal and medical reports that help each child be placed appropriately within the adoption process.

    • Media declaration
    • Legally free for adoption declaration
    • Medical examination report
    • Child study report
  3. 03

    Matching and placement

    Each step from referral to a family is recorded with its date and order.

    • Committee meeting with prospective adoptive parents
    • Pre-adoption foster care
    • Court adoption order
    • Birth certificate
  4. 04

    After placement

    The record stays complete long after the child goes home.

    • Post-adoption follow-up for two years
    • Records preserved for authorized root search

Official documents: How a child is declared legally free for adoption (CARA) Medical Examination Report circular (CARA) All resources →

Runs alongside every phase

An ongoing care record, kept until the final outcome.

The phases above are milestones. Alongside them, the people caring for a child keep adding to the child's record every step of the way: case notes, follow-ups, and how the child is doing in each area of their life. It is a living record, not a one-time form, so anyone picking up the case can see the whole child and what needs to happen next.

  • Case notes
  • Follow-up notes
  • Behaviour
  • Habits and routines
  • Education
  • Health and needs
  • Family updates
  • Social life and friendships
  • Search for parents and family

Records are the start. The child is the point.

Wellbeing, checked not assumed

Health, schooling, emotional wellbeing and relationships are looked at regularly with the people caring for each child, so needs are noticed early.

Every case keeps moving

Cases are reviewed regularly, and every next step has a person responsible and a date, so no child waits because a file went quiet.

Care that helps children heal

We support caregivers with trauma-informed practice, so day-to-day care is safe, warm and consistent, and each child's voice is heard.

How each outcome is documented.

Adoption

From legal clearance to a court order and a new birth certificate, followed by two years of post-adoption follow-up.

Restoration

Return to a parent, relative or guardian, documented with the restoration order and who the child was restored to.

Transfer

A move to another institution or district, documented with the transfer order and destination, so the record travels with the child.

Critical case events, such as a child going missing, are documented with the police intimation, FIR and legal papers they require.

How we work with an institution

  1. Map current practiceWe sit with staff and review how records are really created, kept and shared, not only what policy says.
  2. Agree the frameworkGaps are shared openly and framed around children, not blame, and every partner agrees the way forward.
  3. Define the handoversEach step is made clear: who is responsible, which documents are needed, and which move with the child.
  4. Hand over the capacityStaff are trained to keep it going, so the practice stays with the district after we step back.

Unsure about a term?

Next: Glossary

Words we use

A short glossary.

JJ Act Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
India's main law for children who need care and protection, covering children's homes, child welfare committees, foster care and adoption. It was amended in 2021. We work within it, alongside the CARA guidelines for adoption.
CARA Central Adoption Resource Authority
The Government of India body, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, that regulates adoption in India. Its Adoption Regulations are commonly called the CARA guidelines.
CCI Child Care Institution
A children's home or shelter registered under the JJ Act, 2015 to care for children who need care and protection.
CWC Child Welfare Committee
The district body that decides on the care, protection and rehabilitation of children in need of care. Decisions about a child rest with it.
SAA Specialised Adoption Agency
An institution recognised to care for children who are orphaned, abandoned or surrendered, and to place them for adoption.
NGO Non-governmental organisation
A not-for-profit organisation that works independently of government.
Section 8 company
A not-for-profit company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. Its income can only be used for its charitable aims.
NGO Darpan
NITI Aayog's online register of NGOs. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) is the Government of India's policy think tank.
CIN Corporate Identity Number
The unique number the Registrar of Companies gives every registered company in India.
FIR First Information Report
The written report police register when a serious matter is reported to them, such as a missing child.
PAP Prospective adoptive parent(s)
A person or couple who has registered with CARA to adopt a child. Registration is done online on CARINGS, CARA's official system.
Kinship care
Care of a child by grandparents, other relatives or close family friends.
Foster care
A family looks after a child in their own home for a time, while longer-term plans are made.
Pre-adoption foster care
A child lives with their prospective adoptive parents while the court adoption order is awaited.
Legally free for adoption
A declaration by the Child Welfare Committee that a child can be placed for adoption.
Media declaration
Publishing an abandoned child's details, such as in newspapers, so their family can come forward before the child is declared free for adoption.
Child study report
A report on a child's background, health and needs, prepared by the adoption agency to help find the right family.
Root search
The process by which an adopted person can seek information about their origins and birth family, under CARA's Adoption Regulations.
Restoration
Returning a child to their parents or guardian, made official by a restoration order.
Taluka
A sub-division of a district in Maharashtra and other states, made up of a town and its nearby villages.
Parivaar (परिवार)
Hindi and Marathi for family.
Kahani (कहानी)
Hindi for story.

Want this in your institution?

Next: Talk to us

Want to bring this framework to your institution?

We start by listening: how records and case follow-up work for you today. Then we agree a way forward together.

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