The number of qualified families on the waiting list to adopt children in Iran is nine times greater than the number of children at State Welfare Organization centers, said social deputy at the SWO, Habibollah Masoudi Farid.
“We are not authorized to release custody of about 85% of the children at our centers because they have parents, but they are negligent or abusive,” he told IRNA on Tuesday.
According to him, the process of taking a child’s custody from legal guardians and handing over to the SWO is lengthy and difficult, and needs to follow legal procedures at a state court. Around 14,000 children have been adopted by families in the past two years, while over 22,000 children are living in 600 welfare centers across the country.
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