At the session of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee, members discussed the draft law submitted by the Government of Georgia through legislative initiative procedures on amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Adoption and Foster Care”.

 

The issue was presented by Deputy IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs Minister, Irine Tsakadze.

 

The draft law introduces amendments to those provisions of the Law of Georgia “On Adoption and Foster Care” whose current wording requires prospective adoptive or foster parents to be registered in the unified database of socially vulnerable families and to submit an extract reflecting their social rating score as a mandatory precondition for assessing their socio-economic status.

 

According to the proposed amendment, the list of documents reflecting the socio-economic status of prospective adoptive parents, confirming the existence of a stable family environment and the conditions necessary for the proper upbringing and development of a child, as well as the conditions for submitting such documentation, will be determined by an order of the Minister IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia.

 

As the presenter explained, during the first stage of the process — when a person seeking to adopt is registered in the database — and at the subsequent stage, when consent is declared for the adoption of a proposed child, it will be possible, based on the documentation established by ministerial order, to determine the stability of the adopter’s socio-economic condition. Together with other circumstances, this aims to ensure the best interests of the child are given primary consideration.

 

As part of transitional regulations, the draft law also provides for specific mechanisms for applying the new approach to persons already registered in the adoption registry at the time the amendments enter into force.

 

As of September 1, 2026, a person registered as a prospective adopter will be considered to meet the socio-economic requirements up until the stage of declaring consent to adopt a proposed child, after which the adoption procedures will continue under the general rules.

 

A person registered as a prospective adopter who has not completed the mandatory preparatory adoption course will be required to complete the course and submit the corresponding certificate to the LEPL Social Service Agency before presenting it to the court.