According to Decree No. 56/2017/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Children 2016, the registration order and procedures, the listing, and the coordination of the selection of alternative caregivers are as follows:

a.       Responsibility to seek persons and families to provide alternative care for children

–       Commune-level child protection officers shall compile dossiers of children in need of alternative care and seek persons or families to provide alternative care in accordance with Article 62 of the Law on Children.

–       Heads of social relief establishments shall compile dossiers of children nurtured at their establishments who are eligible for alternative care or adoption; and request competent agencies to seek alternative caregivers for them or settle their adoption.

b.       Registration for provision of alternative care

–       A person or the representative of a family that is willing and eligible to provide alternative care shall file an application made according to Form No. 08 in the Appendix to this Decree with the commune-level People’s Committee of his/her place of residence for making a list of registered alternative caregivers.

–       Persons and representatives of families registering to provide or receiving children for alternative care may receive counseling from child protection service providers on the laws on the rights and duties of children and child protection, and alternative care skills.

–       Foreigners and representatives of foreign families, apart from complying with provisions above, must have resided in Vietnam for at least 6 months and be permitted to continue residing in Vietnam for at least 12 months from the time of registration.

–       Child adoption registration must comply with the Law on child adoption.

c.       Regarding to listing of persons and families registering to provide alternative care

Commune-level People’s Committees shall receive, make and keep lists of persons and families wishing to provide alternative care according to Form; and quarterly update and send these lists to district-level labor, war invalids and social affairs agencies for coordination in the selection of alternative caregivers.

d.       Dossier of a person or family selected to provide alternative care

The dossier of a person or representative of a family to provide alternative care who is not a relative of the child must comprise:

–       An alternative care provision registration application;

–      A health certificate issued by a health agency within 6 months before the date of dossier submission in accordance with law;

–       Criminal record card issued by a competent agency, for a foreigner or foreign family representative

e.       Selection of forms of alternative care and alternative caregivers:

–       Priority order of forms of alternative care for selection:

–       Alternative care by relatives;

–       Alternative care by persons or families other than relatives;

–       Alternative care at social relief establishments.

–       Priority order of alternative caregivers for selection:

–       Relatives;

–       Persons or family representatives providing alternative care in children’s places of residence;

–       Resident Vietnamese citizens;

–       Resident foreigners in Vietnam

f.       Progress of alternative care selection:

–       Commune-level child protection officers shall select forms of alternative care and alternative caregivers suitable to the children; verify the conditions of alternative caregivers; provide information on alternative caregivers for children and consult children aged full 7 years or older.

–       In an emergency case requiring separation of a child from his/her parent(s) or alternative caregiver as prescribed in Article 32 of Decree No. 56/2017/ND-CP but an alternative caregiver has not been selected yet, the commune-level People’s Committee chairperson shall request a competent agency to issue a decision temporarily admitting the child into a social relief establishment and continue to select an appropriate form of alternative care for the child.

–       Commune-level child protection officers shall select, notify, and provide information on dossiers of children in need of alternative care to alternative caregivers. The recommendation of children to alternative caregivers must be in the best interests of children and meet the requirements on alternative care.

–       Commune-level People’s Committees of localities of residence of alternative caregivers shall issue decisions on handover of children to alternative caregivers according to Form; and, within 15 working days after issuing the decisions, organize the handover and receipt of children between commune-level People’s Committees and alternative caregivers.

–       In case the place where the child resides or is abused or abandoned is not the place of residence of the alternative caregiver, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the child resides or is abused or abandoned shall coordinate with the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the alternative caregiver resides in carrying out the procedures for handing over the child and monitoring the child’s care./.