The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)

Solution

Under CARA's Adoption Regulations, 2022, the age bracket for a single parent is tied to the age of the child being adopted: up to 40 years for a child aged 0–2 years; up to 45 years for a child aged 2–4 years; up to 50 years for a child aged 4–8 years; and up to 55 years for a child aged 8–18 years. Statement I is correct the child is 5 years old (in the 4–8 age bracket), so the single parent age limit is 50 years. A single woman aged 48 is within this limit and is eligible to adopt a girl, since single women can adopt a child of any gender. Statement II is correct for a child aged 3 years (in the 2–4 bracket), the maximum permissible composite age of a couple is 90 years. A combined age of 85 is within this limit. Statement III is correct a single male can adopt a male child; the only restriction on single males is that they cannot adopt a female child. A 4-year-old boy is a permissible adoption for a single male aged 35. All three scenarios are permissible under CARA rules.