GUIDELINES TO FAMILY ADOPTION PROGRAMME
Household: It is a group of people living together; all the members may not have blood relation unlike a
family. Eg: servant.
Family: It is a group of biologically related individuals living together and eating from the same kitchen,
sharing a common purse. As a biological unit the family members share a common pool of genes and as
a social unit they share common physical and social environment.
Family of origin: family in which one is born
Family of procreation: family which ones sets up after marriage.
Nuclear family (Elementary family) : Consists of married couple and their children (till they are
dependant) and they occupy the same dwelling.
Joint family: consists of a number of married couples and their children who live together in the same
household (single “chulha”/kitchen).
All men are related by blood; women are their wives, unmarried girls and widows of family men.
Common family purse/property
Authority lies with senior male/female member
Family relations have upper hand over marital relations.
Extended or three generation of family: There are representatives of three generations, usually occurs
when young couples are unable to find a separate housing accommodation and continue to live with
their parents and have their own children.
Eligible couple: currently married couple wherein the wife is in the reproductive age, which is generally
assumed to be from 15 to 45.
Target couple: mainly for the family planning program. The couple who has 2-3 living children is taken as
target couple.
Literate: if a person above 7 years of age, who can read or write in any language is called literate.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: Defined as the position that an individual or family occupies with reference
to the prevailing average standards of socio-cultural and material possessions, income, and participation
in group activity of the community
It is related to health and health problems. Individuals belonging to upper SE status suffer less from
undernutrition and infectious diseases, but may suffer from non-communicable diseases such as
obesity, hypertension, DM, etc.
Individuals from lower SE status may suffer more frequently from undernutrition, skin and GI infections,
poor mortality/health inidicators. (IMR, MMR, PMR, etc)
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Modified BG Prasad classification (May2021):
SOCIAL CLASS PER CAPITA MONTHLY INCOME LIMITS
1 I 7863 and above
2 II 3931-7862
3 III 2359-3930
4 IV 1179-2358
5 V <1179
HOW TO CALCULATE INCOME:
1) It is easiest if the person is earning a monthly salary
2) Daily wages: count roughly the no. of days in a month the person was able to earn his wages
3) Live-stock: any milk product which gives income (per litre)/poultry
4) Income from property
5) Field:
19 Biswa= 1 bigha = 900 mts square
5 1/4th bigha = 1 Acre
1 Bigha: on an average produces (1 quintal is 100 kg)
4 quintals of wheat
3-4 quintals of rice
2-3 quintals of pulses
Vegetables are variable
Then find out the current price of the produce ( about Rs 30/kg of rice; 25-30/ kg of wheat, pulses 70/kg)
SPOT MAP: Start from your target house. These maps show at a glance areas with major landmarks such
as school, temple, road, health facility, etc.
CROSS SECTION OF HOUSE: It is an overview of the house. It is done to know the number of rooms,
windows and doors as well as area of each of them so as to judge overcrowding and ventilation.
Availability of toilet, place for livestock, etc gets included in this.
HEALTH SERVICES AND PROBLEMS: This part of evaluation of the allotted family will give a general idea
of lacunae in the existing health system and actions that need to be taken to overcome them. This is
done with special emphasis on existing diseases in the area.
ENVIRONMENT:
HOUSING STANDARDS: Following are the standards recommended in India:
1) Site:
- Should be elevated from the surroundings (to avoid flooding)
- Have an independent access to street
- Should be away from breeding sites of mosquitoes and flies
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- Away from nuisance of smoke, dust, noise, smell, traffic, etc.
- Soil should be dry and safe and should be well drained.
- Subsoil water should be below 10 feet.
2) Set back: Open space all around the house for good lighting and ventilation is called “set back”.
In rural areas the built up area should not exceed 1/3rd of total area.
In urban area where there is shortage of land the built up area may be up to 2/3rd of total area.
3) Floor:
- Should be pucca (mud floors tend to break up and cause dust
- Should be impermeable so as to easily clean, wash and dry
- Should be smooth , free from cracks and crevices to prevent breeding of insects
- It should be damp proof
- Height of plinth (base or platform on which the structure rests) should be 2 –3 feet.
4) Walls:
- Should be strong
- Should have low heat capacity (neither absorb nor conduct heat out)
- Weather proof, damp proof
- Should be unsuitable for harboring rats and vermin
- This can be achieved by 9 inch brick wall which is plastered and colored white or cream.
5) Roof:
- Should have low heat transmittance capacity and the height should not be less than 10 feet.
6) Rooms: the number of living rooms should not be less than 2 and at least 1 of which can be
closed for security. The number and area of rooms should be increased according to family size
7) Floor area:
- Floor area of living room should be atleast 120 sq ft for occupancy of more than 1 person
and atleast 100 sq feet for one person (optimum) and not less than 50 sq ft per person.
Overcrowding: It is a situation in which more people are living within a single dwelling than there is
space for, so their movement is restricted, privacy affected, hygiene compromised and rest and sleep
difficult. Respiratory and skin infections are greater with overcrowding. Three criteria
a) Person room ratio: number of persons in the household divided by number of rooms in the
dwelling. The accepted standards are:
1 room: …………………. 2 persons
2 rooms: …………………3 persons
4 rooms: ………………….5 persons
4 rooms: ………………… 7 persons
5 or more rooms: 10 persons. Thereafter we can add 2 persons per room.
b) Sex separation: Overcrowding is considered to exist if 2 persons over 9 years of age, not
husband and wife, of opposite sexes are obliged to sleep in the same room.
c) Floor space standard: The accepted standards are:
110 sq. ft (11 sq. m.) or more : 2 persons
90-100 sq. ft. (9-10 sq. m.): 1 ½ persons
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70-90 sq.ft. (7-9 sq.m.): 1 person
50-70 sq.ft. (5-7 sq.m.): ½ person
< 50 sq. ft : NIL
Here baby < 12 months is not counted; children between 1 to 10 years are counted as ½ unit
8) Cubic space: height of the room should be such that it gives air space of at least 500 cubic feet
per capita, preferably 1000 cubic feet.
9) Windows:
- Unless mechanical ventilation and artificial lighting are provided, every living room should
be provided with at least 2 windows. At least one of these should open directly on to open.
- Windows should not be at a height of not more than 3 feet (1m) above the ground level.
- Window area should be not less than 1/5th the floor area
- Windows are doors combined should not be less than 2/5th of floor area.
10) Lighting:
- The day light factor (DF) should exceed 1 percent over half the floor area.
- DF = illumination indoor at one instant X 100
Simultaneous illumination outdoors
- It can be judged as adequate of a person is able to read the fine print in news paper in the
darkest corner of the room without artificial light without any strain to the eyes.
11) Kitchen:
- Every house should have a separate kitchen
- Must be protected against smoke and dust and adequately lighted
- There should be arrangement for storing food and provision
- Water supply and sink facility to wash utensils and proper drainage
- Floor should be impervious
12) Latrine and bathroom:
Separate latrine and bathroom exclusive for a house are a must.
13) Drainage, garbage and refuse: open or closed drainage. Daily waste removal and disposing in a
sanitary manner.
14) Ventilation:
- If there is no cross ventilation, the ventilation is inadequate.
- Total area of doors + windows is greater than 2/5th of the floor area.
- The total area of the door should not be less that 1/5th of the floor space.
- Atleast one window should open into open space.
15) Electricity availability
Pucca house: floor, roof and walls are made of brick and cement
Semi-pucca house: any of the above component is not made of brick/cement/plaster.
Kuchha house: walls. Floor and roof are made of mud.
WATER SUPPLY AND SOURCES:
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- Sources of water supply from rain, surface water or ground water. Each has its
drawbacks/advantage with regards to impurities.
- What are the hazards with each of these
- Soft water: (only few dissolved solids) rain water is an example; corrosive for lead pipes.
- Hard water results in excessive soap consumption and scum formation.
- Water related diseases: includes diseases that are water-borne (gastro-enteritis due to
infective agent) and those due to chemical components such as flourosis and due to vectors
growing in water such as malaria, filaria.
- Safe and wholesome water: water that is free from pathogens, harmful chemicals, pleasant
in taste, color and odor and usable for domestic purpose
- Distance from house: ideally the source should be 50 ft from possible source of
contamination and 100 meters from point of utilization in hills where it should be at a
greater height and distance in plains is less than 0.5 Km
- Storage at home: the bucket in which it is stored should be covered and there should be a
tumbler with handle to take out water from it.
General cleanliness grading:
Very poor: untidy surrounding, human excreta, cow dung, muddy area with cattle urine, dirty stagnating
water and persistent foul smell.
Poor: no sweeping, overflowing drains, refuse disposal just outside the house.
Good: well swept area, boundary to prevent entry of stray animals, covered or underground drains with
pleasant environment.
REMARKS:
- Health promoting or disease breeding
- General cleanliness
- Mosquito and fly breeding or not
- Use of mosquito nets present or not
- How was drinking water stored
- Relation within the family and with the neighbours (for mental health)
