Integrated Child Protection Scheme

1
Integrated Child Protection Scheme

• Mrs. Loveleen Kacker
• Joint Secretary (CW)
• Ministry of Women and Child Development
• Government of India

2
Child Population in India

• India has the highest number of children in the
  world.
• More than one third of countrys population is
  below 18 years
• Approximately 40 of the population (around 440
  million) is children

3
Status of Children in India

• India has
• highest rate of neo-natal deaths (around 35) in
  the world
• 40 of child malnutrition in developing world
• 50 of the child mortality
• Reducing number of girls in 0-6 age group- for
  every 1000 boys 927 girls
• 46 children from ST and 38 SC out of school
• High school dropout specially among girls
• High rate of child marriage
• 37 of literate 51 of illiterate girls are
  married below 18
• 10 of literate 15 of illiterate boys are
  married below 18
• Large number of child labourers
• Large number of sexually abused children

4
Protection Issues

• Protecting children in difficult circumstances
  including natural disasters
• Children in Need of Care and Protection
• Child in Conflict with Law
• Elimination of child labour
• Protecting children from being trafficked for
  commercial and sexual exploitation
• Protecting children affected by HIV/AIDS

5
Children in Need of Care Protection

• Orphans, abandoned destitute children
• Missing or run-away children
• Street working children
• Children of sex workers
• Abused, tortured and exploited children
• Children indulging in substance abuse
• Children affected by HIV/AIDS
• Children affected by natural calamities,
  emergencies and man made disasters
• Children with disabilities
• Child beggars
• Children suffering from terminal/incurable disease

6
Existing Programmes

• The existing schemes programmes of GOI
  includes
• A Programme for Juvenile Justice
• Scheme for Working Children in need of care and
  protection
• Integrated Programme for Street Children
• Shishu Greha Scheme
• General Grant-in-aid Scheme
• CHILDLINE-24 hour help line for children in
  distress
• Rajiv Gandhi national crèche scheme for the
  children of working mothers
• Pilot Project to Combat the Trafficking of Women
  and Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation
  in Destination Areas
• Scheme for assistance to institutions/VOs for
  care and support to children affected by HIV/AIDS

7
Gaps

• Lack of qualitative and quantitative data on
• Children in need of care protection
• Children in conflict with law
• Institutional Care system
• Standards of care not established and implemented
• Inadequate infrastructure under JJ system, like
  constitution of
• Juvenile Justice Boards
• Child Welfare Committees
• Special Juvenile Police Units
• Lack of non-institutional and family based care
  system for children

8
Gaps

• Skewed utilization of resources in terms of
  geographical spread
• Lack of coordination and convergence of
  programmes/services
• Inadequate emphasis for reintegration and
  restoration to families for rehabilitation
• Inadequate budgetary allocation for child
  protection.
• Inadequate training and capacity building of
  functionaries under juvenile justice system

9
Current Initiatives

• Amendment of Juvenile Justice (Care and
  Protection of Children) Act, 2000
• Comprehensive Scheme Integrated Child Protection
  Programme
• Adoption Scheme

10
Proposed Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)

• GOI has proposed to combine its existing
  different child protection schemes under one
  integrated scheme
• It aims to provide for care and protection of all
  the children in conflict with law and children in
  need of care and protection.
• It proposes to involve steps to
• Strengthen families and prevent them from breakup
  and children becoming homeless and without care
  and protection.
• Provide support to children already outside the
  mainstream, beginning from emergency outreach
  services to final rehabilitation with their
  families/ society.

11
Objectives

• The Integrated Child Protection Scheme aims at
• Creating a safety net for children in need of
  care and protection and children in conflict with
  law
• Promoting preventive measures to enable families
  to stay together and prevent avoidable
  institutionalization of children
• Providing services to the more vulnerable
  categories of children through specialized
  programmes
• Establishing linkages for restoration of children
  to their biological families/ placement with
  adoptive families or foster families
• Ensuring effective implementation through the
  creation of State level child protection units
• Supplementing and strengthening the
  infrastructure established under the Juvenile
  Justice Act, 2000

12
Objectives

• Creating emergency access through CHILDLINE and
  followed by counseling, restoration and
  rehabilitative services along with linkages to
  other available services under various schemes of
  the Government of India/State Governments/VOs
• Building capacities of families, community, NGOs,
  local bodies, police, judiciary and other
  concerned departments of State Government
• Undertaking research, advocacy and spreading
  awareness about child related issues.
• Networking amongst the Allied Systems to ensure
  proper treatment of children, care and
  rehabilitation
• Initiating any other need based specialized
  innovative services including child guidance and
  counselling especially to combat drug abuse,
  HIV/AIDS and sexual abuse.

13
(No Transcript)
14
Components of the Scheme

• The components of the scheme would be broadly
  divided in two categories
• Juvenile in conflict with law, and
• Children in need of care and protection

15
Components of the ICPS

• Juvenile in conflict with law Under this
  component, the Scheme would support setting up
• State Child Protection Unit
• Observation Homes
• Special Homes
• Aftercare Homes
• Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs)
• Special Juvenile Police Units (SPJU)

16
Components of the ICPS

• Children in Need of Care Protection Under this
  component, the Scheme would support setting up
• State Child Protection Unit
• Childrens Homes
• Shelter Homes
• After-care Organisations
• Child Welfare Committees (CWCs)
• 24-hour Drop-in Shelters for Street Children
• CHILDLINE Service

17
Funding Pattern

• ICPS to be a centrally sponsored scheme and shall
  be implemented through the State/UT
• Bulk funding from the Central Government.
• State/UT shall in turn provide grant-in-aid to
  voluntary organizations under the different
  components
• Eligibility criteria laid down for providing
  grant-in-aid under the Scheme shall be adhered

18
Information sought from States

• What funding and administrative support is
  provided by the State Governments to CWCs/ JJBs?
• What is the expenditure required for the monthly
  maintenance of a child in an Observation/
  Childrens Home i.e. for his food, clothing and
  other basic amenities?
• What are the provisions made by the State
  Government for restoration of a child to his/her
  family (a) within the State (b) outside the
  State? Whether each case of restoration is
  provided with any funds and how much?
• What are the measures taken by the State Govt. to
  ensure that children in Observation/Childrens
  Home are being given proper education? Are they
  being sent to school outside the home or is the
  education being imparted within the home?
• What are the vocational training facilities
  available to the children lodged in various
  homes?
• What are the counseling and awareness facilities
  for children in homes especially for drug abuse
  and HIV/AIDS?
• What is the type of training being given to the
  staff of homes and its frequency?
• Whether Special Juvenile Police Units have been
  set up in the State?

19
Proposed Adoption Scheme

• Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) functions
  as the Central Authority for promoting Adoptions
  in India
• The Ministry recognizes that there are gaps in
  the existing Adoption system
• A draft Scheme has been prepared to streamline
  the Adoption System in the country

20
Proposed Adoption Scheme

• The major components of the draft scheme include
• Redefining the goals for Adoption
• Reforming relevant laws
• Juvenile Justice (Care Protection of Children)
  Act 2000
• Rescheduling the procedure of
• In-country Adoption
• Inter-country Adoption
• Restructuring the system
• Introducing the scheme of assistance for
• Regional Offices of CARA at Kolkata, Guwahati,
  Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Lucknow and Bhopal
• State Adoption Cells in every State

21
State Adoption Cell

• The State Adoption Cell at other hand would be
  setup to
• License and monitor Child Care Institutions
  involved in adoption
• Maintain a comprehensive List of Child Care
  Institutions involved in adoption
• Collect and maintain centralised list of children
  available for adoption
• Register and place adoptable children with
  prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) and to handle
  matters incidental thereto
• Act as the clearing house of adoption information
  at the state level

22
State Adoption Cell

• Furnish the list of adoptable children and
  prospective adoptive parents to the concerned
  CARA Regional Office in prescribed format on
  monthly basis if their needs could not be
  addressed within the State
• Enhance capacity building of district level
  functionaries involved in adoption including
  Child Protection Officers
• Provide all kinds of adoption data to CARA
  Regional Office in the prescribed format on
  monthly basis.

23
Information sought from States

• Whether State Adoption Cell has been set up in
  the State and what are the basic activities?
• What are the numbers of adoptions that have taken
  place under (a) HAMA (b) JJ Act, 2000?
• What are the problems coming in the way of
  adoption under the JJ Act, 2000?
• What are the numbers of adoptable children in the
  (a) State run Children/other homes, (b) other
  homes being run by voluntary agencies? Whether
  any attempt has been made by the State to bring
  them into adoption scope/net?
• Whether VCA existing in the State and if not
  whether any efforts being made to set it up?