The government plans to partner with the private sector as well as volunteer groups for its plan to protect vulnerable children, such as abandoned or missing children.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Wednesday sent its draft guidelines for the mission. Vatsalya Plans for States and Union Territories and sought suggestions by April 18, 2022. Mission Vatsalya Essentially a renaming of a pre-existing scheme called Child Protection Services, and it also includes child welfare services. Union Cabinet approved the mission Vatsalya The draft guidelines in January 2022 are the first document to make public the government’s intention for the scheme.
“In order to encourage public participation, develop synergy of efforts and utilize available resources for the success of the mission, civil society, people’s groups and various voluntary organizations may be encouraged to participate under the mission. affection in a systematic and planned manner,” says the draft guidelines. These could include organizations under government initiatives such as Bharat Scouts and Guides, NSS volunteers, Nehru Yuva Kendras and more NGOs and self-help groups, the document said.
The ministry has also made a proposal Vatsalya Portal that will allow volunteers to register so that state and district authorities can engage them for implementing various schemes.
“The model will ensure meaningful public participation in child development, provide a sense of ownership in nation building and inculcate a culture of belonging,” the document explains the rationale for the move.
Child protection includes services for children in need of care and protection, such as abandoned, orphaned or missing children; Children in conflict with the law or juvenile delinquents and other vulnerable children. This scheme is being implemented from the financial year 2009-10. Components of the program include institutional services through Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and family-based non-institutional care through sponsorship, foster care and adoption. It also supports child care programs at CCI after the age of 18 and emergency outreach service through Childline or the National Helpline for Children 1098.
As per the draft guidelines, the government also plans to “integrate” the widely successful CHILDLINE with Home Ministry’s helpline 112, which provides emergency services for medical emergencies, women’s safety and fire – a move that Due to which child rights activists are very worried.
Last year, Ram Mohan Mishra, the then secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, had said that the administrative control of the helpline would be transferred from his ministry to the home ministry. He said this is being done to “maintain data sensitivity” and ensure that the police or the state is the first interface to children in distress.
Childline is an independent trust and receives funds from the Ministry of Women and Child Development for running the helpline.
“The police should not be the first responder to complaints from children. This will take away the space that the kids have to share and open up. As soon as you engage a police helpline, reporting will go down and as we are suffering from poor reporting in this country. This is one of our biggest concerns at the moment,” said Bharti Ali, co-founder, HAQ: Center for Child Rights.