New Delhi: The First ‘National Consultation on Child Protection’ for this year was held on 8th January at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development. The meeting was organized to follow up on the exercise of monitoring of the CCIs by States/UTs, to deliberate upon various aspects of child protection and to take stock of the efforts made by States/UTs regarding improvements in the Child Care Institutions.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of 33 States/UTs, Senior Officers from Women and Child Development Department or Social Welfare Department of the State and senior nodal Police officer (for Women and Children) from the States/UTs. Representatives of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) along with representatives from 17 State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) and Childline India Foundation (CIF) were also present along with the Officers of the Ministry.
All the States/UTs shared the actions taken in respect of improving security arrangements, filling vacancies in CWC & JJB and other initiatives taken by them. It was noted during the deliberations that the States/ UTs have closed a number of Institutions last year on account of various inadequacies. Some of the States such as Andhra Pradesh informed that they have started grading the Institutions. The States reported that they have started background check of organizations running CCIs and police verification of staff of CCIs is also under way. Measures to optimize efforts made by all stakeholders including State WCD Departments, State Police Departments, SCPCRs in a convergent manner to ensure regular monitoring of JJ setup in the country were also discussed. The Secretary appreciated the efforts made by States/UTs while cautioning them about the need for maintaining an alert vigil to ensure best interest of Children.
At the end of the consultation, all the State/UTs were requested to expedite action taken on the shortcoming observed and provide an updated report during the next quarterly meeting to be held in May, 2019
