India: Childcare Institutions Will Be Blacklisted if They Don’t Register

“Childcare institutions not registered under the Juvenile Justice Act will soon face the music, with the state women and child welfare department gearing to blacklist and book them for illegal detention of children.

Over the past four months, the department has been trying to bring numerous institutions under its umbrella, by creating a database. However, with only a handful of the estimated 242 institutions replying to the 116 questions, the department is now thinking of blacklisting institutions that have not replied, and booking them under section 341 IPC (illegally restraining a person).

With almost zero monitoring of these institutions, there have been incidents of assault (see box) which have raised concerns about the safety of children.

The department has also finally realized that in order to monitor the institutions, they need to first know of their existence!

As per the Juvenile Justice Act, all childcare institutions should be registered with the women and child welfare department. However, only 72 of the estimated 242 institutions are registered. Their registration is now up for renewal – done every three years — although only 17 have met at least 90% of the requirements of the JJ Act.

“Many institutions are registered as a Trust or Society and are not even aware they need to register with the department of women and child development as well. Many prefer not to, because registering will mean regular monitoring,” said Divya Narayanappa, district child protection officer.

While the deadline to provide information for the database was January 30, 2016, the department is hesitant to take action against the institutions. “Considering this is the end of the academic year, we don’t want children to be affected. Once exams are over, we’ll shut down the institutions and send the children home to their parents (in case of single parents) or put them in other registered homes,” she pointed out.

“According to the Juvenile Justice Act, any child in need of care and attention has to be brought to the notice of the Child Welfare Committee. We have three CWCs in the city and one in each district. If any institution harbours a child without informing the women and child welfare department, it is illegal,” said Rajneesh Goel, principal secretary, DWCD.

The database about the children, their parents and those who brought the children to the institution, is regularly updated, monitored and tracked. “The information will be put up on the website and institutions given passwords to regularly update details,” she added. The information will also allow the government to get an idea about the number of children with single parents and orphans.
Database not enough

Incidents such as the one at Sri Sharada Charitable Trust (with allegations of children going missing) or the Muslim Orphanage School on Dickenson Road (where kids were given corporal punishment) have brought to light the need for regular monitoring.

Register or shut down, govt tells orphanages [Times Of India 2/13/16 by TNN]

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