Concerned about the increasing incidents of child abuse in child care institutions (CCI), women and child development minister Krishna Tirath has written to the chief ministers urging them to get the children homes registered and establish mechanisms for monitoring and management of the homes through inspection committees.
The minister has also advised the states to transfer the management of those homes where children are not receiving proper services.
“The government may explore steps to transfer the management of such homes to alternate agencies or to manage such homes temporarily through the district administration,” said Ms Tirath’s letter.
The minister has also written to the chief secretaries and principal secretaries of state government asking for proper management and regular inspection of these homes. According to the minister, a review in the recruitment procedure of the officials dealing with children may be done.
“The revelation that such incidents have been going on for long even in homes that are registered under the functioning of child care institutions in the states indicate that they are either not properly established or are dysfunctional,” it said, adding that it is necessary to ensure that verification of the antecedents has been carried out to establish that the officials are not in any way unsuitable for dealing with children.
Ms Tirath has also suggested the states to review the situation through specially-appointed teams of all the homes for taking steps for their registrations and for determining the quality of services.
“In case such reviews indicate a need for upgradation of infrastructure in the registered homes, my ministry would be happy to consider financial support under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS),” further said the letter.
Among others, recently an incident of trafficking of children came into light in two Christian institutions in Tamil Nadu.