child govt programmes.docx

7/29/2019 Child Govt Programmes.docx

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1. Mid-day Meal SchemeNational Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, popularly known as theMid-Day Meal

Scheme (MDM)was started in 1995 in an attempt to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance while

simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children in school. It currently covers nearly 12 crore

children. The main objectives of the scheme (as per the 2006 revision) are to:

Improve the nutritional status of children in classes one through five in government schools and

government aided schools

To encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend school regularly and help them

concentrate in school activities.

As well as provide nutritional support to students in drought- ridden areas throughout summer vacation.

In October 2007 the scheme was revised to cover children in the upper primary section as well i.e. classes

VI to VII. The Scheme estimates a cooked mid-day meal with a minimum of 300 calories and 8-12 grams

of protein to all children studying in classes I - V. Upper Primary meals consist of 700 calories and 20grams of protein by providing 150 grams of food grains (rice/wheat) per child/school day. The central

government supplies state and union territory government with free food grains (wheat/rice) at 100 grams

per child per school day from the nearest Food Corporation of India (FCI) go-down and compensation of

the cost of transporting the food grains from the nearest FCI to the Primary school. The scheme provides

assistance for meeting the cooking cost of Re 1 per child per school day.

The programme is being carried out by local authorities with assistance from village panchayats, village

education committees, school management committees, parent teacher associations, etc. In rural areas the

cooking is being done by women self-help groups. In urban areas, some NGOs have taken responsibility

for cooking the food and bringing it to the primary schools. Free mid-day meals can achieve a great deal

with regard to child education and health. They promote the participation of the child in school, reduceclassroom hunger, facilitate the healthy growth of a child, promotes good eating habits like washing ones

hands, finishing ones food, etc, and fosters social and gender equality as all children get the same food

and must eat together.

It has been estimated that 8.41 crore Primary students and 3.36 crore Upper Primary Students i.e. a total

of 11.77 crore students have benefited from MDM Scheme during 2009-10

2. Integrated Child Development SchemeTheIntegrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)comes under the purview of the Ministry of Women

and Child Development (MWCD). Recently MWCD released their annual report (2008-2009) on child

development. According to this report the ICDS which was launched in 1975 has been working diligently

to eliminate hazards to child health and development. The following are the objectives of ICDS.

To advance the nutritional and health standing of children in the age-group 0-6 years.

To create a system that tackles the proper psychological, physical and social development of the child.
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To fight the rate of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout.

To have all the various ministries and departments work in a coordinated fashion to achieve policy

implementation and create an effective ECCE system.

To support the mother and help her become capable of providing of the necessary nutritional and

development needs of the child and aware of her own needs during pregnancy.

The scheme aims at providing an integrated package of services. These services include supplementary

nutrition, immunization, medical check-ups, recommendation services, pre-school non-formal education

and nutrition & health awareness. The purpose of providing these services as a package is because each of

these issues is dependent on the other. In order to ensure that the overall care and education of the child is

addressed the MWCD envisions the scheme as a complete parcel of provisions.

The structure of ICDS is that it is a centrally funded scheme implemented through the States and Union

Territories. Originally, financially it was 100% backed by the central government, except the

supplementary nutrition, which must be provided by the State's resources. But in 2005-2006 it was noted

that many of the States were not capable of providing adequately for supplementary nutrition in viewdrought, economic slowdown, etc. Hence it was decided to support the States up to 50% of their

economic norms or to support 50% of expenses acquired by them on supplementary nutrition, whichever

is less. The reason for the Central assistance for Supplementary nutrition is to ensure that all beneficiaries

are receiving the supplements for 300 days of the year as has been laid out in the norms of the scheme.

Another modification in the financial responsibility of state and central has been that instead of 100%

support in non-supplementary expenses the central government is now only responsibly for 90% in all

States and Union Territories. In the 2009-2010 financial year the sharing pattern of supplementary

nutrition in respect of North-eastern States between Centre and States has been changed from 50:50 to

90:10 ratio. In other States and UTs, with regard to supplementary nutrition, the pattern continues to be

a 50:50 ratio sharing. Anganwadi's are set up according to the population in a given area. The population

norms are as follows.

For Rural/Urban Projects ( Anganwadi Centres- AWC)

400-800 1 AWC

800-1600 2 AWCs

1600-2400 3 AWCs

Thereafter in multiples of 800 1 AWC

For Mini AWC


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150-400 1 Mini AWC

For Tribal/Riverine/Desert, Hilly and other difficult areas/Projects

300-800 1 AWC

For Mini AWC in above areas

150-300 1 Mini AWC

ICDS also outlines the amount in calories that the beneficiaries should receive. A child between the ages

6-72 months should receive 500 calories of food with 12-15 grams of protein. This should cost Rs. 4 per

child/ per day. A child severely malnourished on medical advice after health check-up (6-72 months)

should receive 800 calories of food with 20-25 grams of protein. This should cost Rs. 6 per child/ per day.

Lastly pregnant and lactating mothers should receive 600 calories of food with 18-20 grams of protein.

This should cost Rs. 5 per beneficiary/ per day.

ICDS is no longer only available to below the poverty line beneficiaries; hence states are responsible to

register all eligible beneficiaries. In accordance with this development the third phase of the ICDS scheme

has begun. The GOI has sanctioned 792 additional Projects, 213286 additional Anganwadi Centres and

77102 Mini-Anganwadi Centres. This expansion aims especially to reach SC/ST and minority population

in remote rural areas. To support these increases the eleventh Five Year Plan has set aside Rs.51,400

crores for ICDS which includes Rs.9000 Crores for Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme.

The ICDS scheme receives aid from various other non-government bodies. Three of the main contributors

are Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), UNICEF and the World Food

Programme (WFP). Pre-school education (PSE) has come under the purview of the MWCD along with

pre-primary education. The MWCD does not specify much information about this area, simply that it will

continue as planned under the ICDS scheme. The Non-formal education offered as per the Ministry of

Human Resources (MHR) consists of providing a learning environment to children between the ages of 3-

6. PSE is supposed to be implemented through a medium of play to allow for social, emotional, cognitive

and physical development of the child as well as prepare him for primary education in the formal system.

3. Integrated Child Protection SchemeIn 2006 the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) proposed the adoption of the

Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). In 2009 the central government take the scheme its approval

and has begun the extensive task of providing children with a protection and safe environment to develop

and flourish. The purpose of the scheme is to provide for children in difficult circumstances, as well as to

reduce the risks and vulnerabilities children have in various situations and actions that lead to abuse,

neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children.
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The specific objectives of the scheme are:

To institutionalize essential services and strengthen structures

To enhance capacities at all systems and persons involved in service delivery

To create database and knowledge base for child protection services

To strengthen child protection at family and community level

To coordinate and network with government institutions and non-government institutions to ensure

effective implementation of the scheme

To raise public awareness about child rights, child vulnerability and child protection services.

Within care, support and rehabilitation services the scheme will provide CHILDLINE services, open

shelters for children in need in urban and semi-urban areas, offer family based solutions through

improving sponsorship, foster-care, adoption and after-care services, improve quality institutional

services, and general grant-in-aid for need based/ innovative interventions. Within statutory support

services the scheme calls for the strengthening of CWCs, JJBs, SJPUs, as well as seeing to the set up of

these services in each district. Beyond this ICPS also outlines the need for human resource development

for strengthening counselling services, training and capacity building, strengthening the knowledge-base,

conduct research studies, create and manage a child tracking system, carry out advocacy and public

education programmes, and monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.

In order to ensure the objectives and approaches of ICPS are met, the scheme also calls for the

establishment of new bodies within a service delivery structure.

At the district level there are:

District Child Protection Society (DCPS)

District Child Protection Committee (DCPC)

Sponsorship and Foster Care Approval Committee (SFCAC)

Block Level Child Protection Committee

Village Level Child Protection Committee

At the state level there are:

State Child Protection Society (SCPS)

State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA)

State Child Protection Committee (SCPC)

State Adoption Advisory Committee


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At the regional level there are:

Child Protection Division in the four Regional Centres of National Institute of Public Cooperation and

Child Development (NIPCCD)

Four Regional Centres of CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF)

And lastly at the national level there are:

CHILDLINE India Foundation- Headquarters

Child Protection Division in the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development

(NIPCCD)

Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)

The scheme outlines a specific implementation plan. It discusses the need of convergence of services to

give the child the integrated plan. This is achieved through coordination of all department and ministries

and NGOs involved. The annexure of the scheme lays out guidelines on how to achieve each service

provided in the scheme.

4. Sarva Shiksha AbhiyanSSA is an effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It

aims at changing the current school system in order to improve the quality of the education provide in the

country. The SSA programme is also an effort to provide an equal opportunity for children to grow and

develop knowledge and skills through community-owned quality education system. It considers itself an

opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education. It aims at successfully involvingPanchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education

Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils

and other local level organisations in the administration of elementary schools. It aims at achieving an

efficient partnership between central, state and local governments, while still proving the state with the

autonomy of developing its own mission in regard to elementary education.

The main mission of SSA is to provide "useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6

to 14 age group by 2010". SSA means to remove all social, regional and gender disparities in the

education system through the active participation of the community. Realising the importance of early

childhood care and education, SSA works with all children ages 0-14. The main objectives of SSA are as

follows:

All children should either be in a school or an education guarantee centre of an alternate school, or an'

Back-to-School' camp by 2003

All children of the appropriate age will fulfil five years of primary schooling by 2007

All children of the appropriate are will fulfil eight years of elementary schooling by 2010
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Focus is on elementary education of satisfactory quality which will be considered to be beneficial for life

To bridge all gender and social class gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by

2010

Have universal retention in schools both primary and elementary by 2010

The SSA uses a number of strategies to reach their goal such as: reforming the delivery of education so as

to positively affect the quality of education, searching for sustainable financing of the school system,

facilitating decentralization by including participation of the community and community organization,

improving mainstream education administration, emphasizing education of girls, STs, SCs and other

marginalized minorities and groups, creation of district level plans, etc. SSA also has provisions for

private-public partnerships but has not clearly defined this area.

5. Operation BlackboardOperation Blackboard is a centrally sponsored programme which was started in 1987

immediately after the Rajiv Gandhi NPE of 1986 was released to supply the bare minimum

crucial facilities to all primary schools in the country. The objective of the scheme is providing

students studying in primary settings with the necessary institutional equipment and instructional

material to facilitate their education. There is a provision to provide salary for an additional

teacher to those primary schools that have an enrolment of more 100 students or for a

consecutive period of two years. In the ninth five year plan the scheme was extended to all upper

primary schools as well.

In attempt to improve the implementation of this scheme a few additional provision have beenadded. All teachers will be trained in using the materials provided by the scheme under a

particularly designed teacher preparation programme. The state will provide for replacement of

broken or non-functioning materials. At the local level, there will be some flexibility for

purchasing additional items and teaching aids, which are applicable to the local situation. At least

fifty percent of the teachers will be women, which in turn will affect the girl enrolment in school.

School building will be designed according to local needs. The central government provides

funds for school equipment and the buildings; the state government also raises funds through the

Jawahar Rojgar Yojna scheme. An amount of Rs. 12.80 lakhs has been spent on the scheme from

1987 to1994.

6. Integrated Programme for Street Children

The Integrated Programme for Street Children was started as initiatives to help children living on the

street fulfil their rights. The programme provides for shelter, nutrition, health care, education, recreation
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facilities to street children, and seeks to protect them against abuse and exploitation. The programme aims

at building society's awareness of the rights of the child enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of

the Child (CRC) and in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. This can be

achieved though capacities building of the government organisations, NGOs and the larger community

these children live in.

The target group of this programme is children without homes and family ties i.e., street children and

children especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation such as children of sex workers and children of

pavement dwellers. This scheme does not include children who live with families and in slum areas. State

Governments, Union Territory Administrations, Local Bodies, Educational Institutions and Voluntary

Organisations are eligible for financial assistance under this programme. Up to 90% of the cost of the

project is provided by the Government of India and remaining has to be borne by the

Organisation/Institution concerned.

Under this integrated programme projects can receive up to Rs 1.5 million per annum. Programmes that

can receive funding under this scheme are as follows:

City level surveys;

Documentation of existing facilities and preparation of city level plan of action;

Contact programmes offering counselling, guidance and referral services;

Establishment of 24 hours drop-in shelters;

Non-formal education programmes;

Programmes for reintegration of children with their families and placement of destitute children in foster

care homes/hostels and residential schools;

Programmes for enrolment in schools;

Programme for vocational training;

Programmes for occupational placement;

Programmes for mobilizing preventive health services;

Programmes aimed at reducing the incidence of drug and substance abuse, HIV/AIDS etc;

Post ICDS/Aganwadi programmes for children beyond six years of age;

Programmes for capacity building and for advocacy and awareness building on child rights;

The Integrated Programme for Street Children is now under the umbrella ofICPSprogrammes.
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7. Kishori Shakti YojanaKSY aims at empowering adolescent girls so that they may become responsible citizens. It looks

at all aspects of adolescent girl development. The large objective of the scheme is to advance the

nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, support increasing knowledge of

health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, and to integrate them with opportunities for learninglife skills, going back to school, helping girls grow to understand their society and become

prolific members of the society.

The scheme functions in the existing ICDS infrastructure. Under this scheme adolescent girls are

offered non-formal education in life education aspects including physical, developmental and sex

education. The girls are congregated at anganwadi centres. Girls can also be given basic health

supplements such as IFA and de-worming tablets. Girls can also be given vocational training at

the centres.

8. Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP)The Wheat Based Nutrition Programme is project tied to ICDS. Food grains delivered from this scheme

are used for the preparation of supplementary nutrition to be distributed among the beneficiaries of the

ICDS Scheme. During the 2008-09 financial year, the Department of Food & Public Distribution has

allocated 4.80 lakh Megatons (MTs) of wheat and 3.30 lakh MTs of rice out of which 4,26,510 MTs of

Wheat and 2,90,235 MTs of Rice have been billed to various States/UTs

9. Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG)The Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls was launched in 2002-03 to address nutritional

needs of adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Under this scheme, 6 kg. of

food-grains were given to under nourished adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating

mothers according to their weight It was initially started as a pilot project in 51 districts of the

country and was taken up again in 2003-04. It was stopped for a year in 2004-05 but taken on as

a full project, in 2005-06, to be implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The scheme was started in 51 backward districts and was restricted to only undernourished

adolescent girls. The scheme continues on a pilot project basis. The funds are provided by the

central government to the state government in the form of 100% grants. The food is meant to beprovided through the public distribution system for no cost to the families identified in this

scheme. The scheme targets girl children between the ages of 11 -19 who are less than 35 kgs.
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10.Rajiv Gandhi National Crche Scheme For the Children of Working MothersIn today's economy there has been a rising need for women to add to the household income of

the family in order to keep them afloat. Hence there have been a larger number of opportunities

for the employment of women. Working women require support with regard to the care of their

younger children especially infants. Day care is essential to the needs of both mothers and youngchildren.

According to the scheme, crches should have a minimum of 6-8 sq feet per child. It should be

well lit, with proper ventilation and a fan should be provided where electricity is available. The

crche should have a play area, toilet facilities and sleeping equipment suitable for young

children. Essential educational material for pre-school should also be available. Cooking areas

must be monitored and separated from children areas. The food provided to the young children

should be of nutritional value appropriate to their age. It is important for the crche to be linked

to local health centres and Anganwadis for health concerns of the children. The crche may

charge families a maximum of Rs 20 for BPL families and Rs. 60 for other families. BPLfamilies must be given priority.

Crche services are mainly carried out by NGOs who are given grants under this Scheme. The

implementing agencies in each state are the Central Social Welfare Board, the Indian Council for

Child Welfare and the Bhartiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh. Under this scheme workers in the

crches are given training in childcare, health-first aid, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation with

children, emergency, handling hygiene, pre-school education, child nutrition, psychosocial care,

etc. To ensure proper services, independent bodies will do monitoring of the crches.

11.Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY)The Balika Samriddhi Yojana started in 1997 is an important initiative of the government to raise the

status of the girl child. The scheme's aims at changing the negative attitude of families and communities

towards the girl child, to increase enrolment and retention of girls in schools, to raise the marriage age of

girls and to create income opportunities and activities. A series of incentives are incorporated into the

Yojana, such as a gift of Rs. 500/- to the mother on delivery of a baby girl and the condition of an annual

scholarship for the girl child education.

In 1999-2000 the scheme was changed to benefit the girl child. Hence now the girl child can receive:

A post birth grant amount of Rs. 500/

Eligible for annual scholarships for education according to class

Class Amount of Annual Scholarship
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I-III Rs. 300/- per annum for each class

IV Rs. 500/- per annum

V Rs. 600/- per annum

VI-VII Rs. 700/- per annum for each class

VIII Rs. 800/- per annum

IX-X Rs. 1000/- per annum for each class

Part of the money given to the girl child at birth or in scholarships can be put aside for paying the

premium on an insurance policy in the name of the girl child under the Bhagyashri Balika Kalyan Bima

Yojna. Under this scheme the girl child can withdraw the scholarship amount and interest when she turns

18. If she marries or dies before she is eighteen the amount incurred in interest bearing account will bewithdrawn.

12.Initiatives to combat trafficking of Women and ChildrenTheMinistry of Women and Child Development (MWCD)in an attempt to stop the trafficking

of women and children has undertaken a number of initiatives.

National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women

and Children 1998, was formulated with the aim of mainstreaming and reintegrating victims oftrafficking.

Central Advisory Committee (CAB) was constituted to advise on methods and tactic to address

the problem.

Pre-rescue, Rescue and Post-rescue operations of child victims of trafficking for the purpose of

Commercial Sexual Exploitation protocol was published as guidelines for all stakeholders

The MWCD in collaboration with NIPCCD and UNICEF has developed three manuals for

'Judicial Handbook on combating Trafficking of women and Children for Commercial Sexual

Exploitation'; 'Manual for Medical Officers for Dealing with Child Victims of Trafficking andCommercial Sexual Exploitation'; and 'Counselling services for Child survivors of trafficking'.

Ministry of Home Affairs has set up of a dedicated nodal Cell in the MHA for prevention of

trafficking. The cell is responsible for providing state governments with the necessary research,

studies and information.
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The ministry organises workshops for NGOs on issues relating to trafficking of children for

commercial sexual exploitation. A special module for counsellors of trafficked victims has been

formulated.

Suggested amendment of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 to widen its scope, focus

on traffickers, human rights of victims and focus on proper implementation.

Training to all stake holders such as police, government officials, etc. to better understand the

situation and hence respond properly to a suspicious activity or person.

The MWCD runs Shelter based homes Short Stay Homes, Swadhar Homes for women in

difficult circumstances

Three pilot projects were implemented i)Pilot project to combat trafficking women and children

for commercial sexual exploitation under the sanction of tradition ii) Pilot project to combat

trafficking of women and children for commercial, sexual exploitation in source areas and iii)

Pilot project to combat trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation in

destination areas. The projects are in the process of being converted into a full scheme.

With the Ministry of External Affairs, MWCD has endeavoured to create special task forces to

combat cross border trafficking.

Tackle trafficking of women and girls by addressing issues of poverty, illiteracy, lack of access

to education and schools, lack of vocational skill and employment opportunities, prevalence of

age old evil practices like child marriages, low status of women and girls in society etc.

13.Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)The purpose of CARA is to ensure that every orphan, destitute and surrendered child has a loving and

caring family. It currently comes under the purview of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

CARA was established in 1990 under the Ministry of Welfare. Ministry of Social Justice &

Empowerment conferred onto CARA the responsibility of upholding the Hague Convention on Protection

of Children & Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption of 1993. It became an autonomous body

in 1999 by registering it under the Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. After the passing of

the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and its amendment in 2006, CARA was transferred to the MWCD. In India

a child can be placed with a family under theHindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956,Guardians and

Wards Act, 1890 andJuvenile Justice Act, 2000.

Other agencies concerned with the process of adoption both in India and internationally are as follows:

Recognised Indian Placement Agencies (RIPAs)

Enlisted Foreign Adoption Agencies
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Adoption Coordinating Agencies (ACAs)

Shishu Grehs

Licensed Adoption Placement Agencies (LAPAs)

Indian Federation of Adoptive Families Associations (IFAFA)

CARA has set out both the In-country and Inter-country guidelines and procedures for adoption.

Procedures for in-country adoption are as follows:

Stage I

Prospective adoptive parent(s) should register themselves with the local RIPA / LAPA or Adoption

Coordinating Agency or with the State Adoption Cell.

Stage II

A home study report of the prospective adoptive parents will be prepared by the social worker of theAgency. To allay the fears and apprehensions of the prospective adoptive parent(s), pre-adoptive

counselling sessions will be undertaken by the social worker during the preparation of the home study

report. Assessing the ability of a couple to parent a child not born to them is of crucial importance in a

successful adoption. Therefore, their suitability to care for an unrelated child is assessed through this

home study and counselling. Documents relating to the financial and health status of the prospective

parent(s) will be part of the Home Study Report.

In case of Inter-State adoption applications by parent(s), they will be accompanied by Home Study

prepared by a qualified social worker working in a RIPA/LAPA. Where State Govt.'s have officially

delegated such work for its Officials, the Home Study Report could be prepared by the concerned

Official.

Criteria for eligibility of parent(s) will be adhered to, as stated in Para 1.1.7.

The Agency will make a suitable reference from amongst the admitted children legally free for adoption.

If no suitable child is available, the family will be referred to the ACA.

Stage III

After a Home Study has been accepted and approved, a child will be shown to the parent(s). The agency

will take care to match a child meeting the description, if any, desired by the parent(s).

In case of placement of older children (above the age of 6), both written and verbal consent of the childwill be obtained.

Stage IV

Once a successful matching has been done, the agency will file a petition in the Court/JJB for obtaining

the necessary orders under the relevant Act. The above process will normally be completed in 6-8 weeks.


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CARA now comes under the umbrella of theICPSagencies.

14.Shishu Greha SchemeScheme of Assistance to Homes (Shishu Greh) for Children to promote In-Country Adoption isimplemented by CARA. The purpose of the scheme is to regulate adoption in the country, to provide

institutional care for orphaned, destitute and surrendered children prior to adoption and to promote in-

country adoption. Under this scheme NGOs can register to run a Shishu Greh. 90% of funding will come

from the Government of India and 10% must be covered by the organisation. 100% grants will be

afforded to agencies but only up to Rs. 6,00,000/- a financial year. Under this scheme NGOs and

Voluntary organisations can undertake the following activities:

Opening of Homes for destitute infants in the age group of 0-6 years with the strength of 10 children with

a view to finding adoptive families for them. Such destitute infants could be abandoned/surrendered who

are legally free for adoption.

Homes, which are already running on funds available from other sources, can also apply for separate

grants for specific purposes such as purchase of medicines and utensils, library books, cradles, mattresses,

learning materials, which could include toys also.

Such other activities as may be specified by the Ministry in accordance with the objectives of the scheme

The Shishu Greh Scheme now comes under the umbrella of theICPSprogrammes.

15.CHILDLINE servicesCHILDLINE 1098 is India's first 24 - hour, free, emergency phone outreach service for children

in need of care and protection. Any concerned adult, or a child in need of help can dial 1098, the

toll free number to access our services. We not only respond to the emergency needs of children

but also link them to services for their long-term care and rehabilitation.

1098 is not a mere number. 10 - 9 - 8 or CHILDLINE is a countdown to a better life for the street

child. A friendly or sympathetic 'didi' or 'bhaiya' who is always there for them 24 hours of the

day, 365 days of the year.

CHILDLINE reaches out to all children in need of care and protection. These include: streetchildren, child labourers, children who have been abused, child victims of the flesh trade,

differently-abled children, child addicts, mentally ill children, and children infected by

HIV/AIDS - any child who needs our help

Children / concerned adults call CHILDLINE for medical assistance, shelter, missing children,

Repatriation, Protection from abuse, Emotional support and guidance, Death, information about

CHILDLINE, Volunteers, Information and referral to services, Silent calls, Chat calls etc. It
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intervenes in case of sickness, death and abuse of children, runaways and child labour, always

focusing on the marginalized child. After the initial crisis intervention, CHILDLINE links these

children to long-term services.

Initiated as an experimental project in 1996 CHILDLINE is currently operational in 83 cities of

India spread across 25 states, with a vision to reach out to every child in distress in eachcity/district of India. Nationally, CHILDLINE has responded to over 17 million calls till date.

Today CHILDLINE endeavours to expand to over 590 cities. With government support through

the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), CHILDLINE is on its way to achieve the

ambitious task of scaling the CHILDLINE 1098 service to cover 305 districts by 2012 and the

remaining districts of the country by the end of the 12th Plan. To achieve this momentous goal

CHILDLINE has begun to explore the various cities and towns where our services can be set up.

The challenge in setting up a CHILDLINE service lies in researching the ground realities for

children in the area, connecting and collaborating with various existing organizations such as the

telecommunications department, the local police, and local organizations working with children,and hence eventually setting up prepared and well-equipped CHILDLINE call centres.

16.Reproductive and Child Health ProgrammeThe Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme was launched in October 1997. The main

aim of the programme is to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rates. The main objectives

of the programme in its first phase were:

To improve the implementation and management of policy by using a participatory planningapproach and strengthening institutions to maximum utilization of the project resources

To improve quality, coverage and effectiveness of existing Family Welfare services

To gradually expand the scope and coverage of the Family Welfare services to eventually come

to a defined package of essential RCH services.

Progressively expand the scope and content of existing FW services to include more elements of

a defined package of essential

Give importance to disadvantaged areas of districts or cities by increasing the quality andinfrastructure of Family Welfare services

RCH-I had a number of successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Base line statistics were recorded

in 1998-99 and compared to 2002-03. Percentage of women receiving any ANC rose by about 12

% to reach 77.2%. But use of government health facilities has declined. Use of contraceptives

increased by 3.3 % to 52.0 %, while family planning due to spacing method rose by 3.3% to 10.7

%. Use of permanent methods did not change. Infant mortality came down from 71(SRS 1997)
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to 63 (SRS 2002) but the aim of universal immunization was far from reach. Polio though

reduced has not met the eradication target. Not enough attention was paid to awareness of

diarrhoea management and Acute Respiratory Infection danger signs hence resulting in a rise of

case incidents.

The child health programmes is now its second phase: RCH-II. Following are the aims of theprogramme:

Expand services to the entire sector of Family Welfare beyond RCH scope

Holding States accountable by involving them in the development of the programme

Decentralization for better services

Allowing states to adjust and improve programmes features according to their direct needs.

Improving monitoring and evaluation processes at the District, state and the Central level to

ensure improved program implementation.

Give performance based funding, by rewarding good performers and supporting weak

performers.

Pool together financial support from external sources

Encourage coordination and convergence, within and outside the sector to maximize use

resources as well as infra structural facilities

In 2007 a Joint Review Mission (JRM), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,

reviewed the progress of RCH-II and found with a number of key concern areas. The JRM found

that child health was being limited to immunization and other aspects were being ignored. Proper

guidelines for implementation needed to be put in place for the states. There need to be more

training programmes to meet the need for qualified personnel. Many innovative techniques and

methods that are being implemented need to be evaluated before expansion takes place. Uttar

Pradesh requires additional attention with regard to infrastructure and implementation of RCH

and NHRM. There is a need to increase family planning services to meet the target of on average

only 2.1 children in each family/household.

17.Scheme for Working Children in need of care and protectionThe purpose of the Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protectionis to provide

working children with essential educational services such as non-formal education, and

vocational training. The training must aim at entering or re-entering children in the mainstream

formal education system in cases where they have never attended school and where children
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have discontinued school. The programme aims at preventing and stopping the exploitation of

working children and safeguarding their right to education.

The target of this scheme is projects in urban areas that are not covered by other schemes,

especially those targeting children who are often left out of schemes such as children of

slum/pavement dwellers/drug addicts, children living on railway platforms/ along railway lines,children working in shops, dhabas, mechanic shops etc., children engaged as domestic workers,

children whose parents are in jail, children of migrant labourers/sex workers, leprosy patients etc.

The programme will lend financial support to projects that focus on the programmes objectives

of entry/re-entry in mainstream formal education, provide family counselling and necessary

vocational courses. NGOs who can qualify under this scheme must be registered, have adequate

managerial body, have published aims and objectives, is self governing, and is a non-profit.

All organisation activities under this scheme will be subject to external audits, inspection,

monitoring and evaluation.

The Scheme for Working Children in Need of Care and Protection now comes under the

umbrella of ICPS programmes

18.National Child Labour ProjectIn order to tackle the problem of child labour in India and Ministry of Labour and

Employment took a three prong approach. First was to set up a legal framework for prohibition

and regulation of child labour. Second was to use various development programmes to address

the needs of working children. And third was to set up the National Child Labour Project

(NCLP). The objective of this project is to eliminate child labour in hazardous industries by

2010. The complete elimination of labour is a gradual aim of the project.

Under this scheme, the target group is all children below 14 years of age who are working in

occupations and processes listed in the Schedule to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)

Act, 1986 or occupations and processes that are harmful to the health of the child. As per the

10th plan the following activities were taken up under the purview of NCLP:

Ensuring enforcement of child labour laws

Formal and Non- formal education initiatives like Special Schools (Child Labour Rehabilitation-

cum-Welfare Centres). These schools should offer stipends, nutritional services, and health

services to children and proper training for teachers. The purpose of the school is to prevent

children from working in hazardous industries and mainstreaming them into the formal education

system.

Provision of Vocational Training
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Creating awareness of the harmful effects of child labour on the development of a child

Income and employment generation activities for families

Direct rehabilitation of child labour

Raising of public awareness

Survey and evaluation

During the 10th plan the following strategies were adopted to ensure the expansion and

implementation of the NCLPs:

Expansion of the NCLPs to additional 150 districts during the Plan.

Ensuring that NCLPs have clearly defined targets for their areas

Linking child labour elimination with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to ensure child's right to education

Strengthening the quality and quantity of formal school system in order to help tackle the

problem of drop outs and lack of access to schools.

Creating a more effective monitoring method of child labourers

Coordinating between departments and ministries to ensure that no child is allowed to slip

through the system

Assistance of voluntary organisation in running NCLP schools.