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Child Sensitive Social Protection in Dungarpur

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Save the Children

WE ARE the world’s leading independent organisation for children.

OUR VISION is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and

participation.

OUR MISSION is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and

lasting change in their lives.

Supported by Official Development Aid, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Finland

Copyright: Save the Children Finland, 2014

Photo credit: Harish Chanderiya, Save the Children

Text: Save the Children, N.R. Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd

Layout: N.R. Management Consultants India Pvt. Ltd

The names of people have been changed to protect their identity.

ChILD SeNSITIve SOCIAL PROTeCTION IN DuNGARPuR 3

Child Poverty in Dungarpur

Dungarpur, located in the southernmost tip of the state of Rajasthan in western India, presents an alarming picture of child poverty and vulnerability alongside poor child development indicators. Most households in the district are excluded from the benefits of India’s economic progress. This has led to a history of chronic poverty and violation of children’s rights through neglect of their immediate as well as long-term development.

Poor maternal health, negligence in pre- and antenatal care, faulty breast feeding practices, and a lack of awareness on immunisation and hygiene practices have resulted in a dismal Infant Mortality Rate of 67 per 1,000 live births.1 Families depend on faith healers and quacks in the absence of appropriate health care services. Lack of awareness on nutrition and poor delivery of related government services has resulted in rampant malnutrition. Recent figures estimate that 55 per cent of all children in Dungarpur are malnourished.2

Child labour is a common phenomenon in Dungarpur with reports evidencing that as many as 40,000 children annually migrate to the neighbouring state of Gujarat to work in the cotton fields.3 The district is also a bottom ranker in education.4 Many children between the age of 6 and 14 drop out of school.

1 The state IMR average is 60 (Ministry of health and Family Welfare, Government of India, 2011)

2 hungama report, 20113 The hindu, 2012 (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/weak-laws-

allow-child-labour-in-agriculture/article3517461.ece)4 Population Census, 2011; See Child Poverty in Dungarpur, Child education

reference (Save the Children, 2012)

ChILD SeNSITIve SOCIAL PROTeCTION IN DuNGARPuR4

Losing a Family

RAkeSh is 14 years old

and an orphan. He lost his

father to a sudden illness.

His mother too passed away

a year later, and his sister,

seriously affected, died three

days later. Traumatized,

Rakesh dropped out of

school and left his home.

He now moves from one

relative to another.

The death or serious illness of the family breadwinner aggravates domestic poverty, often resulting in children being forced to leave school for work. Parents also do not perceive education as being worthwhile, especially when the children can earn money either by migrating or working locally. Other factors that contribute to migration include the availability of opportunities for, and the glamourization of child labour, as well as the poor quality of education.

Ill health and lack of appropriate medical care result in many parents dying while their children are still young. In case the father dies, a mother might abandon her children and remarry in accordance with local custom. While some orphaned children are properly nurtured and cared for by relatives, many face neglect or end up as child-headed households.


CSSP: Combating Childhood Poverty

Save the Children initiated the Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) project in Dungarpur district in 2011 to address the challenging situation of child poverty and vulnerability. The project rests on the premise that improved access to social protection5 and better service delivery for children and their households, along with enhanced sensitivity for children’s needs and rights by parents and other adults, can play a key role in reducing child poverty.

In order to identify vulnerable and deprived children in the district, Save the Children conducted a Child Poverty and vulnerability Mapping (CPvM) exercise covering 87 villages (the intended project area) across Dungarpur and Bicchiwara blocks. A set of criteria that indicated deprivation or potential deprivation of education, adequate food and appropriate health care among different groups of children was developed for this mapping exercise. The findings are presented in a separate paper. The data is being updated regularly.6

5 Social Protection in the CSSP project includes social assistance (cash and food transfers), social insurance, and targeted social services (i.e. the Integrated Child Development Services or ICDS programme).

6 Child Poverty in Dungarpur, Save the Children 2012

CSSP in Dungarpur aims to

n reduce child labour and increase school attendance and retention

n improve care of orphans and other vulnerable children

n reduce malnutrition


Based on the findings of various studies and initial piloting of different interventions, the CSSP project has now evolved into three separate but interlinked components.

MGNREGS - Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; OVC - Orphans & other Vulnerable Children;ICDS - Integrated Child Development Services; MTC - Malnutrition Treatment Centre; Palanhar - Caregiver

Component 1:Access to Social Protection

The CSSP Project in Dungarpur

Target group based approach

Component 3:Influence Policy and Programmes

Child labour School drop outsChildren who are irregular in school

Malnourishedchildren

Scheme based approach

Palanhar Scheme (Cash transfer for

OVC)

MGNREGS (Employment

Guarantee Scheme)

Enhance child sensitivity of: Parents Community Service providers

Meaningful participation of children

Establish transparent and accountable

mechanisms

Develop a Community Health

Insurance/ Protection Programme (CHPP)

Analyse the effectiveness of social protection programmes

Lobby and advocate for improving the design and

delivery of government social protection programmes

Generate evidence from components

1 & 2

Enhance child sensitivity by working with local government on:

Community norms on child labour and school attendance

Appropriate child care measures

Enhance child sensitivity of: Parents ICDS and community

health workers

Identify, aware and link to ICDS & MTC

Identify, aware and link to social protection

Identify, aware and link to Palanhar scheme

Enhance child sensitivity of: Caregivers School & ICDS

Develop life skills of children

Component 2:Linking Social Protection with Child Sensitivity


Progress on Key Components of the CSSP Project

Access to Social Protection

This component addresses the challenges of access to social protection programmes. Interventions focus on developing the Gram Panchayat7 as a one-stop shop to facilitate individuals to submit applications for various social protection schemes. elected panchayat members, panchayat secretaries and local government staff are capacitated to manage and support people in this process. A MIS system on social protection programmes (applications, sanctions, etc) is being developed at panchayat level to systematize information. Increased understanding of procedures related to accessing social protection has led to a well-informed local cadre who can bridge the gap between those eligible and the respective departments. Awareness on existing government accountability tools that applicants can resort to for pursuing applications (such as the Public hearing Act) has been spread.

Transparency and accountability have been further enhanced through village level statutory platforms – the Ward Sabha, Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat meetings that provide a forum for sharing information and initiating grievances. Community participation in these meetings has considerably increased. As a result of the CSSP project, 3821 people have been facilitated to access various government social protection schemes that they are eligible for.

In addition, the project has introduced a Community health Protection Programme that operates through Self-Help Group federations in the district. This aims to help families with health problems by providing access to preventive health care services and knowledge, health checkups, treatment, referrals and reimbursements against hospitalization. Till now 7311 people have been enrolled into the ChPP since its inception in 2012.

The Dungarpur CSSP project covers 20 Gram Panchyats (village councils) comprising 87 villages. A part of the project, i.e. 50 villages, is directly implemented by Save the Children while a local partner, People’s education and Development Organisation ( PeDO) looks after implementation in 37 villages. The purpose of and progress of each of the three components of the project is described below.

Component 1


Child labour (Target group)The focus of this approach is on changing the attitude, behavior and practice of parents towards child labour and education. This is achieved through intensive communication including kalajatha (village plays), focus group discussions, parenting sessions, film shows and individual interactions with parents and children. Parents are made aware of existing social protection programmes that they can avail of (school related as well as other programmes). A cost benefit analysis of child labour against school is also used to bolster parents’ interest in education. This accounts for social protection that can be availed while in school versus hard cash received from child labour. As a result of the target group based approach, a total of 1064 children have been withdrawn from work and enrolled in school. Regular follow up of these children is being done to ensure their regularity in school.

Malnourished children (Target group) The work aims at improving the delivery of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)8 scheme with a focus on malnutrition. The staff of ICDS as well as health workers are capacitated to communicate causes of and remedies for malnutrition with parents and to screen and refer malnourished children to the Malnutrition Treatment Centre (MTC).9 Regular support in capacity building of frontline staff has resulted in early identification and appropriate treatment of many malnourished children. Till date, 124 malnourished children have been treated as a direct result of the project intervention. Children’s regularity at the ICDS centers has increased and the distribution of supplementary food has also improved.

Linking Social Protection to Child Sensitivity

This component has a two-pronged approach: firstly, targeting specific groups of children and, secondly, focusing on enhancing child sensitivity of selected government social protection programmes.

Palanhar YojanaThe project aims to strengthen Palanhar Yojana, which is a cash transfer programme for caregivers of orphans and other vulnerable children. The work is centered on improving caregiver skills of adults and life skills of Palanhar children and to strengthen the role of the school and other concerned institutions in enhancing the well-being of the targeted children. Children and caregivers are receiving the skill-building package well and the interest to participate in the sessions is high. There is a plan to share this model with the government so that it can be institutionalized as a part of the scheme.

The CSSP project has helped 689 caregivers in Dungarpur to access Palanhar Yojana. Continuous advocacy efforts at district level has led to the release of over 10 million rupees to 1347 Palanhar families whose applications had been sanctioned but had not yet received any cash payment.

Component 2


7 Gram Panchayat is a local self-government institution at the village or small town in India and has a Sarpanch as its elected head. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grampanchayat

8 ICDS is a nationwide government social service cum social protection programme primarily aimed at addressing malnutrition and health issues of children under 6 and to promote health of pregnant and lactating mothers. It includes the following services: immunisation, supplementary nutrition, health check up, referral services, pre-school, nutrition and health information.

9 The Malnutrition Treatment Centre is a free government service that also includes a social protection element. The family member/attendant who stays with the child at the MTC is entitled to a cash benefit for loss of income up to 14 days. Free food and medicines are also given.

10 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNReGS) is a national livelihood programme to implement a law that provides a right to a minimum of 100 days of employment in a year to a rural household through unskilled or manual work.

11 See footnote number 8 on ICDS

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)10

A rapid field assessment of the MGNReGS indicated that lack of appropriate child care is resulting in elder children dropping out of school to attend to younger siblings while mothers are at the worksites. In some cases, young children are left alone at home for several hours. At times, children substitute parents for work. The project collaborates with selected panchayats to make the scheme more child- sensitive i.e., to ensure that children do not get into labour or skip school as a result of MGNReGS. This is pursued through facilitating a set of local norms to be developed by the community. The project is also collaborating with the district administration to initiate child care services for MGNReGS workers as a part of the ICDS scheme.11 Alongside, recommendations have been drafted for the government suggesting how the scheme can be designed to have a more positive impact on children.

Influencing government social protection policy and programmes

This component draws on field experiences and learning to lobby for more effective social protection programmes for the benefit of poor children. Save the Children works very closely with the district administration, which has appreciated the CSSP project as a credible strategy for improving access to and impact of social protection. The district government has also sought support from Save the Children in obtaining information, follow up and monitoring of various schemes.

Save the Children is a part of district level committees on administrative reform and is also engaged with the district administration on child protection issues. Recently, the project presented a paper with recommendations for improving design and delivery of 10 child focused social protection schemes to the district departments. Based on inputs received, the recommendations will now be pursued at state level. The project also works closely with state and local media to highlight case studies and discrepancies in social protection schemes, which have often resulted in immediate action by the district government.

Component 3


Motivating parents to send children back to school

MADhu is a widow living with her four children. After her husband Mohan’s death, she needed to work longer hours to manage her family and make ends meet. In the absence of another caretaker, she made her eldest daughter vimla, who was studying in class 7, drop out of school to care for her younger brother.

The CSSP field staff identified the family and facilitated access to Palanhar Yojana for Madhu’s other two daughters, krishna and kareena, who were in class 3 and 6 respectively. After getting the funding approved, Madhu received a decent amount that supplemented her income. The field staff again visited Madhu and motivated her to send vimla back to school so that she too could benefit from the Palanhar sheme. her mother finally consented and re-enrolled her in school.

Presently, Madhu receives Rs 3,000 per month from the Palanhar Yojana for her three children and all three girls are now attending school regularly.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Save the Children, Bal Raksha BharatRajasthan State Programme Office42 vrindavan vihar, king’s RoadJaipur 302021Rajasthan, IndiaPhone: +91-141-4035881, 3220881

www.savethechildren.in

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