Several Child Care Institutions (CCIs), aimed at providing shelter for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP), are running under highly unhygienic conditions and there is no security for the inmates staying in some homes.
This was revealed during the inspections conducted by the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) in the State recently.
The Commission expressed concern over the deaths, missing and sickness of children reported in some CCIs. Some incidents went unreported in the State, said SCPCR Chairman K. Appa Rao.
“SCPCR will act tough against the CCIs which fail to comply with the rules prescribed under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and ignore the orders of the government and the officials concerned. The Commission will crack the whip on the unregistered CCIs too,” the Chairman warned.
About 350 CCIs were running in the State, providing shelter to more than 3,000 children. A couple of deaths and other incidents were reported in CCIs in the State this year, he said.
A 13-year-old boy died under mysterious circumstances in a CCI at Avanigadda in Krishna district a couple of months ago and investigation is still on. Four special children were sexually abused in a CCI near Ibrahimpatnam in NTR district in June this year. After an inquiry, the Disha Mahila Police registered a case under POCSO Act and arrested four persons.
A few days ago, a Yanadi tribe girl, aged about seven years, died of ill-health in a CCI. She was referred to the home by the NTR District Child Welfare Committee (CWC), but the death was not intimated to the officials concerned, the CWC or the police who rescued the girl, Mr. Appa Rao said.
The Commission members observed that the District Inspection Committees (DICs), headed by Juvenile Welfare Department, were not inspecting the CCIs regularly as mandated by the JJ Act, said B. Padmavathi, a member of the Commission.
Violation of norms
In some institutions, there were no CC cameras and helpline numbers. The particulars of the children taking shelter, the staff details and other information was not displayed. The staff were not trained and boys and girls were kept in one institution, violating the norms. Due to shortage of staff in the Juvenile Welfare, Correctional Services and Welfare of Street Children, the officials could not conduct regular inspections, the Commission members observed.
Admission, outgoing, sickness and visitors registers were not being maintained. The District Probation Officers (DPOs), who were the nodal officers to inspect the institutions, did not submit any report in many districts on the lapses in the CCIs, they said.
“Some CCI lack toilets and electricity and the dormitories are in an unhygienic condition. In some institutions, children were staying illegally without the reference of the CWCs, and there was no updated information to the officials or police concerned on runaway children,” said Mr. Appa Rao, adding more institutions would be inspected in the State soon.
