Childline 1098 to go; govt proposes new child helpline, care plan for each child

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New Delhi, July 7

The government on Thursday mandated annual mapping of children at risk in every district, placement of complaint boxes in every police station and child care institution and individual care plan for each child in need of care and protection.

The above and much more have been defined under the responsibilities of the district magistrate who has been made in charge of child protection and assigned duties.

Issuing new guidelines under Mission Vatsalya, a centrally sponsored scheme which subsumes all other existing child protection schemes, the government also said the existing child helpline would be integrated with the emergency helpline 112 being run by the home ministry.

This implies that child line – 1098 – the currently used helpline will not function once norms for the new child risk response mechanism are finalised and issued separately.

The guidelines, which have legal force, say the district magistrate will be responsible for the implementation of the Mission in the district and the District Child Protection Unit will function under the DM’s supervision to ensure service delivery and care and protection of children in the district.

The DM would be required to develop District Annual Plan of action in consultation with stakeholders, secure benefits and entitlements to the child under other existing schemes of the government, conduct surprise inspections of the Child Care institutions, ensure placement of suggestion box in these Institutions, Police Stations and other places with sizeable population of children, look into complaints and take action.

“DM must hold monthly meetings to discuss needs of children and availability of resources, their vaccination, pattern of crime and violence against children and actions taken to arrest these crimes, quality of child care institutions, status of sponsorship and foster care and status of missing, lost, run away or dead children in CCIs in the district,” the guidelines say.

They also mandate identification of families at risk and children in need of care and protection through effective networking and linkages with the block and gram panchayats, a local vulnerability mapping of the district in terms of children in difficult circumstances and resource mapping of the district in terms of child related service providers.

“Ensure that each child in need of care and protection has an individual care plan and that the plan is regularly reviewed,” the guidance says, making it compulsory for states to register all child care institutions and upload their details on a related portal.

Funding

Mission Vatsalya will be a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with Centre and states to share in the 60:40 ratio; for 8 North-Eastern States, and two Himalayan States Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the sharing will be 90: 10 and for Union Territories without Legislature, it shall be 100 pc.

Using scheme name mandatory for funding: Centre to states

The government said states, to avail of funds under the scheme, will have to use the name of the Scheme.