(a) whether any Regulatory Mechanism is in place to keep a check on the Government as well as private orphanages in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the number and nature of cases of child abuse reported in orphanages during the last three years and the current year; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to ensure a respectable life for the inmates of orphanages after achieving adulthood?
MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI KRISHNA TIRATH)
(a) & (b): State Governments/UT Administrations as well as voluntary organisations are setting up and managing Homes for
children under various Acts, mainly Orphanages and Other Charitable Home (Supervision and Control) Act, 1960, Women’s and
Children’s Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956, and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ Act).
However, to ensure uniformity in quality of care being provided to children in all the Homes as well as afford them
the appropriate rehabilitation services, Section 34 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 [JJ Act]
was amended in 2006 to provide for registration of all Child Care Institutions (CCIs) under the JJ Act, irrespective of the Act
under which they are already registered. This makes the organisations responsible for providing the standards of care prescribed
in under its Model Rules. This also makes them liable to monitoring by the Government and inspection committees set up under the
Act. The Government in the Ministry of Women and Child Development is constantly urging the State Governments/UT Administrations
to ensure that all CCIs are registered under the JJ Act.
(c): National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has received 5, 7, 10 and 4 complaints of abuse of children in Children’s
Homes/Observation Homes under the JJ Act, in the years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 (up to 22.11.2011). Details are at Annex.
(d): Section 44 of the JJ Act requires the State Governments/UT Administrations to have ‘after care programmes’ for taking care of
children, for a period of three years, after they leave Homes to enable them to lead an honest, industrious and useful life. The
Government in the Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely Integrated Child
Protection Scheme (ICPS), under which financial assistance is provided to State Governments/UT Administrations, inter-alia for
after-care services for such children to help sustain them during the transition from institutional to independent life. The services
include housing facilities, vocational training, help to gain employment, counseling and stipend etc.