CHILD WELFARE SERVICES:

Introduction:
Children constitute principle assets of any country.  Children’s Development is as important as
the development of material resources and the best way to develop national human resources is
to take care of children.  India has the largest child population in the world.  All out efforts are
being made by India for the development and welfare of children.  Significant progress has been
made in many fields in assuring children their basic rights.  However, much remains to be done. 
The country renews its commitment and determination to give the highest priority to the basic
needs and rights of all children.

Constitutional Provisions
There are several constitutional provisions for children.  These include the following.
 Article 14 provides that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or
the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. 
 Article 15(3) provides that, “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State for making any
special provision for women and children.”
 Article 21 provide that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except
according to procedure established by law.
 Article 21A directs the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children
of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.
 Article 23 prohibits trafficking of human beings and forced labour.
 Article 24 prohibits employment of children below the age of fourteen years in factories,
mines or any other hazardous occupation.
 Article 25-28 provides freedom of conscience, and free profession, practice and
propagation of religion. 
 Article 39(e) and (f) provide that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards
securing to ensure that the health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender
age of children are not abused and that the citizens are not forced by economic necessity
to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength and that the children are given
opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom
and dignity and that the childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and
against moral and material abandonment.
 Article 45 envisages that the State shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and
education for all children until they complete the age of six years.

Legislations
There are several Legislations pertaining to children.  These include the following.
 The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.
 The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
 The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
 The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production,
Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992.
 The Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Technique (Prohibition of Sex Selection)
Act, 1994.

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  The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act, 1995.
 The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
 The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890.
 The Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956.
 The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005

The Children's Act, 1960

The Children's Act I960 in India (amended in 1977) provides for the care, maintenance, welfare,
training, education and rehabilitation of the delinquent child. It covers the neglected, the
destitute, the socially handicapped, uncontrollable, victimised' and the del inquent children.
Article 39(f) of the Constitution oflndia, provides that the state shall in particular direct its policy
towards securing that childhood and youth are protected against moral and material
abandonment.
Types of Children Covered Under the Act
The categories of children who come under the purview of the Children's Act are: Neglected
Child' means a child who:
 is found begging.
 is without any home.
 is a destitute or an orphan.
 has a parent/guardian who is unfit .to exercise or does not exercise proper care and
control over the child
 lives in a brothel or with a prostitute.
 is illegitimate without means of subsistence.
 is exposed to moral danger,
The neglected children can be taken charge of by the police, probation officer, superintendent of
the observation home. Such children, however, should be produced before a juvenile court within
24 hours.

Uncontrollable Child is a child who has been found to have committed an offence under the
Indian Penal Code. The delinquent children are produced before the juvenile court magistrate or
other magistrate authorised to try children cases under the act.

The Other Types of Neglected Children:

• Children of laper parents.
• Children of beggars.
• Girls in moral danger.
• Children of unsound minds and mentally retarded.
Any child needing care, protection and treatment falls under the purview of the children's act.
Such children not taken in charge of in time are likely to go astray and fall into the association of
bad character.
The children act has to be implemented in its proper spirit. The provisions of the act have to
be so interpreted as to bring needy children in its purview.

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Children's Court
Children's Court consists of magistrates forming a bench. It is informal. It holds its sitting in
a room of the observation home, the probation officer, the police officer (in mufti), the child and
his parents/guardians are present. The children's court take into account the report of the
probation officer which consists of social investigation of the child's background and its
recommendations based on the observation and interview of the child. It is seen that the
magistrate functions as the guide, friend and the philosopher of the child.

Juvenile Justice Act. 1986:

This new act has come into force from 2nd Oct. 1987.
It provides for comprehensive scheme for care, protection treatment, development and
rehabilitation.

Some of the special features of the act are:

 It provides for a uniform legal framework for juvenile justice in the country so as to
ensure that no child under any circumstances is put in fail or police lock up.
 It envied specialized approach towards prevention and treatment of juvenile
delinquencies in keeping with the developmental needs of the children.
 It establishes norms and standards for administration of juvenile justice in terms of
investigation, care, treatment and rehabilitation.
 It lays down appropriate linkage and coordination between the formal system of juveniles
justice and voluntary organizations. It specifically defines the role and responsibilities of
both,

POLICIES
The National Policy for Children:
The National Policy for Children was adopted on 22nd Aug., 1974.  This Policy lays down that
the State shall provide adequate services towards children, both before and after birth and during
the growing stages for their full physical, mental and social development.  The measures
suggested include amongst others, a comprehensive health program, supplementary nutrition for
mothers and children, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years,
promotion of physical education and recreational activities, special consideration for children of
weaker sections like SCs and STs, prevention of exploitation of children, etc.

National Charter for Children:

The Government of India adopted the National Charter for Children which has been prepared
after obtaining the views/comments and suggestions of the State Governments/UT
Administrations, concerned Ministries and Departments and experts in the field.  The National
Charter is a statement of intent embodying the Government’s agenda for Children.  The
document emphasizes Government of India’s commitment to children’s rights. The document
also provides for protection of children in difficult circumstances, children with disabilities,
children from marginalised and disadvantaged communities, and child victims. The document
while stipulating the duties of the State and the Community towards children also emphasizes the
duties of children towards family, society and the Nation.  The National Charter for Children was
notified in the Gazette of India on 9th Feb., 2004.

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India acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 11th Dec., 1992 to reiterate its
commitment to the cause of children.  The objective of the Convention is to give every child the
right to survival and development in a healthy and congenial environment. 

National Plan of Action for Children 2005

National Plan of Action for Children 2005 M/o of Women and Child Development has
prepared a National Plan of Action for Children 2005 after harmonizing the goals for children set
in the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children held in 2002 and the monitorable
targets set in the Tenth Five Year Plan, and goals for children in related Ministries/Departments. 
The Prime Minister’s Office is quarterly monitoring the National Plan of Action for Children
2005 on the basis of eight parameters.  These are as under:
1. Reduce IMR to below 30 per 1000 live births by 2010.
2. Reduce Child Mortality Rate to below 31 per 1000 live births by 2010.
3. To reduce Maternal Mortality Rate to below 100 per 100,000 live births by 2010.
4. Universal equitable access and use of safe drinking water and improved access to
sanitary means of excreta disposal by 2010.
5. 100% rural population to have access to basic sanitation by 2012.
6. To eliminate child marriages by 2010
7. To eliminate disability due to poliomyelitis by 2007
8. To reduce the proportion of infants infected with HIV by 20 percent by 2007 and by 50
percent by 2010, by ensuring that 80 per cent of pregnant women have access to ante
natal care, and 95 per cent of men and women aged 15-24 have access to care,
counseling and other HIV and prevention services.
 
Schemes/Projects

Several Ministries and Departments of the Government of India are implementing various
schemes and programmes for the benefit of children.  Some of the Schemes and Programmes
being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development are as under:  

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme

Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the children of working mothers
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a new Creche Scheme w.e.f.
1.1.2006 by merging the National Creche Fund with the Scheme of Assistance to Voluntary
Organisations for Creche for Working and Ailing Women’s Children and also to revise the
financial norms from Rs.18, 480/- to Rs. 42,384/- per crèche per annum. The Scheme provides
crèche services to the children of age group of 0 to 6 year, which includes supplementary
nutrition, emergency medicines and contingency. These crèches will be allocated to the Central
Social Welfare Board, Indian Council for Child Welfare and Bhartiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh in
the ratio of 80:11:9.  The priority will be given to uncovered districts/areas and tribal areas while
extending the scheme to maintain balance regional coverage.  Eligibility criteria under the
Revised Scheme has also been enhanced from Rs 1800/- to Rs.12,000/- per month per family. 
So far about 25605 creches have been sanctioned including 5137 creches sanctioned under
erstwhile National Creche Scheme upto 20th Nov., 2006

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Nutrition Component of Prime Minister Gramodya Yojana and Nutrition Programme for
Adolescent Girls in 51 Districts being implemented with additional central assistance given by
the Planning Commission, directly and indirectly contribute to promoting nutrition of children. 

A National Nutrition Mission has been set up under the chairpersonship of Hon’ble Prime
Minister vide notification dated 31st July 2003 with a view to enable policy direction to
concerned Departments of the Government for addressing the problem of malnutrition in a
mission mode.

An Integrated Programme for Street Children is being implemented by the Ministry of

Women and Child Development specifically for those children who are on streets and homeless
and include the ragpicking and vagabond children.  The Scheme aims at providing full and
wholesome development of children without homes and family ties. The children without homes
and family ties and children especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation such as children of
sex workers and children of pavement dwellers are the target group for this Programme.
Financial assistance is provided to the NGOs who are eligible and working for the welfare of the
street children.

Integrated Programme for Juvenile Justice:

The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment with
a view to providing care to children in difficult circumstances and children in conflict with the
law through Government institutions and through NGOs.  Some special features of the scheme
areas:
1. Establishment of a National Advisory Board on Juvenile Justice
2. Creation of a Juvenile Justice Fund.
3. Training, orientation and sensitization of Judicial, administrative police and NGOs
responsible for implementation of JJ Act.
4. Institutional care shall be used but only as a last measure by enlarging the range of
suitable alternatives.
5. Financial assistance to bring about a qualitative improvement in the existing
infrastructure. Expansion of non-institutional services such as sponsorship, foster care,
probation etc as and an alternate to institutional care.

Childline India Foundation (CIF) has been set up as a nodal organization, supported by
Government of India, to monitor and ensure the qualitative development of the Childline service
across the country.  Childline is a toll free telephone service(1098) which anyone can call for
assistance in the interest of children.  It has prescribed minimum quality standards for the
services to be provided by its partner organizations that are implementing Childline programmes
in various cities of the country. It initiates preparatory activity that precedes the initiation of
Childline service in any city.  CIF is also involved in awareness and advocacy in order to
strengthen the efforts relating to child welfare.

The objective of the Shishu Greh Scheme is to promote adoptions within the country and to
ensure minimum standards in the care of abandoned/orphaned/destitute children. Grant-in-Aid
upto a ceiling of Rs.6 lakh has been provided per unit of 10 children in a Shishu Greh.

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RECENT INITIATIVES

The Commissions for Protection of the Child Rights Act 2005 The Government has recently
notified the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act 2005 in the Gazette of India on 20 th
Jan., 2006 as Act No.4 of 2006. The Act envisages setting up a National Commission at the
National level and the State Commissions at the State level. The proposed Commission will have
a Chairperson and six other Members, including two women members, a Member Secretary and
other supporting staff. The Chairperson would be a person of eminence in the field of child
development. The members would be the experts in the field of child health. The officers and the
staff of the Commission will be provided by the Central Government.

The Functions of the Commissions are:

1. Examine and review the safeguards provided by Constitution or any law for the
protection of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation
2. Present to the Central Government, annually reports upon the working of those
safeguards.
3. Examine all factors that inhibit the enjoyment of rights of most vulnerable children and
children in need of special care and protection
4. Study treaties and other international instruments and undertake periodical review of
existing policies, programmes and other activities on child rights and make
recommendation for their effective implementation in the best interest of children.
5. Undertake and promote research in the field of child rights
6. Spread child rights literacy among various sections of the society and promote awareness
7. inspect any juvenile custodial home, or any other place of residence or institution meant
for children for the purpose of treatment, reformation or protection and take up with these
authorities for remedial action
8. inquire into complaints and take suo motu notice of matters relating to,-
I. deprivation of child’s rights;
II. non-implementation of laws for protection and  development of    children;
III. non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or and to provide relief to such
children,
IV. or take up the issues arising out of such matters with appropriate authorities; and
Such other functions as it may consider necessary for the promotion of child rights

The Powers of the Commission include the following:

(a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(b) Requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) Receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; and
(e) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.
(f) Forwarding any case to a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the
Magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint
against the accused
(g) Recommending to the concerned Government or authority the initiation of proceedings
for prosecution or such other action as deem fit against the concerned person/s

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 (h) Approaching the Supreme Court or the High Court concerned for such directions, orders
or writs as that Court may deem necessary;
(i) Recommending to the concerned Government or authority for the grant of such interim
relief to the victim or the members of his family as the Commission consider necessary.

State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights

 The Bill also provides that State Governments may constitute State Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights in their State and designate a State level and other district level
children’s Court in their respective State.
 The Bill has similar provisions for State Commissions in respect of their constitution,
reporting, functions and powers.

Offences against Children (Prevention) Bill

Child abuse involves several aspects, such as, sexual exploitation, economic exploitation,
domestic violence, trafficking for prostitution, corporal punishment at school, and others.
Therefore, the Ministry felt a need to have a dialogue on the issue so as to ascertain the views
from all quarters and to formulate a consensus in order to address the issue more adequately and
effectively.  It has been decided after consultation to constitute a small group consisting of
representative from Government, NGOs, legal experts and social workers which will go into all
aspects of the subject and after considering all existing legal provisions and others available on
the subject and formulate a draft legislation to address all issues pertaining to child abuse. After
wide consultations a draft Bill for Offences Against Children was prepared and circulated to the
State Governments for their comments and views. After obtaining the comments of concerned
Ministries and Departments a draft Cabinet Note has been referred to Law Ministry for their
vetting.  The proposal will be placed before the Cabinet shortly.
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OTHER ACTIVITIES OF CHILD WELFARE

Cooperation with UNICEF

UNICEF projects are being implemented in India through Master Plan of Operations, which is an
agreement prepared after mutual consultation and consensus within the framework of Basic
Agreement signed between India and UNICEF in 1978. India is the largest Country Programme
of UNICEF in the world.
The Programmes are being implemented through various Ministries and Departments dealing
with children which includes Ministry of Women and Child Development, Department of
Elementary Education and Literacy, Department of Family Welfare and NACO, Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting,
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, and Department of Drinking Water Supply (Rajiv Gandhi
National Drinking Water Mission).
The Ministry of Women Child Development is the nodal Ministry for coordinating the
implementation of the Master Plan of Operations.  The Ministry of Women and Child
Development conducts periodic review meetings to coordinate and monitor the implementation
and expenditure of the UNICEF programmes in India.
The current Master Plan of Operations for the period 2003-07 was signed by GOI & UNICEF on
13th January, 2003. 

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The MPO aims to achieve the following objectives: - (a) to empower families and communities
with appropriate knowledge and skills to improve the care and protection of children (b) to
expand partnerships as a way to leverage resources for children and scale up interventions (c) to
strengthen the evaluation and knowledge base of best practices on children.
The programme contribute towards (a) reduction in infant and maternal mortality (b)
improvements in levels of child nutrition (c) ensuring universal elementary education (d)
enhancing child protection (e) protection of children and adolescents from HIV/AIDS.
The major activities included in different sectoral programmes are given below:
 Education
 Child Development and Nutrition
 Child Protection
 Reproductive and Child Health 
 Child’s Environment: Water, Environment and Sanitation 
 HIV/AIDS 
 Advocacy and Partnerships
India is annually contributing an amount of Rs. 3.80 crore to UNICEF

WELL BABY CLINIC:

Well-baby clinics, or well-child clinics as they are commonly known, deal with the total well-
being of children and family. As public health clinics, supported by tax dollars, they provide a
safety net for the economically disadvantaged by offering low-cost health care. The clinics
operate on a slidingfee scale, or they may give free care to families unable to pay.

One of the important services offered by well-baby clinics is the provision of immunizations for
childhood diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b,
hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. The clinics are responsible for tracking
immunization rates in the community and notifying families when shots are due.

Families frequently ask why their children need routine health care when they have already
received all of their required immunizations. The answer is simply that well-child clinics provide
an array of diagnostic and preventative services. Infants are checked for growth and
developmental delays. At each visit the staff will check the eyes for vision abnormalities and
muscle imbalance, the ears for infection, the heart for murmurs, and the hips for developmental
dysplasia. Infants are initially examined at two weeks of age. Subsequent visits are at 2, 4, 6, 9,
and 12 months. Toddlers and preschoolers are seen at 15 months, 18 months, and then yearly at
2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years. Testing is done for anemia and lead poisoning on this age group because
early detection and intervention is needed to prevent damage to sensitive developing neurologic
tissue. The staff also teaches anemia and lead prevention techniques. Interagency referrals are
made to the Women, Infant, and Children WIC Food Program and to housing agencies when
needed. These older children receive routine screening of vision, hearing, blood pressure,
language, and development. When problems are detected, referrals for early intervention can
then be made before school age.

School-age children are routinely examined every one to two years for school and camp
physicals. Teenagers are screened for sports participation and work permits. They are also

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counseled on age-appropriate issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, prevention of sexually
transmitted diseases, and the hazards of smoking.

Families are often not aware of available community programs and services. The staff of well-
baby clinics provides referrals to other agencies that educate families on parenting skills and
financial counseling. Referrals to other health-coverage programs are also often discussed. Most
importantly, the staff provides parenting guidance for those with no support system in an effort
to help reduce child abuse and neglect.The Well Baby Clinic provides a scheduled assessment of
your child's nutritional and medical needs.

In Civil Hospital Ahmedabad the well – baby clinic is conducted at the Pediatric OPD, on
Wednesdays from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

UNDER FIVE CLINICS:

The concept of under five clinics is rather a new one in India, although well-baby clinic have
been functioning for a number of years.
The under five clinics, combines the concepts of preventive, treatment, health supervision,
nutritional surveillance and education into a system of comprehensive health care within the
resources available in the country, thus making the services not only economical but also
available to a larger proportion of children. Experience has shown that it is one of the least
expensive services to set up, and one in which the community takes active interest.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The aims and objectives of the under five clinics are set out in the symbol or emblem which has
been proposed for the under five clinics in India.

Care in
illness

Growth Preventive
Monitoring Care

SYMBOL FOR UNDER – FIVES’ CLINICS

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1. CARE IN ILLNES:
The apex of the symbol represents “care and treatment of sick children”. This is the
mother’s felt need. Studies have shown that 70% to 80% of care of sick children can be
handled by trained nurses. It is the also the basic philosophy of the under five clinics to
give nurses effective training and responsibility for handling the child care service.
The illness care of children will comprise:

A. Diagnosis and treatment of:

 Acute illness
 Chronic illness including physical, mental, congenital and acquired
abnormalities
 Disorders of growth and development
B. X – ray and laboratory services
C. Referral services

2. PREVENTIVE CARE:
I. Immunization:
Immunization is the World’s greatest public health tool. In the context of
HFA/2000, one of the health goals was to immunize all children against the big
six infectious disease of childhood, namely diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus,
measles, polio and tuberculosis. Immunization is done according to the Universal
Immunization Program.

II. Nutritional surveillance:

Almost all the major nutritional disorders (e.g. PEM, anaemia, rickets, nutritional
blindness) occur in this age group. Nutritional surveillance is extremely important
for identifying sub clinical nutrition as it tends to be over looked. Food
supplements on – site feeding are often an integral part of intervention strategies.
E.g. ICDS program

III. Health check ups:

Health check ups covers the physical examination and appropriate laboratory
tests. These check ups are provided every three to six months. The child health
card provides a check list for these examinations; these cards are in use in all
ICDS projects. The health check ups can be very useful in identifying at-risk
children, so that they can be enlisted for special care.

IV. Oral rehydration:

On an average the child living in a poor community in the developing world will
suffer an attack of diarrheal infection between 2 to 6 times per year. Every
episode of diarrhea lowers the child’s nutritional level and every episode carries
with it the risk of death from dehydration. The home use of ORT has opened the
way for drastic reduction in child deaths and malnutrition.

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 V. Family planning:
In the center of the symbol is the triangular area. If this is colored red, we have
the familiar family planning triangle of India. This puts family planning in its
correct context – in the center of concerned for the health and well – being of
child. Mother receives the counseling with regard to family planning and it is
possible to conduct family planning program successfully through this clinic.

VI. Health education:

Around the whole symbol is border that touches all the other areas. This
represents health education which the mother automatically receives. She is told
how to keep the child clean, how and what to feed, when she should bring the
child for immunization. This will be a great help to her in rearing the children.

3. GROWTH MONITORING:
One of the basic activities of the under five clinics, is growth monitoring, i.e. to weigh the
child periodically at monthly interval during the first year, every two month during the
second year, and every three months thereafter upto the age of five to six years. When the
child’s weight is plotted on the growth chart against his or her age it gives what is known
as the growth curve. This will help the health worker to detect early onset of growth
failure. The health worker will check the common cause of growth faltering e.g. failure of
breast – feeding, inadequate nutrition, intestinal parasites, silent tuberculosis or important
infections.

CHILD GUIDANCE CLINIC:

INTRODUCTION:
The first child guidance clinic was started in Chicago in 1909 and ever since, they have grown in
number and complexity throughout the world. Originally intended to deal with problems of
juvenile delinquency, child guidance clinics deal with all children or adolescents who for one
reason or other, are not fully adjusted to their environment. The object of child guidance is to
prevent children from the possibility of becoming neurotics and psychotics in later life.

Team Work:
Child Guidance is a team work job – the team comprising of a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist,
educational psychologist, psychiatric social workers, public health nurses, pediatrician, speech
therapist, occupational therapist and a neurologist. The psychiatrist is the central figure and is
helped by the others in arriving at a correct diagnosis and formulating the line of treatment.

Services:
The pediatrician takes care of the physical health of the child. The core of therapy is
psychotherapy in order to restore positive feelings of security in the child. To achieve this, many
methods are employed e.g. plays therapy, counseling, suggestions, change in the physical
environment, easing of parental tension, reconstruction of parental attitudes etc. The child
guidance clinics operate on the premise that if sound foundations of mental health are laid in
childhood and adolescence, the same will continue into adulthood.

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