Legislation and Institutional framework  for child care and protection in Himachal Pradesh 

The protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect due to detereoiration of moral value of society so it became important for governmnet to take steps on the Rights of the Children provides for the protection of children in and out of the home.  So, Himachal Pradesh govt. has taken institutional and legislative steps to protect and care  children.

1. Child Related Acts :

(i) Child Marriage Prohibition Act 2006 : The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) defines child marriage as marriage in which either the girl or the boy is underage, i.e., the girl is under 18 years of age or the boy is younger than 21 years.

The Prohibition of Child Marriages Act was introduced in 2006 to address the weaknesses inherent in the former legislations. It came into effect from 1 November 2007, replacing the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) of 1929 or Sharda Act. This law was amended in 1978, wherein the legal age of marriage of girls was raised from 15 to 18 years and of boys from 18 to 21 years. The amended law was known as the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.

(ii) Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act. 2012 (POCSO) : The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, has been passed by the Lok Sabha today, 22nd May, 2012. The Bill was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha on 10th May, 2012. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 has been drafted to strengthen the legal provisions for the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For the first time, a special law has been passed to address the issue of sexual offences against children. Sexual offences are currently covered under different sections of IPC. The IPC does not provide for all types of sexual offences against children and, more importantly, does not distinguish between adult and child victims.

(iii) Prevention of Sexual Harassment of women at work places 2013 : The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013.[3] The Act came into force from 9 December 2013. This statute superseded the Vishakha Guidelines for prevention of sexual harassment introduced by the Supreme Court of India. It was reported by the International Labour Organization that very few Indian employers were compliant to this statute.

(iv) Juvenile Justice Act. 2006 : 

The Objective of the Act:

•  To Lay Down A Legal Structure For The Juvenile Justice System In The Country
• To Provide A Special Approach To The Protection And Treatment Of Juveniles
•  To outline the machinery and infrastructure required for the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of juveniles.
• To establish norms and standards for administration of juvenile justice
• To establish linkages and co-ordination between the formal system of juvenile justice and voluntary efforts in the welfare of juveniles
•  To constitute special offences in relation to juveniles and provide punishment.

 Salient features of JJA:

1. a. The Act known as ‘The Reformatory Act’ deals with two categories of children, namely children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with the law.

b. The competent authority to deal with children in need of care and protection is the Child Welfare Committee which constitutes a Chairperson and four other members, one of whom atleast should be a woman. Chapter IV of this Module would focus in detail about Children in need of care and protection and the functioning of the CWC in rehabilitation and disposition of cases.

c. Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) is the competent authority to deal with children in conflict with law which comprises of three members. The Chairperson of the Board should be a First Class Judicial Magistrate and two honorary social workers out of whom atleast one should be a woman. Special provisions for children in conflict with law and the responsibilities of the Board are discussed in detail in Chapter III of this Module.

2. The Act provides for the establishment of various kinds of Institutions such as
- Children’s Home for the reception of child in need of care and protection.
- Special Homes for the reception of child in conflict with law
- Observation Homes which are meant for the temporary reception of children during the pendency of any inquiry.
- After-care Organizations which are meant for the purpose of taking care of children after they have been discharged from Children’s Home or Special Homes.

3. A few sections in the Act (Sec 23 – 26) are focused on the offences committed by anyone against a child such as assault, causing mental or physical suffering and employment of a child which are considered as non bailable offences.

2. Institutional Framework for child care and protection in Himachal Pradesh :

( 1 ). District Child Protection Units under ICPS Programme:

Under ICPS programme four District Child Protection Units have been set up in district Shimla, Mandi, Kangra and Chamba.
Functions of District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) The DCPU shall coordinate and implement all child rights and protection activities at district level. The specific functions of the DCPU shall include:

i) Contribute to effective implementation of child protection legislation, schemes and achievement of child protection goals laid out in the National Plan of Action for children 2005. In doing so, the DCPU will follow national and state priorities, rules and guidelines.

ii) Ensure that for each child in need of care there is an individual care plan and the plan is regularly reviewed. Monitor the implementation of the plan.

iii) Identify families at risk and children in need of care and protection through effective networking and linkage with the ICDS functionaries, Specialized Adoption Agencies (SAA), NGOs dealing with child protection issues and local bodies, viz. PRIs and Urban Local Bodies, etc.

iv) Assess the number of children in difficult circumstances and create district- specific databases to monitor trends and patterns of children in difficult circumstances. v) Map all child related services providers and services at district for creating a resource directory.

vi) Identify and support credible voluntary organizations to implement programme components of the ICPS.

vii) Support implementation of family based non- institutional services including sponsorship, foster care, adoption and after care.

viii) Ensure effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and its Amended Act, 2006 at district/city levels by supporting creation of adequate infrastructure, viz. setting up JJBs, CWCs, SJPUs in each district and homes in a cluster of districts as required.

ix) Ensure setting up of District, Block and Village level Child Protection Committees for effective implementation of programmes, as well as discharge of its functions.

x) Facilitate transfer of children at all levels for either restoration to their families or placing the child in long or short-term rehabilitation through sponsorship, kinship care, in country adoption, foster care, inter-country adoption and placement in institutions.

( 2 ) . Juvenile justice board in Himachal : powers vested under Section 4 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 & Rule-4 of the Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 as amended by (Amendment) Rules, 2011, and prior in-consultation with Department of Home the Governor, Himachal Pradesh is pleased to re-constitute Juvenile Justice Boards in seven Districts.

( 3 ). State Child Protection Society (SCPS) :
ICPS visualizes setting up of State Child Protection Society in every State/UT as the fundamental unit for the implementation of the scheme.

Functions of SCPS: The specific functions of the State Child Protection Society shall include:
(i) Contribution to the effective implementation of child protection legislation, schemes and achievement of child protection goals laid out in the National Plan of Action for Children. In doing so, the SCPS will follow national and state priorities, rules and guidelines.

(ii) Implementation, supervision and monitoring of ICPS and all other child protection scheme/programs and agencies/institutions at State/UT level. 

(iii) Setting up, supporting and monitoring performance of DCPU and ensure proper flow and utilization of funds to the districts through ICPS.

(iv) Ensuring effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, draft rules under the Act if not already done so or adopt the Central Model Rules.

(v) Ensuring of effective implementation of other legislations and policies for child protection in the State viz. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) 1956; Guardians and Wards Act (GAWA) 1890; Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986; Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006 and Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1986, Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994, Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (CPCR Act), Protection of children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012, etc. and any other Act that comes into force for protecting child rights.

(vi) Networking and coordinating with all government departments to build intersectoral linkages on child protection issues, including Departments of Health, Education, Social Welfare, Urban Basic Services, Backward Classes & Minorities, Youth Services, Police, Judiciary, Labour, State AIDS Control Society, among others.

(vii) Networking and coordinating with voluntary and civil organizations working in the field of child rights and protection.

(viii) Carrying out need-based research and documentation activities at state-level for assessing the number of children in difficult circumstances and creating State-specific databases to monitor trends and patterns.

(ix) Training and capacity building of all personnel (Government and Nongovernment) working under child protection system;

(x) Providing quarterly progress report to MWCD on Program implementation and fund utilisation;

(xi) Liaisoning with MWCD and State Child Protection Societies of other States/UTs.

(xii) Providing secretarial support to the State Child Protection Committee (SCPC).

(xiii) Maintaining a state level database of all children in institutional care and family based non-institutional care and update it on a quarterly basis.

( 4 ) . Shelter for children in need in urban and semi urban areas :

1. The largest numbers of homeless children, pavement dwellers, street and working children, child substance abusers and child beggars, left on their own and in need of care and support, reside in urban areas. They are seen living in conditions of extreme deprivation compounded by lack of shelter and access to basic services like sanitation, safe drinking water, education, health care, recreational facilities, etc. They end up at traffic intersections, railway stations, streets, sabzi mandi (vegetable market), etc. begging for alms, wiping automobile windscreens, rag picking, vending wares. These children are very often victims of adult abuse of all kinds: physical, sexual, emotional as well as economic exploitation. Inhuman and violent life conditions turn many of these children into law offenders, criminals and exploiters themselves

2. Amongst these children, a large number of child substance abusers have also been identified by government through civil society organisations working in these areas.

6. H.P.Commission for Protection of Child Rights :

Himachal Pradesh Commission for Protection of Child Rights was set up under the Commission for Protection of Child Act, 2005 vide notification issued by the Govt of H.P. on 27.04.2013. It has six members and a Chairperson.
The Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India. The Act empowers the Commission to act as a Civil Court to undertake suo-moto enquiry and also look into complaints related to deprivation and violation of child rights . The Commission is actively and effectively monitoring rescue & rehabilitation of child labour specially involving migrant children, cases falling under Right to Education, medical crisis in schools, children’s right to play in parks, promotion of adoption of girl child, prevention of sexual abuse of children, checking child trafficking, children in need of care and protection etc.

7. Child tracking system :

1. The MWCD recognizes that at present there is acute shortage of data and information pertaining to issues related to child protection. Due to this gap, there is no comprehension about the dimension of the problem i.e. number of children requiring support and the kind of services they are in need of.

2. In order to bridge this gap, the MWCD, under the ICPS, has developed an effective system for child protection data management and reporting as well as a tool for monitoring the implementation of all its child protection schemes. A web-enabled data management system on child protection has created a resource base for child protection issues. A nationwide website ‘TrackChild’ has been developed for tracking missing children and their ultimate repatriation and rehabilitation.

3. Hoshiar app. and Gaudiya helpline has been launched in state to track children in case of any emergency.

8. Rehabilitation and social reintegration of child : The rehabilitation and social reintegration of a child/juvenile carried at the earliest based on individual social history. The focus on:

(i) Reintegrating the child in his/her biological family through counseling and other supportive services;

(ii) Adoption placement;

(iii) Foster care where necessary;

(iv) Sponsorship support where required;

(v) Transferring the juvenile/child to an After-care Organisation.

A child is a person not an object of concern, therfor we all can contribute as a matter of social responsibility  to provide suitable environment to our children along with govermnet initiatives, NGO must collaborate with government , private companies also contribute as part of their CSR  ( corporate social responsibility ) towards educating, protecting children.