Karnataka - Mangalore   

Inspection of child care institutions to begin soon

MANGALORE: After having collected applications from the child care institutions for registration under the Juvenile Justice Act 2006, the Department of Women and Child Development will soon begin inspection of the premises of these homes.

Deputy Director of the department A. Shakuntala told The Hindu that the department had received 41 applications till April 30. The original deadline was set for March 31, but Dakshina Kannada District In-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar announced that the deadline had been extended by one month, she said.

According to Section 34 of the Juvenile Justice Amendment Act of 2006, all residential child care institutions must be registered under the Act to keep tabs on their activities to prevent illegal activities such as trafficking and unlawful adoptions in addition to ensuring the safety and well-being of the children.

The first step for the institutions was to submit particulars of the number of children, the facilities available, details of infrastructure, staff available to look after the children, details of those who run the institution, balance sheets of the last three financial years and other information in the prescribed format.

Ms. Shakuntala said that inspection of the institutions would begin soon, but there was no time-frame for completing the process.

Following the lapse of the previous deadline of May 7, no fresh circular was issued to specify the time within which the inspection of children's homes is to be completed, she said.

Superintendent Annapoorna said that an inspection team chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and consisting of non-official members, a member of the Child Welfare Committee, representatives of the Health Department and others, would soon begin the work. The team would be given copies of the Act and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Karnataka Rules 2010, which specify the guidelines to be followed for the inspection, she said.

To a question, Ms. Shakuntala said that all institutions looking after children had come forward to submit applications. “Now, only if some one sets up a new institution, they will have to approach us,” she said.

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