VIJAYAWADA: Only 9.9 per cent of the 730 Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in Andhra Pradesh have a child welfare officer, probation officer or caseworker, as per the Juvenile Justice Model Rules, 2016. This was revealed in the first-ever social audit of CCIs conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
At the national level, 26.3 per cent of CCIs have a child welfare officer, probation officer or caseworker. Further, only 37.7 per cent of CCIs in Andhra Pradesh have counsellors, compared to 52 per cent at the national level. Only 53 per cent of CCIs in the State have a counsellor's report or case history of each child, and only 66 per cent have initial reports of interaction with the children.
Of the 730 CCIs in Andhra Pradesh, 679 are children’s homes, 27 are shelter homes, 10 are observation homes, 12 are specialised adoption agencies, and two are special homes. As much as 92.1 per cent of CCIs are managed by trusts or NGOs, while the remaining 7.9 per cent are run by the government.
A total of 359 of the State's CCIs (that is 49.2 per cent) are funded by international donors (FCRA), while 14 per cent are funded by corporate donors, 13.8 per cent get government aid or grants, 20.3 per cent are funded by national donors, and 29.6 per cent are run on their own resources.
While 61.3 per cent of CCIs in India have a counselling room, in Andhra Pradesh, the corresponding figure is only 47 per cent. Just 18.6 per cent of staff have been trained in rehabilitation and 38.2 per cent in care-giving, compared to 29.4 per cent and 61.8 per cent respectively at the national level.
According to Rule 29(3) of the Juvenile Justice Model Rules, 2016, every CCI must have a written child protection policy. However, 46 per cent of CCIs in the State don’t have one, and of the rest, only 42 per cent adhere to the policy.
The only solace is that these figures are similar to those at the national level.
As for grievance redressal mechanisms, only 55.3 per cent of CCIs have a regular staff-children interface and 30 per cent have children committees. At the national level, the corresponding figures are 72.8 per cent and 57.5 per cent respectively.
More importantly, only 60 per cent of CCIs have adequate measures to prevent physical/emotional abuse of children that results in mental or physical pain, discomfort or trauma. Only 58 per cent of CCI are subjected to inspections by inspection committees.
High risk of child abuse
Only 60 per cent of CCIs have measures to prevent physical/emotional abuse of children that results in mental or physical pain or discomfort. Only 58 per cent are subjected to inspections by inspection committees