KERALA GOVERNMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL ORPHANAGES

KERALA GOVERNMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL ORPHANAGES

The  Social Welfare Department   (SWD) is set to initiate a drive against unauthorized orphanages across the state. It will be based on the state government directive to register orphanages under the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act), 2006 to prevent child abuse.Social welfare minister M K Muneer told TOI that orphanages across the state should register under the JJ Act. It will ensure transparency and help streamline the functioning of these institutions, he said.SWD additional director Orphanage Control Board member secretary K K Mony said the department will see to it that orphanages are registered under JJ Act to ensure proper administration and child care. After registration under JJ Act, the children below six years will be placed in fondling homes, above 6 years in children's home, in foster care or adoption homes according to the interventional support required, he said. Inspection visits will be on and notice will be served to unauthorized orphanages to either register or close down, the SWD officials said. In case of detection of an unhealthy situation for inmates in an orphanage, it will face punitive action and the children there will be shifted to authorized orphanages, the officials said."Registration under the JJ Act will make orphanages comply, ensuring minimum standards of accommodation, food, infrastructure, human resources and health care of children up to 18 years. It will also ensure proper monitoring and periodic supervision by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) reducing the lacunae and abusive situation in orphanages," said Fr. Phillip Parakkat, director of Childline Trivandrum.Then the abusers or culprits will be liable to face punitive action, he said.

Earlier, orphanages across the state were registered under the Orphanages and Other Charitable Home Supervision and Control Act, 1960 (OSCA). Such orphanages had inmates of all age groups including children and elderly, infirm and mentally challenged. Later, the state government issued a directive to register orphanages under JJ Act to ensure that the children up till 18 years are accommodated in a separate home, ensuring all standards of child care Government estimates point out 200 unauthorized orphanages in the state, while social agencies say that there are over 1,000 such unrecognized orphanages. Currently, over 1,000 private orphanages are registered under OSCA and 800 private orphanages registered under JJ Act.In addition, eight government run children's homes are functioning across the state and the inmates of these homes include orphans, destitute and children from broken homes.SWD officials say that most of the child abuse cases, including sexual abuse have been reported from unauthorized orphanages across the state, including the ones in Kasaragod and Malappuram. Now, more such unauthorized orphanages are sprouting up in these same places and private agencies are venturing into that, officials said.

                                           Prof. John Kurakar