Lok Sabha Question No. 1194 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Infrastructure Gaps in Child Care Homes/ Institutions
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Y. S. Avinash Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1194

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2024

## INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS IN CHILD CARE HOMES/INSTITUTIONS

1194.  SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY :

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government has asked the concerned Committees to visit Child Care Homes and review the cases of older children who could be made free for adoption as nearly 66,000 children reside in Child Care Homes across the country but fewer than 3,000 of them are legally free for adoption, if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) whether  the  Government  also  asked  Child  Care  Homes  to  look  into  the infrastructure gaps in their respective areas and requested the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to review these gaps and report to the Government so that they can be included in the upcoming Budget, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) :    The Ministry of Women and Child Development has supported the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and children living in CCIs under Mission Vatsalya Scheme during the year 2022-23. The details are given below :

| Year    |   Number of Child Care Institutions |   Number of Children |
|---------|-------------------------------------|----------------------|
| 2022-23 |                                2305 |                57940 |

The Ministry has also notified the Adoption Regulations, 2022 on 23.09.2022, which inter-alia include  empowerment  of  the  District  Magistrates  to  issue  adoption orders within 60 days, time lines at various stages like uploading of Legally Free for Adoption (LFA) within ten days and child can now be adopted by the foster family after 2 years instead of earlier provision of 5 years. Further, the Ministry has issued advisory to  all  States/UTs  to  link  the  CCIs  with  Child  Adoption  Resource  Information  and Guidance System (CARINGS) portal. Further, as per Rule-44 of JJ Model Rules (as amended in 2022), every child who does not get a family either in in-country or in intercountry adoption and is placed under the hard to place category, shall be eligible to be placed in foster care, by the Child Welfare Committee on the recommendation of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) or the Specialised Adoption Agency.

(b) : National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has informed that an Application - MASI (Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection) has been developed by NCPCR which enables real time monitoring of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs).  MASI also  enables unified inspections by Child Welfare Committee (CWCs), State Inspection Committees (SICs), District  Inspection  Committees  by  (DICs),  Members  of  Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) as laid down under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021). These authorities have been given access to the Application through Login credentials. As soon as an inspection is conducted, a report is automatically generated in the system. By analyzing these reports, infrastructural and other gaps can be identified.

Further, States/ UTs prepare their annual plan including the reports containing gaps in infrastructure, if any, and include the same in annual budget.

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