Lok Sabha Question No. 3181 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-09
Subject: Impact of Mission Vatsalya in Rajasthan
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Dushyant Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.3181 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2024

## IMPACT OF MISSION VATSALYA IN RAJASTHAN

3181  SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

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

- (a) the details of the key objectives and components and the steps taken by the Government to promote Mission Vatsalya in the country including JhalawarBaran, Rajasthan;
- (b) the number of children registered under the said Mission, State/UT-wise with a special focus on Jhalawar-Baran, Rajasthan;
- (c) whether the Mission Vatsalya scheme facilitate sponsorship and foster care for children in difficult circumstances;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  role  of  the  Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the Sponsorship and Foster Care Approval Committee (SFCAC) in this process; and
- (e) whether the  Government  has taken any measures to strengthen the implementation  and  monitoring  of  child  welfare  initiatives  under  Mission Vatsalya across districts in the country, particularly  in  ensuring  the  effective functioning of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), if so the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a)  :  Mission  Vatsalya  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  which  is  implemented through the State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations including Rajasthan on  cost  sharing  basis  between  the  Centre  and  the  States  to  deliver  services  for children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law which include institutional care and non-institutional care components. The Child Care Institutions (CCIs)  established  under  the  Mission  Vatsalya  scheme  support inter-alia ageappropriate  education,  access  to  vocational  training,  recreation,  health  care, counselling  etc.  Support  under  non-institutional  care  is  provided  by  way  of sponsorship, foster care and after care to children in need of care and protection.

The key objectives of Mission Vatsalya are to promote the best interest of the child while designing or delivering projects and programmes and to take affirmative action to ensure right to grow in happy family environment with strong social safety net to support families.

In the State of Rajasthan including Jhalawar and Baran Districts, 33 Child Welfare Committees, 34 Juvenile Justice Boards and 33 District Child Protection Units have been constituted, as on 31.03.2024.

The steps taken to promote Mission Vatsalya Scheme are as follows :

The  Ministry  has  issued  various  guidelines  and  advisories  from  time  to  time  for strengthening implementation of Mission Vatsalya by the States/UTs.  These include Mission  Vatsalya  Guidelines,  Standard  Operating  Procedures  for  Child  Helpline, Model Foster Care Guidelines 2024 etc.

The Ministry has held zonal conferences and sensitization/ dissemination workshops since launch of Mission Vatsalya Scheme to promote and implement the scheme effectively. The Ministry also regularly engages with the States/UTs with regards to Scheme implementation.

The initiatives taken under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme include collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore under 'SAMVAD'  (Support  Advocacy  &  Mental  Health  Interventions  for  Children  in Vulnerable Circumstances and Distress). SAMVAD works in areas of Mental Health, Care  &  Protection,  Education  and  Policy  &  Law.  Various  training  and  capacity building  programmes have been conducted for child protection functionaries and other stakeholders across the States/ UTs.

Also  the  Ministry  in  collaboration  with  Lal  Bahadur  Shastri  National  Academy  of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie has developed an online training module on Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection for Children) Act, 2015 for capacity building of multiple  stakeholders  such  as  State  Governments/  UT  Administrations,  district authorities and others.

(b)  :  State/UT-wise  number  of  children  supported  under  the  Mission  Vatsalya Scheme is at Annexure-I. As informed by State Government of Rajasthan, 3597 Children are registered and present in the Child Care Institutions in the State and 54 children  are  registered  in  Baran  district  and  66  children  in  Jhalawar  district respectively.

(c) & (d) : The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (section 2(29)) provides for Foster care of Children and section 44 mandates for placement of a child for the purpose of alternate care in the domestic environment of a family, other than the child's biological family.

Mission  Vatsalya  Scheme  guidelines  provide  for  a  Sponsorship  &  Foster  Care Approval  Committee  (SFCAC)  in  every  district  to  implement  and  monitor  the Sponsorship and Foster Care matters. The SFCAC sanctions sponsorship on receipt of recommendation from the CWC. During the financial year 2023-24, total 1,21,861 children  were  supported  under  non-institutional  care  including  Sponsorship  and Foster Care under Mission Vatsalya Scheme.

(e) : The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provide for setting  up  of  one  Child  Welfare  Committee  (CWC)  in  every  district  which  is empowered  to  take  decisions  with  regard  to  the  Children  in  Need  of  Care  and Protection (CNCP), keeping their best interest in mind. They are also mandated to monitor the functioning of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) (Sections 27-30 of JJ Act).

As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Child Welfare Committee is mandated to conduct at least two inspection visits per month of residential facilities for children in need of care and protection and recommend action for  improvement in quality of services to District  Child  Protection  Unit  and State Government (Section 30 (viii)). The Juvenile Justice Board is mandated vide Section  8  (j)  to  conduct  at  least  one  inspection  visit  every  month  of  residential facilities for children in conflict with law and recommend action for improvement in quality of services to District Child Protection Unit and State Government. Further, as per Section 109 of JJ Act, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights at central level and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights at State level have been mandated to monitor the implementation of the provisions of JJ Act.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued various advisories to all States/UTs for ensuring that basic amenities and facilities are provided to children in CCIs as enshrined under JJ Act, 2015 and rules there under.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (B)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.3181  FOR  ANSWER  ON  09.08.2024  RAISED  BY  SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH REGARDING IMPAT OF MISSION VATSALYA IN RAJASTHAN

STATE/UT-WISE NUMBER OF CHILDREN SUPPORTED IN INSTITUIONAL CARE AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL  CARE  UNDER  MISSION  VATSALYA  SCHEME  DURING  THE YEAR 2023-24

| S. No.   | State/UT                             |   Number of children supported in Institutional Care |   Number of children supported in Non- Institutional Care |
|----------|--------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                       |                                                 1546 |                                                     10000 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                    |                                                  206 |                                                      1719 |
| 3        | Assam                                |                                                 1241 |                                                      1919 |
| 4        | Bihar                                |                                                 2227 |                                                      4001 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                         |                                                 1843 |                                                      1137 |
| 6        | Goa                                  |                                                  461 |                                                        62 |
| 7        | Gujarat                              |                                                 3195 |                                                       450 |
| 8        | Haryana                              |                                                  963 |                                                       643 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                     |                                                  926 |                                                      1352 |
| 10       | Jammu and Kashmir                    |                                                 1104 |                                                      4024 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                            |                                                 1238 |                                                      4629 |
| 12       | Karnataka                            |                                                 3110 |                                                     12449 |
| 13       | Kerala                               |                                                  776 |                                                      1455 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                       |                                                 2597 |                                                     13715 |
| 15       | Maharashtra                          |                                                 3495 |                                                     21680 |
| 16       | Manipur                              |                                                 2295 |                                                      1288 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                            |                                                 1031 |                                                      1083 |
| 18       | Mizoram                              |                                                 1172 |                                                      1516 |
| 19       | Nagaland                             |                                                  562 |                                                       779 |
| 20       | Orissa                               |                                                 4431 |                                                      3697 |
| 21       | Punjab                               |                                                  533 |                                                      4150 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                            |                                                 2733 |                                                       933 |
| 23       | Sikkim                               |                                                  468 |                                                       460 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                           |                                                10118 |                                                      5411 |
| 25       | Telangana                            |                                                 2243 |                                                      4858 |
| 26       | Tripura                              |                                                  948 |                                                      1373 |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh                        |                                                 3226 |                                                     10000 |
| 28       | Uttarakhand                          |                                                  589 |                                                      1817 |
| 29       | West Bengal                          |                                                 4744 |                                                      2750 |
| 30       | Andaman & Nicobar                    |                                                  274 |                                                         1 |
| 31       | Chandigarh                           |                                                  222 |                                                       309 |
| 32       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |                                                   36 |                                                       984 |
| 33       | Ladakh                               |                                                   84 |                                                       411 |
| 34       | Lakshadweep                          |                                                    0 |                                                         0 |
| 35       | Delhi                                |                                                 1216 |                                                       635 |
| 36       | Puducherry                           |                                                  739 |                                                       171 |
| Total    | Total                                |                                                62592 |                                                    121861 |

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