Mission Vatsalya

• 09 Jul 2022

For Prelims: Mission Vatsalya, Ministry of women and child development, Integrated Child Protection Scheme

For Mains: Mission Vatsalya, Government Policies & Interventions, Issues Related to Children

Why in News?

Recently, the central government issued guidelines to states about the Mission Vatsalya child protection scheme

What are the New Guidelines?

• According to the guidelines, states cannot change the original name of the scheme in order to gain access to funding granted by the central government.
• Funds to states will be approved through the Mission Vatsalya Project Approval Board (PAB), which will be chaired by the WCD Secretary, who will scrutinise and approve annual plans and financial proposals received from states and UTs for release of grants.
• It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with state governments and UT administrations, with a fund-sharing pattern in a 60:40 ratio.
  • However, for the eight states in the Northeast — as well as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir — the Centre and state/UT’s share will be 90:10
• MVS, in partnership with states and districts, will execute a 24×7 helpline service for children, as defined under Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• It will support State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARA), which will further support the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in promoting in-country adoption and regulating inter-country adoption.
  • SARA shall coordinate, monitor and develop the work related to non-institutional care, including adoption in the state.
• The Mission plans to establish cradle baby reception centers in at least one specialized adoption agency in each area for receiving abandoned and trafficked children
• Children in need of care, as well as special needs children, will be placed in distinct homes based on gender (including separate homes for transgender children) and age.
  • As they are unable to attend school due to physical or mental disabilities, these institutions will provide special educators, therapists, and nurses to impart occupational therapy, speech therapy, verbal therapy, and other remedial classes.
  • Further, employees in these specialised divisions must be fluent in sign language, Braille, and other related languages.
• Establishment of open Shelters by the state government will be supported to care for runaway children, missing children, trafficked children, working children, children in street situations, child beggars, child substance abusers etc.
• Financial support has also been prescribed for vulnerable children living with extended families or in foster care, supporting their education, nutrition, and health needs.

What is Mission Vatsalya?

• Historical Perspective:
  • Prior to 2009, the Ministry of women and child development Implemented three schemes for children in need of protection,
    • The juvenile justice programme for children in need of care and protection as well as children in conflict with the law,
    • The integrated programme for street children,
    • The scheme for assistance to children's homes.
  • In 2010, these were merged into a single plan known as the Integrated Child Protection Scheme.
  • In 2017, it was renamed "Child Protection Services Scheme," and again in 2021-22 as Mission Vatsalya.
• About:
  • It’s an umbrella scheme for child protection services in the country.
  • Components under Mission Vatsalya include improve functioning of statutory bodies; strengthen service delivery structures; Upscale institutional care and services; encourage non-institutional community-based care; emergency outreach services; training and capacity building.
• Objectives:
  • To secure a healthy and happy childhood for each and every child in the country.
  • To ensure opportunities to enable them to discover their full potential and assist them in flourishing in all respects, in a sustained manner, foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children, assist States and UTs in delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • It promotes family-based non-institutional care of children in difficult circumstances based on the principle of institutionalization of children as a measure of last resort.

Way Forward

• These guidelines are in the right direction, as there are enormous children in our country who are suffering from physical and mental disabilities and all these initiatives would make their life easy.
• The need to implement all these initiatives efficiently and at a better pace.

Source: IE