State Child Protection Society (SCPS), Assam is a recognized society that operates under the direction of the state of Assam’s Department of Women & Child Development. The Society was announced by the Assam government on July 12, 2010, under notification number SWD.168/2009/pt-1/306. On June 15th, 2015, SCPS underwent the Societies Act registration process.
Key Responsibilities of SCPS
The SCPS’s main duty is to implement the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), the Government of India’s National Flagship Program, in the State. The goal of the ICPS is to provide a comprehensive child protection mechanism that addresses both the preventive and rehabilitative needs of children who need care and protection as well as those who are in legal trouble.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000, which was repealed in 2015, and the scheme (ICPS) require the State Child Protection Society to carry out all of the ICPS’s components in accordance with the prescribed procedures. The SCPS, as the name suggests, is the highest State Level Office responsible for implementing all the components of this scheme as well as for supervising and evaluating the performance of District level offices and other Civil Society Partners, who are an essential component of this scheme.
The key roles of SCPS are highlighted as under:
- The creation of District Child Protection Units (DCPU) with sufficient infrastructure and human resources in each of Assam’s districts, led by a District Child Protection Officer.
- The creation of Child Welfare Committees, Special Juvenile Police Units, and Juvenile Justice Boards in all of Assam’s districts, as well as the necessary support for their effective operation.
- SCPS must make sure that the State Government establishes child care institutions like Children Homes, Observation Homes, Open Shelters, Special Homes, Specialized Adoption Agencies, and Places of Safety for Children in Need of Care and Protection and Children in Conflict with the Law, and that they oversee to their care standards as mentioned in the Juvenile Justice Act. This can be done either directly by the State Government or through Civil Society (NG0s).
- The implementation of the Scheme’s non-institutional components, such as sponsorship and foster care, will be overseen by SCPS throughout the State.
- To promote a smooth transition from adolescence to adulthood, SCPS is responsible for seeing to it that the State’s After Care Program is implemented.
- SCPS will see to it that all ICPS employees receive training to increase their capabilities.
- At the state, district, and local levels, SCPS will make sure that various child safety policies and programs are implemented effectively.
- SCPS will use a variety of IEC materials, trainings, and public meetings to raise awareness of child protection issues and concerns as well as all child-related laws and programs.
Objective
- At the national, regional, state, and district levels, institutionalize crucial services and reinforce the frameworks for emergency outreach, institutional care, family and community-based care, counseling, and support services;
- To increase all functionaries’ capacities to carry out their duties under the ICPS, including those of administrators, service providers, local bodies, the police, the judiciary, and other concerned departments of State Governments;
- To establish a database and knowledge base for child protection services, including MIS and child tracking systems in the nation for efficient child protection service implementation and monitoring;
- Conduct documentation and research;
- To improve family and community-level child safety, develop and spread preventive strategies to shield kids from danger, risk, and abuse;
- Coordination and networking with all supporting systems are necessary to achieve an adequate inter-sectoral response at all levels;
- To increase public understanding, inform the public about children’s rights and protection, the circumstances and vulnerabilities of children and families, and the resources, programs, and structures for child protection that are accessible at all levels.
Our Mission
The best interests of the child at heart, to provide optimal care, protection, growth, therapy, and social reintegration of children in challenging situations.
Guiding Principles to achieve our Mission:
Child protection is primarily the responsibility of the family, with assistance from the community, the government, and civil society. It is crucial that everyone involved in the endeavor to protect children is informed about their individual responsibilities. A spectrum and continuum of services must be provided at all levels by the government, including at the federal and state levels.
The ideal environment for a child is in a loving and caring family: Children benefit most from being raised in their own families, and they have a right to parental care in the home.
Privacy and confidentiality: Throughout all phases of service delivery, children’s rights to privacy and secrecy should be upheld.
Non-stigmatization and non-discrimination: All children should be treated equally and with dignity, regardless of their circumstances or socioeconomic, cultural, religious, or ethnic origin.
A key component of child protection results is prevention and vulnerability reduction: ICPS will place a strong emphasis on improving family members’ capacity to look after and protect the child.
Children should only be institutionalized as a last resort. Interventions should instead concentrate on more family- and community-based care options instead of relying too heavily on institutionalization of children. When all other measures have been exhausted, institutionalization should be the last choice.
Child-centered planning and execution: To guarantee the protection of the child’s best interests, planning and implementation of child protection policies and service delivery should be done at all levels with the kid in mind.
Technical excellence, code of conduct: Services for children at all levels and from all providers should be delivered by trained professionals who adhere to an ethical and professional code of conduct, including a cadre of social workers, psychologists, caregivers, members of statutory bodies, and attorneys.
Flexible programming that adapts to the unique demands of the local community: To meet local needs, a customized approach to service delivery is needed.
Good governance, accountability, and responsibility are necessary for an efficient and effective child protection system. Transparent management and decision-making, accountable, and responsible people and institutions, performance reports at all service levels, and the public disclosure of all service providers—including for the benefit of the children themselves—through reports that are kid-friendly are also required.
Achievements
- In 2015, “Public Relations Society of India” presented the News Letter House Journal Competition with the First Best Jury Award to The Child Protection Bulletin.
- With the assistance of UNICEF, Assam, a week-long program called Mukhyamantrir Sonali Saishab Prakalpa was carried out in all of the Districts in January 2016. Together with UNICEF Assam, a report on the Convergent Plan of Action for Child Welfare was published and given to all the Districts and interested parties.
- The results of a study on the backlog of cases before JJB have not yet been made public.
- On May 7 and 8, 2016, Assam Administrative Staff College hosted a regional level conclave on the New JJ Act, 2015 in partnership with UNICEF, Assam.
- To raise awareness, radio jingles on child labor, child trafficking, child marriage, and child abuse were broadcast on Big 92.7 FM and Red FM.
- In all of the state’s district headquarters towns, the State Child Protection Society performed a survey on street children.
- With UNICEF’s assistance, a map of the state of Assam’s institutional and non-institutional child services has been created.
- Secondary Data Analysis on Trafficking of Women and Children in Assam: Published Report.
Services Under ICPS
ICPS provides the following Care, Support & Rehabilitation Services:
- Emergency Outreach Services can be contacted at (toll-free) Child Line-1098.
- Children in Need Open Shelter in Urban and Suburban Areas.
- Foster care, sponsorship, adoption, and aftercare are all forms of family-based non-institutional care.
- Services for Institutional Care are provided by Children’s Homes, Observation Homes, Special Homes, Places of Safety, Fill Institutions, and Special Care Units for Children with Special Needs.
- To address the unique needs of the state or the districts and to protect all types of vulnerable children, general grant aid is based on/innovative intervention.
- statutory support services for the District Child Protection Units, Special Juvenile Police Units, and Child Welfare Committee.
- Other services include strengthening counseling services through human resource development, training and capacity building, research and documentation, a child tracking system, and various IEC activities.
- Monitoring
- Evaluation
FAQ
What is State Child Protection Society (SCPS)?
The SCPS is a registered society set up under the provisions of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) with specific functions to implement the child protection legislation, schemes, JJ Act etc.
What is SARA?
What is District Child Protection Units?
“District Child Protection Unit” means a Child Protection Unit for a District, established by the State Government under section 106, which is the focal point to ensure the implementation of this Act and other child protection measures in the district.
What is Child Welfare Committee?
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is the Committee constitute under section 27 of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) of the Children Act 2015 & the sole authority to deal with matters concerning children in need of care and protection. The Committee is constituted of a chairperson and 4 other members, one of whom at least should be a woman.
What is Juvenile Justice Board?
What are children homes?
The state government establishes children’s homes in every district or group of districts, either on its own or in collaboration with nonprofit organizations, to receive children who require care and protection while any investigation is ongoing and then for their long-term care and rehabilitation. The purpose of these institutions is to provide children with a home away from home, a full range of child care services, and a strategy for their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
What are observation homes?
The State Government establishes observation homes in each district or group of districts, either independently or through non-profit or volunteer groups that must be registered under section 41 of the Juvenile Justice Act for the temporary reception of children in conflict with the law while their case is being investigated by the Juvenile Justice Boards.
What are special homes?
What is place of safety?
What is Specialized Adoption Agency?
What is Adoption?
Adoption is the legal procedure by which a kid is legally separated from his biological parents and given to a new set of parents, acquiring all the rights, privileges, and obligations that come with being a biological child.
What is Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPS)?
What are the age criteria for adoption?
- Maximum composite age of PAP’s is 90 years to adopt a child up to 4 years
- Maximum composite age of PAP’s is 100 years to adopt a child above 4 years and up to 8 years
- Maximum composite age of PAP’s is 110 to adopt a child above 8 years and up to 18 years
Who can be adopted?
A child can be adopted if she/he is:
- An orphan, abandoned or surrendered (OAS) child who has been declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)
- A child of a relative (a relative means the child’s paternal uncle or aunt, a maternal uncle or aunt or paternal and maternal grandparents)
- A child or children of spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by the biological parent(s) for adoption by the step-parent.
What are the different kinds of Adoption?
- an abandoned, surrendered, destitute children adopted by unrelated person/s living within the country
- an abandoned, surrendered, destitute children adopted by unrelated person/s living outside the country
- a related child by relatives living within the country
- a related child by relatives living outside the country
- adoption of a child by step parents within the country
How to Adopt?
online registration at www.cara.nic.in
Choose an agency for your home study after uploading all the necessary paperwork to the internet. You will be moved to the waiting list once the home study is completed. The website www.cara.nic.in will provide all the adoption information.
Who will benefit from sponsorship programme?
Who will benefit from foster care programme?
Foster care is a situation in which a kid lives, typically temporarily, with extended or unrelated family members without sacrificing their parental responsibilities or rights. It may be helpful for children whose parents are unable to care for them due to illness, death, the desertion of one parent, or any other emergency.
What are the different services that can be provided in aftercare programme?
Both children in need of care and protection and youngsters who are in trouble with the law (after turning 18) are eligible for the after-care program. This program will help kids who, upon leaving institutional care, have no family or other sources of support. Group housing, links to vocational training, employment counseling, need-based schooling, education stipends, loans for entrepreneurship, and provisions for basic needs like food, clothing, and bedding are just a few examples of the services that may be offered.
Where to report in case of a child marriage?
Contact your local police, the State Child Protection Society (0361-2229275), Childline (1098), or the involved district’s child marriage prohibition officer who is also a district child protection officer to report any child marriages.
Where to report in case of a child Labour?
Where to report in case of a child trafficking/child abuse?
Where to report in case an orphan/abandoned child is found?
What is the website of missing children?
Who are the children in difficult circumstances?
Children who are subjected to street begging, child labor, human trafficking, or sexual abuse. Children who are in trouble with the law, those suffering by HIV/AIDS, impairments, illnesses, substance misuse, or even tragedies caused by nature or human activity
What should one do if he/ she find a Child in need of care and protection?
Anyone who discovers a child in need of care and protection may report the child to Childline, the police, the DCPO, or any DCPU employees; they may also bring the child themselves before the Child Welfare Committee.
What is ChildLine (1098)?
Children in need of care and protection can reach out to Childline, a 24-hour emergency phone service, which connects them to long-term rehabilitation. Any kid who requires urgent care and protection—or an adult acting on their behalf—can call the toll-free national number 1098 for prompt assistance.
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