Brief
Mission on Vatsalya Scheme supports the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) as envisaged under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended on 2021), that empowers the State Government to set up homes in every district or group of districts for the reception and residential care of Children in need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL). These CCIs shall serve as a home away from home and provide comprehensive child care facilities to children for their all-round development till the children’s social re-integration through non-institutional care.
The type of CCIs supported under Mission Vatsalya include Children Homes, Specialized Adoption Agencies, and Open Shelters which provide institutional care to the Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) whereas Observation homes, Special Homes and Places of Safety support care for Children in Conflict with Law (CCL). The Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) for CNCP and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) for CCL are empowered to pass orders for institutional care support. In the Children Home, a unit for providing specialized services to children with special needs (disabled children, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by substance abuse etc.) have also been envisaged under the scheme. Separate Children Homes based on age, gender or special needs of children have been established by the State/District which have similar facilities in terms of infrastructure and services. The CCIs could be either for fifty (50) children or twenty-five (25) children, depending upon the need of children in a particular area.