Inspection of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) including Observation Homes and Special Homes in the States of Odisha (06), Rajasthan (14), West Bengal (13) and Madhya Pradesh (08) was conducted during the year 2014-15 by the officials of the WCD Ministry along with a representative of the State Government concerned.
Some of the shortcomings that were noticed during the inspections of these CCIs included remote accessibility, health check up of children not being done regularly, rehabilitative services such as vocational training, recreation facilities not being up to the mark. The shortcomings were immediately brought to the notice of the State Government concerned through their representative for effective remedial action.
Further, the Government has enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) w.e.f. 15th January, 2016 repealing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The new Act includes several provisions for the effective functioning of Homes established under the Act. Under Section 41, registration of all CCIs, whether run by a State Government or by voluntary or non-governmental organizations, for housing children in need of care and protection or children in conflict with law, has been made mandatory with penal provisions. In order to ensure rehabilitative services are provided to children in Homes, Section 53 of the Act includes detailed rehabilitative services such as education, vocational training, mental health interventions, counseling, recreation, etc. Besides, State Governments are required to inspect all registered institutions at least once in every three months under Section 54 of the Act. The Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees are also required to mandatorily conduct inspection of Homes and has been included as part of their functions.