Every entity would have their acceptable behaviors and not acceptable behaviors and the children's homes are no different.  JJ Act doesn't prescribe what is acceptable/ not acceptable behavior but expects the institution to orient and train the child of their rules (sub-rule (M)(1) of rule (69) of JJ rules 2016) Having said this, JJ rules (2016) do prescribe the possible specific actions, a child care institution can engage in, in case of violation of rule(s) that constitute to be 'unacceptable behavior'.  Sub rules (1) and (2) of rule N of JJ rules 2016 states the following: N. Manner of dealing with unacceptable behavior:-  (1) The action taken shall be commensurate with the nature and degree of violation and the age of the child and may be any of the following:  (i) formal warning;  (ii) assignment of house-keeping tasks;  (iii) imposition writing i.e. writing a number of times that he shall not repeat the behavior; an...

If you run a child care institution in India, by now, you may have heard of a phrase " Individual Child Care Plan (ICCP) " but do you know what it is?  It is a requirement under the JJ Act to comply with such a care plan.  

There are 16 fundamental principles in the Juvenile & Justice Act (JJ Act).   Principle of Positive measures : All resources are to be mobilized including those of family and community, for promoting the well-being, facilitating development of identity and providing an inclusive and enabling environment, to reduce vulnerabilities of children and the need for intervention under this Act.

Over the last 20 years, child care approach has evolved tremendously in India towards ‘rights based’ approach, thanks to the enactment of Juvenile and Justice Act (JJ Act).   If you’re running a child care institution and not following a rights based approach, you may be violating some of the fundamental rights and/ or fundamental principles of JJ act.

Recently I was pleasantly surprised to read the Supreme Court of India’s verdict where they seem to have redefined the definition of ‘Rarest of rare’ crimes that deserves death penalty. That got me thinking if that could also be applied to child killers?? Case in reference is a dowry death where a man and his mother were convicted by the Supreme Court of India but the irony of it not just the verdict but the commentary that was left along while passing the judgment. This is how it was commented by the presiding judges “Although bride-burning or bride-hanging cases have become common in our country, in our opinion, the expression ‘rarest of rare' does not mean that the act is uncommon, it means that the act is brutal and barbaric. Bride killing is certainly barbaric.” Victim in the case above is a 24 year old young lady who is an adult who understands right from wrong. To an extent, may also understand how to defend herself in case of an offense against her. Just in the last two...

I n India, November 14th is observed as the 'Children's Day' and as far as I remember as a little boy we used to participate in some fun competitions like debate and elocution etc. I personally think that 'Children's Day' is not just meant for the children but for everyone to remember our children and their issues.

Here is a story of a little boy - Jonathan, who went missing years ago and was adopted by a Swedish family. Jonathan's desire to be reunited with his biological parents brought him back to India. Last month when I went to the media to help us restore a child, first phone call I received was from a retired assistant commissioner of police (Mr. Lavakumar) in Bangalore and he gave me some clues that ended up being the accurate ones and we restored the child. This story of Jonathan is shared by the same police commissioner who was working then as a police officer and restored Jonathan back to his family. Please click on the 'Full Screen' icon on the top of the view box or zoom buttons at the bottom of the view box to adjust your reading for clear view. Jonathan's Story

According to the JJ Act, once the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) declares the child free for adoption, agency can place the child in pre-adoption foster care and then initiates the adoption legalization process in the court. I heard from a source recently that this rule has been changed in the state of Tamilnadu beginning October 1st. Pre-Adoption foster care refers to placing a child in the home of a prospective adoptive parents home while the finalization process is underway. This is done in the best interest of the child to reduce the stay of the child in the adoption agency as the finalization of adoption in the court could take several months. But unfortunately there are some agencies delaying the filing of papers and putting the child’s adoption status in limbo. As per my understanding, changed rule says that the agency can only place a child in pre-adoption foster care after the papers are filed (not finalized) for legalization in the court. Like any rule, I have no doubt in my m...

There's a lot of talk about JJ Act, 2000 (amended in 2006) being the provision for secular adoptions in India compared to the personal laws (Hindu Adoption & Maintainance Act or HAMA and Guardianship and Maintainance Act or GAWA) that governed Indian adoptions before. Unfortunately many people do not know the actual provisions of JJ Act on adoption. This post will help you understand that. JJ Act deals with adoption in Section 41 and here it is: Section 41. Adoption:- (1) The primary responsibility for providing care and protection to children shall be that of his family. (2) Adoption shall be resorted to for the rehabilitation of the children who are orphan, abandoned, or surrendered, through such mechanism as may be prescribed. (3) In keeping with the provisions of the various guidelines for adoption issued from time to time, by the state government, or the central adoption resource agency, notified by the central government, children may be given in adoption by a cour...

After our recent work to restore three missing boys to their homes, it got me thinking about how to do this work faster and to include more people. I explored of doing it in various ways but they all require lot of money and human resources. So I thought of an easy way to do this work and that is by using social microblogging site www.twitter.com. I set up an account at http://www.twitter.com/indiachildalert and this is how it is going to work. If you’re in India, send an SMS (Short Messaging Service) from your mobile phone as FOLLOW INDIACHILDALERT to 53000 and that’s it (Yes!! Can you believe it? You don’t even have to have a personal twitter account). Then on, anytime we have a missing/ lost/ trafficked child with us, we’ll post it on the above mentioned twitter account and you’ll receive the same information as SMS in your mobile. Don’t worry about receiving long SMS’s from us because twitter only allows the sender to send a message in 140 characters. If at any time, you c...

Exactly a month ago – 24th of August, I was in Guwahati on an assignment for the Government of India. Here in Vellore, we have been hosting a 14 year old boy (Sanidas) who was rescued by railway protection force who belongs to the state of "Assam" for the past seven months. He is from a place called "Lumding Junction" which is three hours east of Guwahati. We requested for police escort but it never came. Since I was going so far to Guwahati I thought that I might as well take the child with me and drop him off with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) there for them to restore him back to his family. Unfortunately I couldn’t get train reservation so I abandoned that idea and planned an alternative. I took the information (child’s photo, a letter from him and all the details to pin point his house etc) with me and thought to seek the help of the office that I am going to be at. When I presented the details, child’s family was tracked in two hours time. I was told ...

On April 30th, a little boy of 9 years old was brought to us by a local NGO who in turn received the child who was rescued by the Railway Protection Force. Child – Mohammad Fazulu, looked healthy & proportionately built for age but nervous. When asked about the location, he says ‘Bombay’. We put an esc ort to send the boy to Mumbai so that the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) there can restore the child back to his family. Child had been staying with two other boys (one boys is from Assam and the other boy is from Rajasthan) at a government reception home in Vellore. Last month, when I went to Assam as a resource person for National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD), I took the information of Assam boy with me. When I made enquiries, and sought the help of CWC members there, family was tracked in two hours time. Then I thought to work on the other two children as well when I return to Vellore. Rajasthani boy is from a small town and when I googled the poli...

I live in India and a child had been placed in my custody under the Guardians and Wards Act (GAWA) several years ago. Now since the secular adoption is included in the Juvenile and Justice Act (JJ Act), Can I adopt a child now under this act? Before I say anything, let me clarify the terminology: Guardianship : Is a process where an individual is recognized as a legal guardian by the relevant court for the welfare of a minor. In this scenario it is the court that will have the eventual authority on the child and the guardian. Adoption : Mena a process through which the adopted child permanently separated from his biological parents and become the legitimate child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to the relationship. Until the JJ Act came into effect in the year 2000 and amended in 2006, adoptions in India were done under the act called “Hindu Adoption and Maintainance Act” or (HAMA) which only allowed the Hindus, Jains, B...

With the legislative and financial support rendered to promote non-institutional care of children under the Juvenile and Justice Act (JJ Act), 2006, with adoption being given the priority only after the biological parents, adoption scene is about to change significantly in India in the years ahead. Enormous checks and balances are being built at different levels in to the adoption process with the cooperation of civil society. Under the JJ Act, ‘Child Welfare Committees’ and courts, under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme there are going to be State Adoption Resource Authority or ‘SARA’ (similar to CARA at the state level) and adoption coordination agency or ‘ACA’ which is accountable to SARA and then at the district (similar to country in the US) level there are going to be people monitoring non-institutional care of children and reporting to SARA which in turn report to the central level. If and when the state signs the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the central governm...

I just returned home after spending one month in training at National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) in New Delhi on a subject titled “Certificate course on Child Rights and Child Protection” where we have studied child rights and child protection extensively. 1. Legal basis: There has not been a law as comprehensive as Juvenile & Justice Act (JJ Act) for the protection of children of India to date which gives adoption an important role as never before. Adoption is no longer an act of mercy but a mandated rehabilitative under the law (JJ Act) that a child must have a home as a first priority. Explanation of sub section (3) of Section 39 of the JJ Act states the following: For the purposes of this section “restoration of and protection of a child” means restoration to – (a) Parents; (b) Adopted parents; (c) Foster parents; (d) Guardian; (e) Fit person; (f) Fit institution . One can see the importance that the law places for a child to have a home th...

Recently I was visiting a friend in New Delhi and I was explaining to him about the purpose of my visit. The question he had asked me stumped me completely. He had asked “What rights can a five year old child can have? I answered and agreed the bareness of the question but I wanted him to hear the spirit of my answer. I said that a five year old child may not/ need not have rights as his parents provide for him in every aspect of his life. But the number and quality of rights that the world enshrines on our children are for two purposes: Awareness: To help parents and others understand that children do have rights and some are as simple as 'Child has the right to express'. What he expresses may not be acceptable and it is up to the parents to convince the child how it is not in his/ her best interest to pursue but it is important that they allow him/ her to express. Deterrance: Only when we have rights that the violators can be held accountable. For example, if a child's ...