Jharkhand’s Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development in collaboration with UNICEF today launched a three day training programme for the newly constituted Child Welfare Committees.
The term of the CWC (2010 – 13) for 24 districts expires in 2013. The state government has re-constituted the CWC for the current year in 18 districts.In six other districts the process of re constitution is in progress,states a press communique issued by UNICEF.
This CWC is a statutory body constituted under the Juvenile Justice Act.It has the powers of the Judicial Magistrate of the first class. It is the competent authority before which a child may be produced to dispose of cases for the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of children as well as to provide for their basic needs and protection of human rights.
The five-member committee, one in each district, is the final authority to decide cases on care, protection and rehabilitation of children. It is the competent authority before which a child may be produced to dispose of cases for the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of children as well as to provide for their basic needs and protection of human rights. This committee is supposed to meet 3 days in a week and spend a minimum of 4 hours per sitting.
UNICEF’s Jharkhand unit Chief Job Zachariah said, “according to a Government of India study, 40% of children in the country are vulnerable or living in difficult circumstances. In Jharkhand, about one lakh children are orphans or have only one parent as per the Annual Health Survey 2010-11 and about 3-4 lakh children are child labourers as per Census 2001. Besides, about 35,000 children are trafficked from the state and a large number of children are subjected to abuse and violence. About 1.8 lakh marriages every year in the state are child marriages.”
He said, “Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is the final statutory authority to decide cases on care, protection and rehabilitation of children. CWC has been vested with a number of powers under Section 29-30 of Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and Section 19-28 of Juvenile Justice Rules 2007. It has powers to conduct enquiry on issues relating to protection, and rehabilitation of children, take suo-moto notice of child protection issues visit institutions where children are kept, among other powers.
“Because of the lack of awareness about issues relating to child care and protection, the number of cases dealt by Child welfare Committees in the State is less- only about 80-100 per district committee, as against 5000-6000 cases per district Committee in Delhi.” CWC can deal with cases relating to child care and protection brought to it by police officer, public servant, child line, social worker or child himself.
Priti Srivastava, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF said, “There is a shift in thinking in child protection from child welfare to child right’s based approach and from response to prevention of violation and rehabilitation. CWC is the gatekeeper of the state’s services for children in need of care and protection. It is their responsibility to restore children to family settings rather than be housed in institutions. Where a child is found to be in need of care and protection by the state under JJ Act 2000, the CWC is responsible to coordinate with different agencies including civil society organisations to safeguard the child, which sets out and draws upon the contribution of family members and professional.”
