Social Determinants of Wellbeing Children in Need of Care and Protection at Crossroads

Abstract: The Juvenile Justice Act in India in the past two decades been amended several times to make it more child friendly and to preserve the dignity and best interests of the child. There have been notable changes with changes in nomenclature, increased age limits, adding categories and methods of restoration and continuing protections. This study takes up the issue of the children in need of care and protection and attempts to examine the relevance and application of the amended Juvenile Justice legislation in their lives. It focuses on children in need of care and protection for two reasons. Firstly, if they can be taken care of, will it prevent the emergence of children in conflict with law to some extent? Secondly, neglect of the youngest and the most vulnerable population is something that must be addressed urgently. It is an exploratory cum descriptive study that aims to describe and examine the state and nature of the quality of life of children in need of care and protection in four State Government run correctional institutions in two districts of Delhi; West and North. Data was collected through semi-structured interview and observation method along with case studies. While examining in detail the socio-economic backgrounds of the children in institutional care under the Juvenile Justice Act in Delhi, there was an attempt to study the perceptions of the children about the institutional services. It sheds light on the factors that forced these children to leave their families and their entry into the institutions and their experiences outside and within the institutions. An attempt to understand the Juvenile Justice System through the eyes of the institutionalised children now free and on the streets again adds a required dimension to this study, making it relevant all times. It helps to provide a fair picture of what the children on streets and in need, want from the institutions. If institutionalized services are serving their purpose or community based correctional services are a better option? The findings of the study reveal various issues and challenges in the child care institutions while rehabilitating children. Apart from bringing out some additional problems than what have been known so far, it helps in identifying new areas of research in this field – Similar exhaustive studies of juvenile institutions and street children in other States where the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act has been implemented, (ii) Study of the NGO managed institutes under the Juvenile Justice System in the Capital and other states of the country to understand innovative strategies. Secondly, the information generated can be effectively used in future planning for the children. The study advocates for the end of de facto criminalization of street children and by placing the relevant legislation outside the criminal justice system and by transferring, their care and protection to agencies — whether governmental or non-governmental — whose personnel are trained in social work, not correction. Greater emphasis, in particular, must be placed on the rehabilitation and personal development of former street children