Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators Telangana Integrated Child Protection Scheme is a comprehensive scheme to address the needs of the children in need of care and protection. Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has been enacted to provide the legal framework for the various activities to be undertaken for children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law.
Several service delivery structures have been set up such as State Child Protection Society (SCPS), State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) etc. Several Departments like Education, Labour, Police, Women Development & Child Welfare, State Legal Service Authority, Health,
Minority welfare, Social Welfare, B.C Welfare, Municipal Administration, Youth Services are rendering various services.
Several NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs) like UNICEF, Childline, Save the Children, Plan India, Bachpan Bachao Andolan are implementing various programs. There are several Child Care Institutions run by both Government and NGOs.
Government Memo.No.39/Schemes.A2/2018-1, dt:20.03.2018, has directed to establish 33 Bala Raksha Bhavans in the State. In the meeting held on 25.11.2019 several suggestions were made to ensure that the Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators discharge their functions more effectively. The following are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators. Government hereby issue the following instructions for the effective functioning of the Bala Raksha Bhavans in the State.
(i) Bala Raksha Bhavan will be an Integrated Child Protection Centre. It will be a One Stop Centre for all Children in Need of Care and Protection and Children in Conflict with Law. It is an Integrated Child Protection Service Delivery mechanism and not merely an integrated office complex.
(ii) Director, Women Development & Child Welfare, is permitted to utilize the services of the Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs)/Additional Child Development Project Officers (ACDPOs) on redeployment/other duty basis as Bala Raksha Bhavan (BRB) Coordinators.
(iii) Network and coordinate with all government departments to build intersectoral linkages on child protection issues, including Departments of Health, Education, Social Welfare, Urban Basic Services, Backward Classes & Minorities, Youth Services, Police, Judiciary, Labour, State AIDS Control Society, among others. Network and coordinate with voluntary and civil society organizations working in the field of child rights and protection. Also coordinate with media and advocacy groups.
(iv) Liaison with the SCPS, SARA and DCPUs of other districts and outside the State wherever necessary.
(v) Carry out need-based research and documentation activities at district level for assessing the number of children in difficult circumstances and creating district-specific databases to monitor trends and patterns.
(vi) Coordinate and organize infrastructural facilities required for Balaraksha Bhavan.
(vii) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinator is the Principal Co-ordinating officer for Child Protection in the district. They shall coordinate all the activities related to Child Protection in the district and work under the control of District Collector and District Welfare Officer.
(viii) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinator shall work as supervisory officers to guide the various activities to be taken up by the District Child Protection Units.
(ix) All the District Child Protection Offers and other support staff shall function under the administrative control of Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators. Salaries of the District Child Protection Unit staff, Child Welfare Committee Chairperson & members honorarium, Juvenile Justice Board members, non-judicial members honorarium, travelling allowances shall be sanctioned and disbursed by the Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators. Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators are authorized to sanction Casual Leaves, sanction & release of salaries, renewal of contracts of DCPU staff with the approval of the District Collectors.
(x) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators may bring about coordination and convergence among all the child protection systems and data integration so that implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act and Integrated Child Protection Scheme becomes more effective.
(xi) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators shall convene quarterly joint meetings with DCPUs, Police, CCIs, CWCs, JJB members, SJPUs, DPOs, Childline, SARA, departments of Labour,
Health, Education, Police, Social Welfare, MEPMA, SERP,
Backward Classes & Minorities welfare, Youth Services, Legal Service Authority, State AIDS Control Society, NGOs to secure the convergence of services.
(xii) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators shall undertake vulnerability mapping in all the villages with the help of Anganwadi Teachers, Gram Panchayats, Self Help Groups, and NGOs etc and identify the children who are at risk and develop effective networking and linkages. They shall prepare a list of every child who is likely to be at risk and maintain name wise data-base. Data base may be developed in such manner that specific-category wise interventions can be made. For example drop-out children, orphan children, children with single parents, child labourers, children affected with HIV, children with disabilities, child marriage- victims, street- children, etc can be enumerated village wise.
(xiii) Map all the child related service providers for creating and maintaining resource directory.
(xiv) All the files related to child protection in the DCPU shall be routed through Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators for the approval of District Welfare officers and District Collectors.
(xv) Organize the formation and strengthening of Village/Ward level Child Protection Committees and Mandal level Child Protection Committees and monitor the effective functioning of these committees.
(xvi) Submit progress reports/special reports to the State Child Protection Society through District Welfare Officers.
(xvii) Maintain the web based database relating to children such as Bal Sahara and CCI Registration.
(xviii) Conduct workshops, orientations programmes, trainings etc as per the guidelines issued by the State Child Protection Society and Director, WD&CW.
(xix) Ensure the effective implementation of the following Acts:
(a) Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
(b) Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) 1956; (c) Guardians and Wards Act (GAWA) 1890;
(d) Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986.
(e) Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
(f) Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986.
(g) Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994.
(h) Protection of children from Sexual Offence Act,2012
(i) Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 etc.
(xx) Monitor the utilization of ICPS funds released for the various activities to the district and submit UCs through District Welfare Officers.
(xxi) Visit the CCIs either jointly with DCPUs or with District Inspection Committees with view to assess the needs of the children and improve the services. Every BRB coordinator must visit at least 3 times in a year all the CCIs run by Govt and NGOs and maintain & record of visit and initiate corrective actions wherever necessary.
(xxii) All Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators are entitled for Fixed Travel Allowance (FTA) of Rs.2,500/- per month and may draw from the funds available at DCPU.
(xxiii) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators shall identify suitable office accommodation for locating Bala Raksha Bhavans in consultation with District Welfare Officers, wherever it is not yet done.
(xxiv) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators shall coordinate the activities with various departments for Operation Smile and Muskan and must ensure that the children are rescued, rehabilitated and re-integrated with their parents. Each child wise profile shall be maintained.
(xxv) Maintain a library of all Acts, Circulars, G.Os issued by the Govt., and serve as a master resource person on Child Protection whenever the services required by the higher officials such as District Collector, District Welfare Officer, Superintendent of Police, District Welfare Officer, Principal Magistrate, JJB, DLSA and any other district officials.
(xxvi) The District Welfare Officers shall ensure that the necessary infrastructure, seating accommodation, computer with internet and printer are provided and the same shall be incurred from DCPU funds.
(xxvii) The BRB coordinators through District Welfare Officers shall submit the proposals to the State Child Protection Society for any innovative program to be taken up as per the guidelines issued vide G.O.Ms.No.4, Department for WCD & SC
(Schemes), dt.04.05.2018 regarding juvenile justice fund.
(xxviii) Bala Raksha Bhavan Coordinators shall strive to secure the compliance of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in respect to rescue, rehabilitation and re- integration particularly SOPs on anti-human trafficking, Operation Smile & Muskan and Railways issued by the Govt., NCPCR etc.
(xxix) All BRB coordinators shall ensure that all CWC meeting are held in the BRBs only and maintain the record of minutes of such meetings. All the orders passed by CWCs shall be properly maintained with the help of DCPU, and necessary Secretarial services shall be extended to CWCs in discharge of their duties.
District Welfare Officers, Department WCD & SC are instructed to communicate the copies of these instructions to all the DCPU staff, other Departments agencies, and NGOs so that BRBs function effectively.
