SOP for Care & Protection of Children in Street Situations (CiSS)
Recently, the Supreme Court has issued directions to the States and Union Territories on Rehabilitation of Street Children (CiSS).
- The Court has issued directions to the States and Union Territories where no policy has been framed for children in street situation (CISS).
- Such states and union territories have been directed to immediately implement the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 2.0 for the care and protection of CiSS children issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
- At present, only Tamil Nadu and Delhi have formulated their own policies to protect CiSS children.
- CiSS children are often assumed to be anonymous or invisible due to lack of identity, recognition or social status. They are highly vulnerable to a variety of crimes and crimes.
- Despite the right to education, they are still deprived of school education.
- There is also the risk of child marriage, sex crimes, trafficking etc.
Initiatives of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) –
- Identification: In addition to the Bal Swaraj Portal, it has developed a separate portal for NGOs and individuals to assist in the identification of CiSS children. The estimated number of CiSS children is 1.5 lakh, while the data of only 17,914 such children has been uploaded on the Bal Swaraj Portal.
- Rescue and Rehabilitation: NCPCR in association with Save the Children has released Standard Operating Procedure 20 (SOP 2.0) for the care and protection of CiSS children. Processes and measures have been strengthened by this.
- Preventive Measures: Areas are identified where the number of CiSS children is high. The families of such children are linked with relevant schemes.
- Schooling is ensured for the children and livelihood is ensured for their parents.
NCPCR Standard Operating Procedure 2.0-
- Its goal is to coordinate between different functionaries, institutions/agencies etc. for the care, protection and rehabilitation of CiSS children.
- Under its basic principle, the child is seen from the perspective of his family. The CiSS provides a comprehensive package of assistance for families of children.
- This includes provisions under various Acts, institutional mechanisms, social interventions and planned benefits. These are helpful in addressing the reasons why children are on the street and other key issues.
- Under this, the focus has been on providing social security to both the children living with or without family.
Source – The Hindu
