Guwahati: The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), Government of India organized the fifth one day Regional Symposium on Child Protection, Child Safety and Child Welfare held here on 13 August.
The Symposium was graced by Munjapara Mahendrabhai, Minister of State, Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Senior Mandarin, Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, and Priyank Kanoongo, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) graced the occasion.
In his address, Minister of State, MoWCD, Dr.Mahendrabhai highlighted the changes made in the JJ Act 2015, its rules and adoptation regulations. These changes will help in delivering better quality of services to the children in need of care and protection and also children in conflict with law.
He mentioned that definitions of terms such as foster care, heinous care, inter country adaptation, specialized adoptation agencies, sponsorship etc. have been duly amended.
Similarly, it has been made mandatory for states to constitute Juvenile Justice Board in every district, constitution of one or more child welfare committees in every district, mandatory reporting of a child found separated from guardian, registration of child care institutions, eligibility of new prospective and adoptive parents etc.
Additional Secretary, MoWCD, Shri Chadha addressed the event and appreciated the work being done by all the functionaries in different States and panchayat level for child welfare protection under JJ Act. He stated that the child protection ecosystem has undergone a paradigm shift in the past few years with the amendments in the JJ Act.
Shri Chadha further highlighted the success of Child Helpline in various states and focused on the implementation of the principle of “No Child is left out” to bring about the betterment of every child in the country and help them become responsible citizens of the country.
NCPCR Chairperson, Shri Kanoongo shared the changes made in the spheres of child trafficking, street children, child adoption, monitoring of children care institutions etc.
There were eight participating states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland. The Symposium was attended by over 1200 representatives from Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), District Child Protection Units, Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs), Members of Village Child Protection Committee (VCPC) and Anganwadi Workers.
The program is part of a series of regional symposiums to be held across the country to raise awareness and outreach about child protection, child safety and child welfare issues.
The focus of the program was on the Amendments in the Juvenile Justice Act, Rules. Its impact on adoption processes were highlighted in the experience shared by Prospective Adoptive Parents who received a quick resolution post the Amendment in September, 2022.
Through this event, the successful interventions under Mission Vatsalya were disseminated.