ICPS

INTEGRATED CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES (ICPS):

Child protection is about protecting from or against any perceived or real danger or risk to their life, their personhood and childhood. It is about reducing their vulnerability to any kind of harm and protecting them in harmful situations. It is about ensuring that no child falls out of the social security and safety net and, those who do, receive necessary care, protection and support so as to bring them back into the safety net. While protection is the right of every child, some children are more vulnerable than others and need special attention.

Failure to ensure children’s right to protection adversely affects all other rights of the child. Failure to protect children from issues such as violence in schools, child labor, harmful traditional practices, child marriage, child abuse, the absence of parental care and commercial sexual exploitation among others, means failure in fulfilling both the constitutional and international commitments towards children.

TARGET GROUPS UNDER ICPS.

• The ICPS will focus its activities on children in need of care and protection (CNCP) and children in conflict with law (CCL) as defined under the JJ Act, 2015 and with children who come in contact with law, either as victim or as a witness or due to any other circumstances.
• The ICPS will provide preventive, statutory and care and rehabilitation services to any other vulnerable children including, but not limited, to: children of potentially vulnerable families and families at risk, families living in extreme poverty, orphans, child drug abusers, child beggars, trafficked or sexually exploited children, street and working children, children suffering from terminal diseases or incurable diseases, children who are victims of any armed conflict, civil commotion or natural calamity.

 INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES UNDER ICPS:

As provided by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,2015, the scheme shall support the creation of new institutional facilities and maintenance of existing institutional facilities for both children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection. These include Observation homes, special homes, Children’s homes, Shelter homes and place of safety.

FAMILY BASED NON-INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES UNDER ICPS:

1. SPONSORSHIP: The sponsorship of Rs 2000/= per month will be provided to a family to enable a child to continue to remain in the family, continue his/her education (Preventive sponsorship). Children within institutions can also be restored to families with the sponsorship assistance (Rehabilitative Sponsorship).
2. FOSTERCARE: Fostering is an arrangement whereby a child lives, usually on a temporary basis, with an extended or unrelated family member and eventually re-unite the child with his/her own family when family circumstances improve and thus prevent institutionalization of children in difficult circumstances. The quantum of foster care will be Rs 2000/= per month per child.
3. ADOPTION: Adoption is a process through which a child who is permanently separated from biological parents because of their death or have abandoned, surrendered him/her, becomes a legitimate child of a new set of parents referred as adoptive parents.
4. AFTERCARE: The JJ Act, 2015 provides for an after care program for children without family or other support who leave institutional care after they attain 18 years of age to sustain themselves during the transition from institutional to independent life. The quantum of after care will be Rs 2000/- per month per child.

Structures of ICPS at District Level:

1. DISTRICT CHILD PROTECTION UNIT (DCPU):-

A unit to coordinate and implement all child rights and child protection activities at district level. A unit to ensure effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 in the district.

2. CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE (CWC):

A committee constituted in each district for exercising the powers and discharge the duties conferred in relation to child in need of care and protection under the JJ Act, 2015. The committee consists of Chairperson and 4 members. The committee functions as a bench of magistrates and have the powers conferred by the code of CR. PC, 1989 in a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.

3. JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD:-

A Board constituted for exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred or imposed on such Board in relation to the Children in conflict with law under JJ Act, 2015. The Board consists of a Judicial Magistrate of the 1^st class and two social worker members, forming a bench.

4. SPECIAL JUVENILE POLICE UNIT (SJPU):

A special juvenile police unit has been established in each district. This unit will only carry out the investigation of the cases where the juveniles are alleged to have committed any offence. At every police station at least one police officer not below the rank of Sub Inspector shall be designated to exclusively act as Juvenile or Child Welfare Officer to handle the cases of Juveniles or children in term of the provisions of the Act.

Achievements of ICPS Kulgam since 2018 till Feb 2021:

1. CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE KULGAM:

2. JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD:

3. CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEES:

Out of the 11 Block Level Child Protection Committees 4 have been provided training about the Juvenile Justice (care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, POCSO Act, 2012 and Child Rights and out of 222 Village level Child Protection Committees 50 committees have been provided training about the JJ Act 2015, POCSO Act and Child rights.

4. Awareness programs regarding JJ Act 2015, POCSO Act 2012 and Child Rights Conducted: Since 2018 the ICPS Kulgam conducted almost 110 awareness programs in all the blocks of District Kulgam in which all the stake holders and line departments including Health, Education, Labor, Panchayat, Youth sports and services, ICDS , students, NGOs and general public were made aware about the provisions of The Juvenile Justice (care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), Child Rights and other services being provided under the scheme of Integrated Child Protection Services.