State set to bring all child care institutes under its ambit

kolkata: The state Women & Child Development (W &CD) department has laid special emphasis to ensure that all care homes across the state register themselves as 'Child Care Institutions' so that the department can keep an eye on the activities of such homes. The department will also encourage foster care through its directorate with the assistance from the district administration.

The department held a state level workshop on Thursday in collaboration with UNICEF for strengthening convergence in adolescent programming.

The department is coming out with a district action plan for ending child marriage. Concerned government officials of the district, NGOs working in women and child trafficking attended the workshop.

"Besides adoption, we have witnessed an interest in foster care too. So accordingly, we have come up with a guideline so that the homes are encouraged to register themselves in foster care," Shashi Panja, state Minister for W & CD said.

Foster care is not typically under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act. In foster care, a child living at a home can be handed over to a couple on the condition that at a later stage his/her father or mother wants him/her back he/she should be handed over.

During Covid times, child marriage across the country increased for obvious reasons and with drop out from schools.

The department has also asked the districts to strengthen the Kanyashree clubs across the state as part of Kanyashree Plus programme.

Each of the districts have been asked to organize awareness thorough various activities in the form of self defence , sports , financial literacy with Kanyashree girls to discourage child marriage .

A booklet on menstrual hygiene was also released which will be circulated across the state.