Government plans to rank orphanages across the country

Government to rank orphanages across the country….

India has a very large number of orphans as well as destitute child population. Orphanages operated by the state are generally known as juvenile homes. In addition there is a vast number of privately run orphanages running into thousands spread across the country. These area run by various trusts, religious groups, individual citizens, citizens groups, NGO’s etc.

Now the government plans to rank orphanages or childcare institutes in the country, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The move follows a study carried out by the ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) which revealed that more than half of the total 9,000 childcare institutes surveyed were not registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Following this survey, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi wrote to state governments to ensure that orphanages were registered and infrastructure at these institutions was improved.

“We will be ranking childcare institutes in the country. We are yet to decide on the parameters for awarding ranks,” WCD secretary R K Shrivastava said.

The better institutions were those with “good facilities, toilets, cleanliness and happy children”, he added.

Under the law, “all institutions, whether run by a state government or by voluntary or non-governmental organisations, which are meant, either wholly or partially, for housing children in need of care and protection or children in conflict with the law, shall be registered under this Act,” regardless of whether they are funded by the state or central government