Govt to begin 'surprise, periodic' audits of Children Homes

To curb child abuse and human trafficking, the government has decided to conduct surprise and periodic audit of Children's Homes from next month.
This step would also focus on rehabilitation, education and counselling of the victims.
A draft standard operating procedure for conducting the social audit has been prepared and will be finalised after consulting all the states and Union territories, a senior official of Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry said.
"Necessary formats for conducting audit have been prepared and circulated to States for comments. The formats will be finalised up shortly," he added.
The periodic audit or inspection of the Homes will make a surprise assessment of the facilities and conditions in which children are put, by officials of district and state-level Child Welfare departments.

A three procedure system- rehabilitation, education and training- will be followed.

"Our first effort would be to rehabilitate the child with his or her family. If that is not possible he will be given education and some kind of vocational training to enable him secure some job. He will also be provided counselling through psychiatrists and counsellors," the official said.
According to National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 38172, 58224 and 89594 cases of crimes against children were reported in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.
There are some states which are more prone to human trafficking. These states have also been asked to set up State Social Audit Committees on the lines of Central Social audit Committee, the official added.

The Central Government had created a Central Social Audit Committee which has representation from government, civil society, legal experts, mental health experts and psychiatrists.
He said that necessary training modules will be developed and master trainers will be trained by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development.