District Child Protection Unit

To foster a sensitive, supportive, and synchronized ecosystem for children as they transit different ages and stages of their development. This is envisaged to be done by strengthening the institutional framework of child welfare and protection committees and the Statutory and Service delivery structures in all districts of the country. While children in difficult circumstances are to be addressed by the Statutory and Service Delivery Structures, equal emphasis is to be given to issues around child welfare and protection at the community level integrated with the local development plans and corresponding budgets. Thus, it is envisaged that the committees under the institutional framework will complement the Statutory and Service Delivery Structures in terms of advocacy, awareness generation, capacity building, and preventive measures to build a robust child friendly ecosystem in the community.

• Support and sustain Children in difficult circumstances.
• Develop context-based solutions for holistic development of children from varied backgrounds.
• Provide scope for encouraging innovative solutions.
• Cement convergent action.

The key objectives of Mission Vatsalya are:

• Prioritisation of children in the scheme of Administration keeping Centrality of the Child during all the activities and actions taken under the Mission.
• Best interest of the Child while designing or delivering projects and programmes and to take affirmative action to ensure right to grow in happy family environment with strong social safety net to support families.
• Ensuring Children’s right to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation.
• To establish essential services and strengthen emergency outreach, noninstitutional care within the family and community, and institutional care counselling and support services at the national, regional, state and district levels.
• To ensure appropriate inter-sector response at all levels, coordinate and network with all allied systems to promote convergent efforts for seamless service delivery to children.
• To strengthen child protection at family and community level, equip families and communities to identify risks and vulnerabilities affecting children, create and promote preventive measures to protect children from situations of vulnerability, risk and abuse.
• Encourage private sector partnerships and interventions to support children within the framework of law.
• Raise public awareness, educate public about child rights, vulnerabilities and measures for protection sponsored by government and engage community at all levels as stakeholder in ensuring the best interest of children.
• To build capacities of duty holders & service providers at all levels.
• Monitor progress on objective parameters against well-defined Outputs and Outcomes, and
• Participation of Panchayats and Municipal Local Bodies at the village level and at the ward and the urban cluster level within the urban municipal ward, for sustained assessment of the issues deserving attention, implementation of appropriate interventions, regular monitoring to develop a robust social safetyness for children.

Mission Vatsalya will be implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme as per prescribed cost sharing ratio between the Centre and State/UT Governments.

Structure of District Child Protection Unit (DCPU)