Monitoring and Inspection of CCI

Importance of monitoring for Child Care Institutions (CCI) Staff

Inspections, monitoring and evaluation, are all activities towards improvement of services in a CCI. It provides staff an opportunity to share their struggles, experiences and gain support from persons in authority. Hence, during , inspection, monitoring and evaluation meetings it is important for staff to:

• Be transparent and open.
• Share struggles and problems as much as showcasing of achievements.
• Share good practices which could offer themselves for replication.
• Ensure that all staff get an opportunity to speak to agencies visiting.
• Share records of evidence of work-case notes, files, registers.
• Ask for structured meetings and discussions with all staff across the CCI in small groups.
• Avoid the method of inspection where the visit/interaction to be conducted like a 'tour‘ of a big group following the inspecting/evaluation/monitoring agency around the institution.
• Ask for confidential discussions, if felt necessary.
• Ensure that there are structured discussions with the children.
• Allow for confidential discussions with children.
• Ensure that children‘s committees are permitted to give their feedback.
• Avoid being defensive.

Internal Monitoring Tracking and Review through Management Committee

Every CCI shall have a Management Committee which shall be responsible for monitoring and tracking the progress of every child in the institution as well as addressing all issues relating to the functioning of the CCI.

The Management Committee shall comprise of:

• District Child Protection Officer (District Child Protection Unit) - as Chairperson,
• Person-in-charge - Member - Secretary
• Probation Officer or Child Welfare Officer or Case Worker – Member,
• Medical Officer – Member,
• Psychologist or Counsellor – Member,
• Workshop Supervisor or Instructor in Vocation – Member
• Teacher–Member
• Social Worker Member of the Board or the Committee–Member
• Two child representatives from each of the Children‘s Committees –Members, and
• Any other special invitee with the consent of the Chairperson.

The Management Committee shall have meetings in the CCI once every month. The Management Committee shall undertake stock taking and review of programmes and functions as prescribed in the JJ Model Rules 2016.

• Discussion on action taken on decisions of the previous meeting: All meetings shall commence by reviewing action points of the previous meeting and a status check. Any pending actions would be documented in the current meeting.
• Case management: Assess progress of children in CCI through case review and updates of each child including progress on ICP, changes required to be made to ICP, planning for release, follow-up, rehabilitation card, aftercare, discussion on exceptional cases, any other issues which relate to children. Since, it would not be possible to have every child discussed in each meeting.
• The Superintendent/Person-in-charge shall allocate time to PO/CWO/caseworkers at fixed times through the month where each case can be discussed. Counsellor may be brought into give inputs. Key points from those discussions, and issues which require decisions to be taken, or solutions to be identified may be flagged in the monthly meeting of the Management Committee.
• CCI Administration and Management: Discussions on infrastructure and material supply related issues; daily routine, diet, any adjustments to be made; roster for staff, coordination with department.
• Receive feedback from children‘s committees: In every meeting each children‘s committee shall be provided a space to give feedback, raise issues for discussion with the Management Committee.

Functioning of redressal mechanisms:

The Management Committee shall be responsible for setting up of and regular functioning of complaint and redressal mechanisms like children‘s complaint box, suggestion box, children‘s committee, and children‘s suggestion book. The Management Committee shall update any complaints and suggestions received through the above mechanisms and the actions to be taken and decisions made to be recorded. There shall be a Management Committee meeting register which shall record the minutes of each meeting as well as the attendance of members. Verification of documents and registers: The Superintendent/Person-in-charge shall verify and sign on registers at the monthly meeting of the Management Committee. External individuals/organizations who oragnise activities for children in the CCI with the prior permission of the Person-in-charge, should be brought into the meeting to discuss/input any relevant concerns, or place their suggestions before the Management Committees.

Since the scope of work of the Management Committee is very large, the Superintendent/Person-in-charge should prepare an agenda for every meeting and discussions should take place and be documented according to the agenda set.

The Management Committee shall document their observations against each of the monitoring components, record the actions to be undertaken and decisions made to address an issue.

Inspection by District and State and Government Inspection Committees

The State Government shall appoint inspection committees for the State and district, as the case may be, for all institutions registered or recognised to be fit under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. The Inspection Committee would be constituted for a period as may be specified by the State Government from time to time.

State Inspection Committee

• The State Inspection Committee shall com prise of a maximum of seven members from among the State Government, namely the Board or Committee, the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, the State Human Rights Commission, State Adoption Resource Agency, medical and other experts, voluntary organisations and reputed social workers. The Member-Secretary, State Child Protection Society shall be the Chairperson of the State Inspection Committee.
• The State Inspection Committee shall carry out random inspections of the facilities housing children in the State.
• The State Inspection Committee shall submit report to the Secretary of the Department implementing the Act.
• Inspection committees shall mandatorily conduct visits to all facilities housing children in the area allocated, at least once in three months in a team of not less than three members, of whom at least one shall be a woman and one shall be a medical officer.
• Inspection Committee shall submit reports of the findings of such visits within a week of their visit, to the District Child Protection Units or State Government, as the case may be, for further action. On the submission of the report by the inspection committee within a week of the inspection, appropriate action shall be taken within a month by the District Child Protection Unit or the State Government and a compliance report shall be submitted to the State Government.
• The State Inspection Committee shall interact with the children during the visits to the institution to determine their well-being and to get their feedback.

District Inspection Committee

• The members shall comprise Member of the Board, District Child Protection Officer as the Member Secretary, medical officer, one member of the civil society working in the area of child rights, care, protection and welfare and one mental health expert who has the experience of working with children. The tenure of the Inspection Committee will be for such period as may be specified by the State Government from time to time.
• Inspection committees shall mandatorily conduct visits to all facilities housing children in the area allocated, at least once in three months in a team of not less than three members, of whom at least one shall be a woman and one shall be a medical officer. The inspection of the facilities housing children in the district or the city shall be carried out as per the formats that is specified under JJ Model Rules,2016.
• The District Inspection Committee shall submit the report of the findings to the District Child Protection Unit or the State Government and shall also make suggestions for improvement and development of the Child Care Institutions in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules made there under.
• The District Inspection Committee shall interact with the children during the visits to the institution to determine their well-being and to get their feedback.
• The District Child Protection Unit shall take necessary follow up action on the report of the District Inspection Committee.
• The action taken report shall be submitted by the District Child Protection Unit to the State Government.

Monitoring under JJ Act

As per Rule 91 of the JJ Model Rules, 2016 the National Commission or the State Commissions may perform monitoring functions in consultation with the Central and State Government, review setting up of institutions created under the Act.

Source : Living conditions in institutions for children in conflict with law - A manual by Ministry of Women and Child Development