Mission Vatsalya

Background

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Mission Vatsalya” erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme, since 2009-10 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children.

Prior to 2009-10, there were three schemes being implemented under the Ministry namely,

• Programme for Juvenile Justice for Children in need of care and protection, and Children in conflict with Law;
• Integrated Programme for street children; and
• Scheme for assistance to homes for children (Shishu Greh).

All the three schemes were incorporated in a single centrally sponsored scheme called the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). The ICPS was implemented by the Ministry since 2009-2010. The scheme was then renamed as “Child Protection Services” Scheme in 2017. The CPS Scheme has been now subsumed under Mission Vatsalya from 2021-22 onwards.

Vision

To secure a healthy & happy childhood for each and every child in India, ensure opportunities to enable them to discover their full potential and assist them in
flourishing in all respects, in a sustained manner. Mission Vatsalya promotes family- based non-institutional care of children in difficult circumstances based on the principle of institutionalization of children as a measure of last resort.

Objectives

• 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, non- institutional 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 safety
  net for children.

Components under Mission Vatsalya

Components under Mission Vatsalya include

• Improve functioning of statutory bodies;
• Strengthen service delivery structures;
• Upscale institutional care/services;
• Encourage non-institutional community-based care; 
• emergency outreach services;
• Training and capacity building

For detailed Scheme guidelines, click here.

Source : Ministry of Women and Child Development