“SAFETY AND EDUCATIONAL CONTINUITY
FOR JUVENILES IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE”
A STUDY OF JUVENILE HOMES UNDER THE
JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015
By- Damini M
Assistant Professor of Law
Soundarya College of Law
ABSTRACT
Children
in conflict with law requires a higher level of care, protection and
specialized attention compared to other children. Under Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection of Children) Act 2015 the government of India has
established special homes called the juvenile home to ensure their education,
safety, rehabilitation and social reintegration. Types of juvenile homes
include observation homes, special homes, children’s homes and places of
safety.[1]
There are many initiatives taken by the government, such as Mission Vatsalya
and various welfare initiatives. Despite these schemes, the concern remains
about the quality of care, health support, mental health support, educational
facilities, trained manpower, hygiene standards and the fund utilizations with this
juvenile home. International standards by UN bodies emphasized restorative
justice and reintegration, yet India still faces many issues to meeting those benchmarks.
Therefore, it is crucial to ascertain whether the current system effectively
safe guards the rights, development and future of children living in juvenile homes.
And to identify certain measures to strengthen their education, mental health
and holistic reintegration[2].
Keywords: Juvenile
Justice, special homes, social reintegration, rehabilitation
ANALYSIS
Safety
and education play a pivotal role for every child, but a child in conflict with
the law or a juvenile as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act 2015 needs more care and attention compared to other children. The government
of India under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and as per
the above-mentioned act has established many government and non-governmental child
care institutions for children however, there are special homes known as
juvenile homes for these children who are in conflict with the law or juveniles.[3]
Such homes are registered as per section 41 of the said Act. Furthermore, it is
the responsibility of these homes to take care of the mental and physical health
of such juveniles; apart from this, it is the primary role of these homes to
make them feel safe and provide comprehensive education and training. Which
requires trained and specialised tutors. It becomes very crucial for the juvenile
homes to keep a continuous track on these children post their release from
juvenile homes back to society. The most important concern here is whether
these children actually receive the right care for their development.[4]
Even
though the government of India under the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (MWCD) has taken up a new initiative this year called the Mission Vatsalya
Scheme and even though they have allocated a significant budget for this
mission under budget 2025 – 2026 the amount of budget spent or utilized
specifically for juvenile homes is unknown. Because the Mission Vatsalya Scheme
focuses on different aspects of child care and child welfare schemes, which aim
the holistic development and protection of children.[5]
This scheme helps with the financial support for infrastructure, maintenance grants,
operational costs, standards of care, rehabilitation and reintegration. However,
the backdrop of this scheme is that it aims at a holistic development whereas
in India we need a specific scheme or mission that aims to track the safety and
education development of a juvenile or a child who is in conflict with the law.
A specific regulatory mechanism is very much required to monitor the safety and
education of the child in the observation homes.[6]
UNITED NATION HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The
UN’s framework is to emphasize that the juveniles must be reformed and socially
reintegrated, and to minimize the stigma, UN bodies have continued to urge India
to strengthen within the law and its implementation.[7]
India has not been meeting the standards set by UN human rights bodies such as the
Committee on The Rights of The Child (CRC) which primarily revolve around
adherence to the principle of restorative justice, rehabilitation and the best
interest of the child in general however, in specific India has been criticized
for not following the conditions and functioning of child care institutions
(CCI) for example, humane treatment, safety and hygiene. Furthermore, it’s very
important to note that there is poor hygiene, sanitation and living conditions
in juvenile homes and insufficient resources for qualified staff, education,
vocational training and psychological support for social reintegration.[8]
CHILD
RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK (CRIN)
CRIN is a non-governmental
organization independent in nature. They conduct a global study on children’s
access to justice and they rank the countries according to the effectiveness of
their juvenile system and juvenile protection law[9]. According to CRIN, Belgium
is considered the best country in the world for the juvenile justice system
because it has been ranked top in “access to justice for children”, and they
have been paying better focus onto reintegration. Apart from Belgium, Portugal,
Spain and the Nordic countries are well known for effectively addressing juvenile
justice and they also result in lower percentages in youth crime and incarceration
rates. India has been ranked 43rd out of 197 countries. However,
CRIN has also reported and acknowledged many positive steps taken by India in juvenile
proception laws such as free and automatic legal aid, and also about the public
interest litigation (PIL) system in India.
However, we lack complete
incorporation of UN Convention on Rights of Child (UNCRC) in domestic law,
which is limiting our potential for a higher rank. India ratified UNCRC in 1992.
India has taken a measure indicating that it would not be fully or immediately
incorporating certain provisions such as Article 32 (protection from economic
exploitation), Article 17 (access to information), Article 29 (aims of education)
and Article 30 (children of minorities). Hence, this incomplete incorporation
of UN Convention on Rights of Child (UNCRC) into national law hinders the
higher rank.[10]
ENHANCING
THE TEACHING METHOD AND MENTAL HEALTH OF A CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
The education and mental health of
any child is very important, as it shapes them and their future. As it is said
that, today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens, which is essential for the society
and builds the society. However, juvenile homes lack trained manpower for
training and educating children in conflict with the law due to overcrowding
and lack of facilities in such homes.
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