Children in need of care and protection an evaluative study of government and NGOs role in Punjab

Abstract

The future of a nation, lies in its children. It becomes the responsibility of the state to nurture, protect and create safe and growth oriented environment for its children; its human resource. The proper protection and development of a child, is therefore, imperative for the proper growth and development of a nation. The thesis evaluates the performance of Government and NGO run Homes for children in need of care and protection in Punjab, Government policies in place, the organizational setup, procedures, governance issues, interface between and services provided by Government and NGO run homes and the official as well as beneficiaries response to same. The study concludes that even though the policies for children in need of care and protection are adequate in coverage and content, imbibing within it the international policy trends, certain lacunae need to be plugged. Also, lack of adequate and appropriate training of staff leads to poor implementation of policy. Good networking among the Homes and other agencies improves their functioning. Effectiveness of service delivery and child protection also increases due to Government s monitoring and evaluative mechanisms. Beneficiaries of NGO homes are more satisfied than those of Government homes. Hence, it is suggested that adherence to policies, professional training of staff, emphasis on technology, improved remuneration, service in spirit and improved monitoring can better protect child rights. newline