The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) held a meeting with a group of street children here on Friday to obtain their views in order to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for rehabilitation of street children in the country.
NCPCR chairperspon Stuti Kacker, who chaired the meeting, invited the street children to share their experiences and suggestions.
“They narrated how they were forced to flee their homes and society, and also their getting in to the habit of drugs and stealing,” said an NCPCR release.
A group discussion was held with the children to obtain suggestions.
Some of these included the need for contact points for rescue of children; children who have been successfully rehabilitated should become peer educators; measures to be taken for protecting children from drug peddlers and gangsters; and providing counselling to children rescued.
“The SOP is proposed to be developed in consultation with civil society organisations, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Child Welfare Committee (CWC), children and other important stakeholders in order to capture their learning and experiences,” said a senior NCPCR official.
The Commission has already organised regional consultations at Hyderabad, Patna, Lucknow and Mumbai.
The proposed SOP will include a common framework for minimum standard of care and protection of street children, access of such children to quality care and protection, access to foster care and sponsorship as per requirement.
The SOP will also include measures to ensure that no child is forced to live on the street.
SOP to include measures to ensure that no child is forced to live on the street
