Telangana: Unregistered Homes start facing the heat

Hyderabad: The Child Welfare Committee’s deadline for registering shelter homes for children was August, but many such homes in the city are still unregistered. Homes need to be registered so that they can be monitored. The rehabilitation of a child should not result in further trauma and the only way society can curb such injustice is by ensuring that children are taken care of in homes that are safe, said Viziendira Boyi of the Department of Women’s Development and Child Welfare.

The department has been cracking down on unregistered homes that failed to get accreditation. “While there are still a few unregistered homes, a team is constantly on the prowl to locate, register, or shut homes that have failed to meet the minimum standards and have no registration. Additionally, homes are checked for compliance once a month,” Mr Boyi said.

One home that was recently registered after the crackdown by the department is the Grace Children’s Home in Neredmet. It is home to 32 girl children living in five bedrooms and has a recreational open hall. The home takes care of food, school fees, books, clothing, shelter, health care and recreational activities of the children. It also works on rehabilitation of the children who come from vulnerable backgrounds, through counselling and personality development programmes,” said Victor Emmanuel, the project director of the home. Mr Emmanuel added, “Prior to registration, we did not document or maintain any registers, nor did we have standards of hygiene. We also housed both boys and girls in the same premises. However, with the checks of the WDCW department, we now have added the counselling session, girls-only house, maintained registers and logs, document food plans, account for all expenses and ensure full transparency. The registration has brought awareness and we are now able to cater to the needs of the children in a safe and efficient manner, which was lacking before.”

The Samruddhi Children’s Home, founded by the Square Reach Society, currently houses 12 girls and boys. It was registered two years ago by the WDCW department. 

Abraham Lincoln who is in charge of the Home said, “As per the guidelines of the children’s welfare department, we have segregated the children, and maintained a log of all activities in the home. Accountability is the main aspect of registration and it is helpful to ensure that all children are living in a safe environment.”

The WDCW department closed down an unregistered home, the Dove Orphan Children's Home at Gandhamguda, which was alleged to have sent the children to beg in public places. R. Esther, owner of the home, said, "I am not aware of the procedure to register the home. It was started in memory of my father and all I wanted to do was help vulnerable children. It is very difficult for me to understand the online process for registration and suddenly one day an FIR was filed against me and the home was closed down, sending the 40 children to Saidabad Observational Home. We did not have a rules and regulations brochure to attend to children's needs. Register logs and CCTV cameras were not present in the home. We also did not maintain a strict timetable and food plan."

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and WDCW are working to ensure accountability of all homes for vulnerable children, but there are still institutions that are unregistered and unmonitored, and consequently work to no plan and this threatens the welfare of the children in their care.