From: sneha.org@rediffmail.com
Date: Mon,Aug22,2016 at 2.:30 PM
Dear
Rammohan garu
What
is meant by DCPU and what are the duties of DCPUs as per the Act 2015?
Ans.
District Child Protection Unit is a
team of Child-friendly staff of women and Child Welfare Dept. DCPU consists of
(i)
District
Child Protection Officer (may be Govt employee or outsourced as in AP)
(ii)
Protection
Officer for institutional Care / Non-institutional care.
(iii)
Social
Worker and
(iv)
Outreach
Worker
In AP,
the WCD has a sister Dept. called Juvenile Welfare Dept. which has a
District-wise set up of
(i)
District
Probation Officer (Govt. employee)
(ii)
Superintendents
of Homes,
(iii)
Protection
officer (for institutional care)
(iv)
Social
Worker and
(v)
Outreach
worker (all (iii) to (vi) are outsourced)
(vi)
Counselor
The
detailed roles and responsibilities of DCPU are:
1. Works
under the overall supervision of District Magistrate:
The District Child Protection Units (DCPU) shall function under the
overall administrative control and supervision of the District Magistrate of
the concerned district. The District Magistrate shall be responsible for
effective implementation of ICPS and all other child protection policies and
programs at the district level. He/she shall also be the co-chairperson of
District Child Protection Committee (DCPC). The DCPC shall be chaired by the
Chairperson Zilla Parishad.
2. District
Child Protection Officer (DCPO):
The District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) shall function as the head
of the DCPU and shall be responsible for carrying out all day to day functions
of the DCPU at the district level. The DCPO shall be appointed either by
deputation or on contract. In districts where a district level officer of the
ICPS implementing department (Social Welfare/Women and Child Development) is
available he/she shall function as the DCPO. In districts where such officer
does not exist, the post of DCPO shall be filled by deputation/contract.
a.
The DCPO shall coordinate and supervise
implementation of the ICPS and all other child protection activities at
district level including monitoring and supervision of all
institutions/agencies/ projects/programs/NGOs and shall report to SCPS at the
State level. For the purpose of coordinating non-institutional care program at
district level, he/she shall report to SARA (State Adoption Resource Agency) at
the State level. The DCPO shall be responsible for coordinating development of
an Annual District Child Protection Plan, resource directory of child related
services and child tracking system at the district level.
b.
He/she shall also be coordinating and networking
with all the line departments/officers including.
i.
District Magistrate
ii.
District Judge
iii.
Superintendent of Police / Special Juvenile Police
Unit (Addl. SP in AP)
iv.
Child Development Project Officer (CDPO)
v.
Labour Officer, Education officer
vi.
Chief Medical officer (CMO)
vii.
Municipal Authorities
viii.
Members of Zilla Parishad and other local bodies
c.
Besides, he/she shall also coordinate with :
i.
Juvenile Justice Board
ii.
Child Welfare Committee
iii.
Voluntary organisations
iv.
Child line Services
v.
Hospital/Nursing Homes
vi.
Other authorities at district level who have direct
or indirect impact on child protection programs/services
d.
He/she shall head the Home Management Committee of
every institution in the district and recommend suitable institutions for
release of grants from the SCPS. He/she shall conduct a monthly review meeting
with all stakeholders including representatives of community and local bodies
as well as media.
e.
Both the District Probation officer & DCPU have the
following responsibilities:
i.
To
undertake a Social Investigation into the case and submit Social Investigation
Report within 15 days to the Board (Sec 8).
ii.
To
coordinate with SJPU/Child Welfare Police Officer after apprehension of the
CICL for counselling etc.
iii.
To
inform the parents/guardians of such child on being found or apprehended by
Police (Sec 13)
iv.
To
take up follow up action on receipt of final orders of Children’s Court with
regard to CICL to implement individual care plan for the rehabilitation of the
child (Sec 19(2))
v.
To
submit periodic follow up reports annually to the Children’s Court when CICL is
lodged in Place of safety or (Special Home in the absence of place of safety)
to evaluate progress of the child (Sec 19 (4))
vi.
To
submit follow up report to the Children’s Court on completion of 21 yrs of age
duly evaluating whether such child has undergone reformative changes and
whether the child can be contributing member of the society, so as to enable
children’s court to decide whether to release the CICL with certain conditions
or to send him to regular jail for completion of the remainder of the term (Sec
20)
vii.
To
provide a Secretary and other staff for CWC for its effective functioning (Sec
37 (3))
viii.
To
conduct a Social Investigation Report (SIR) and to submit to the Child Welfare
Committee (CWC) (Sec 30 (iii))
ix.
To
follow the recommendation of CWC’s monthly inspections/visits to various Homes
for improvement in quality of services (Sec 30 (viii))
x.
To
coordinate with the Police, labour depts and other agencies involved in care
and protection of Children for follow up action (Sec.30 (xv))
xi.
To
follow the direction of CWC in case of a complaint of abuse of child in any
child care institutions (Sec 30 (xvi))
xii.
To
produce any child in need of care and protection (CNCP) before the committee
(Sec 31)
xiii.
To
report to the Child line services or at Police station or to a CWC on coming to
know of any abandoned or lost child, or an orphan without any family support
(Sec 32 (1))
To upload the information of a lost or orphan child in the AP Police intranet through SJPU/CWPO and
in khoyapaya.com (Sec 32 (2))
Please
find answer as bellow
As
per Sec 3, the following basic principles are
guiding factors in the administration of JJ (CPC) Act 2015
i.
Principle of presumption of
innocence:
Any
child shall be presumed to be an innocent of any mala fide or criminal
intent up to the age of eighteen years.
ii.
Principle of dignity and
worth: All
human beings shall be treated with equal dignity and rights.
iii.
Principle of participation: Every child shall have a
right to be heard and to participate in all processes and decisions affecting
his interest and the child’s views shall be taken into consideration with due
regard to the age and maturity of the child.
iv.
Principle of best interest: All decisions regarding
the child shall be based on the primary consideration that they are in the best
interest of the child and to help the child to develop full potential.
v.
Principle of family
responsibility:
The primary responsibility of care, nurture and protection of the child shall
be that of the biological family or adoptive or foster parents, as the case may
be.
vi.
Principle of safety: All measures shall be taken
to ensure that the child is safe and is not subjected to any harm, abuse or maltreatment
while in contact with the care and protection system, and thereafter.
vii.
Positive measures: All resources are to be
mobilised including those of family and community, for promoting the
well-being, facilitating development of identity and providing an inclusive and
enabling environment, to reduce vulnerabilities of children and the need for
intervention under this Act.
viii.
Principle of
non-stigmatising semantics: Adversarial or accusatory words are not to be used in the
processes pertaining to a child.
ix.
Principle of non-waiver of
rights: No
waiver of any of the right of the child is permissible or valid, whether sought
by the child or person acting on behalf of the child, or a Board or a Committee
and any non-exercise of a fundamental right shall not amount to waiver.
x.
Principle of equality and
non-discrimination:
There shall be no discrimination against a child on any grounds including sex,
caste, ethnicity, place of birth, disability and equality of access,
opportunity and treatment shall be provided to every child.
xi.
Principle of right to
privacy and confidentiality: Every child shall have a right to protection of his
privacy and confidentiality, by all means and throughout the judicial process.
xii.
Principle of
institutionalisation as a measure of last resort: A child shall be placed in
institutional care as a step of[ last resort after making a reasonable inquiry.
xiii.
Principle of repatriation
and restoration:
Every child in the juvenile justice system shall have the right to be re-united
with his family at the earliest and to be restored to the same socio-economic
and cultural status that he was in, before coming under the purview of this
Act, unless such restoration and repatriation is not in his best interest.
xiv.
Principle of fresh start: All past records of any
child under the Juvenile Justice system should be erased except in special
circumstances.
xv.
Principle of diversion: Measures for dealing with
children in conflict with law without resorting to judicial proceedings shall
be promoted unless it is in the best interest of the child or the society as a
whole.
Principle of natural justice: Basic
procedural standards of fairness shall be adhered to, including the right to a
fair hearing, rule against bias and the right to review, by all persons or
bodies, acting in a judicial capacity under this Act
good
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