Every child has the right to parental care and childhood in a family environment. India has a significant number of children living away or at risk of separation from their families. An estimated 1.5 million children in India are living in child care institutions. This number does not include children living in residential schools, religious and other institutions that are not registered under the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act 2015. Globally, evidence suggests that children thrive in a safe family environment and institutionalisation is associated with long term adverse outcomes for children. Yet, despite all the evidence, the emphasis in too many countries continue to be on supporting child care institutions rather than supporting families to care for their own children.
It is necessary that families and communities should be supported to help to care for their own children, children should have access to a range of care services that are family-based and institutionalisation should be seen as a last and temporary resort, only appropriate for a very small minority of children. India being a large and diverse country, offers examples of an ongoing and developing body of work in this area. Currently, this information and action is fragmented and deserves to be documented. In 2018, many civil society organisations and individual practitioners came together to discuss learnings and challenges on issues related to the protection and well-being of children in different care settings. They identified the need for a common platform for the exchange of ideas, dialogues, interventions, learnings, knowledge and evidence. It is with that intent that IACN was formed in 2019 with the support of UNICEF India. IACN Secretariat became functional in 2020 and is hosted at Butterflies.
Facilitating the exchange of learning, dissemination of knowledge and formation of partnerships on the issues related to children without parental care or at risk of separation.
We are committed to:
The Secretariat is hosted at Butterflies and is supported by UNICEF India.
It runs under the leadership and guidance of the Steering Committee.
The core functions of the Secretariat are as follows:
The Steering Committee provides strategic direction and guidance to the Network. It works in close collaboration with the Secretariat towards the realisation of the mission of the Network. The Steering Committee consists of practitioners with experience and knowledge on care and protection of children in different settings. The members of the Steering Committee act as ambassadors of the Network and amplify its voice.
There are 13 members in the Steering Committee. The members have a rich and diverse experience of working on the care and protection of children in different contexts.
Abhijeet Nirmal, Save the Children
Devashish Mishra, Children's Emergency Relief International
Kiran Modi, Udayan Care
Lena Dasgupta Basu, Child in Need Institute
Lina Kashyap, Retired Professor, TISS
Lopamudra Mullick, Railway Children India
Nilima Mehta, Professor & Consultant, Child Protection and Adoption
Rajendra Meher, Youth Council for Development Alternatives
Rita Panicker, Butterflies
Sandhyaa Mishra, Miracle Foundation India
Vandhana Kandhari, UNICEF
William Gali, Family for Every Child