Dear Wenchi, Thank you for your comments. Responding to your queries...
CHILDLINE is a 24 hour 'helpline' for children in need of care and protection. It was started by a dynamic woman namely Jeroo Bilimoria in 1996 in Mumbai, India. In a developing country like India, where state mechanisms are unable to reach out to children in crisis situations, CHILDLINE provides that crucial link by physically reaching out to children. CHILDLINE started as an experimental project of the Department of Family and Child Welfare, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). In May 1999 a partnership with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, to replicate the CHILDLINE service nationally, resulted in the formation of the CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF).
CHILDLINE's success in India lies in its ability to merge grass roots micro level intervention with information technology and telecommunications to make the service an efficient link between the child and the systems.
CIF is the think tank of the CHILDLINE network. It provides vital behind the scenes support to the CHILDLINE service across the country. It is responsible for expansion of CHILDLINE, ensuring quality standards, research, documentation, and child protection advocacy.
CHILDLINE has grown into the largest child protection movement in India working in partnership with 158 organisations in 20 states. It is the only helpline that offers comprehensive child protection services. It serves as a link between children, child protection voluntary agencies and the State.
CHILDLINE functions through a network of NGOs, academic institutions, the corporate sector and the allied systems. Structure of CHILDLINE: CHILDLINE Advisory Board (CAB), comprising senior level functionaries from the allied systems, NGOs, concerned individuals and media. It is the policy making body for CHILDLINE at the city level and it undertakes periodic review of CHILDLINE. The Nodal Organization, essentially an academic institution ensures coordination, training, research, documentation, awareness and advocacy at the city level; The Collaborative Organization, essentially a voluntary agency housing the 24x7 call service for children. It responds to calls on 1098, provides emergency intervention, links children to services for ultimate rehabilitation, conducts awareness and outreach programmes and documents every call that comes into CHILDLINE. The Support Organization, responds to calls referred by the collaborative organization and conducts awareness and outreach programmes. Resource Organizations, are centres for referring children from CHILDLINE for long-term rehabilitation. They also participate in outreach and awareness programs for CHILDLINE.
Currently operational in 65 cities of India spread across 20 states, with another 20 in the pipeline and a vision to reach out to every child in distress in each city/district of India, it aims to be operational in all 596 districts of India by 2020.
Regarding the number of calls received, nationally CHILDLINE has responded to over 7 million calls till date. We receive calls from children and concerned adults. Children call 1098, which is the toll free number for CHILDLINE across the country, for emotional support and guidance, shelter, repatriation, medical aid, rescue from abuse, sponsorship etc. Children also call CHILDLINE when they need a caring listener...to just speak to someone.
CHILDLINE provides telephone counselling and also physically reaches out to children making sure that they are available for children at all times - day and night.
The CHILDLINE crisis team across the country comprises 1200 members supported by a network of over 5000 child/youth volunteers. At the centre coordinating the whole operation is the CIF team comprising 32 members.
Regarding documentation, calls received by CHILDLINE 1098 generate rich data. It is processed by the Policy Research and Documentation team at CIF. ChildNET is CHILDLINEŭs software programme that connects each call center to a central server in CIF. This software programme captures information received from each call, analyses it and presents reports. The CIF team was also instrumental in documenting the Draft Norms for Enhancing Credibility in the Voluntary Sector in India. CIF has played a very active role in discussions at the national level prior to the formulation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. And to our credit, CHILDLINE is the only voluntary agency, mentioned by name in the revised Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, as an authorized agency for producing children in need of care and protection before the Child Welfare Committees and has been asked to function as a catalyst in the implementation of the Act. Over the years the Government of India has reposed its faith in CIF and entrusted full responsibility for achoring the CHILDLINE service in India.
Lara Shankar, Program Coordinator - PR&D, CHILDLINE India Foundation.
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