New Delhi: A new organisation called the Centre of Excellence in Alternative Care seeks to create awareness about the alternative options child care besides adoption, by supporting and strengthening family based care and protection for children who cannot live with their biological parents.
Based in Delhi, the Centre which had an e-launch here recently, seeks to bridge the gap between policies of the Women and Child Development department and its implementation at the ground level through sharing knowledge and information on alternative care options for children.
Major percentage of orphans in India are sent to shelter homes from where they are expected to be adopted. But, often those past the age of five get left behind in orphanages for the rest of their lives, as young couples have been seen to prefer infants to grown up children.
“There are cases where children are not adopted for as much as 5 years due to technicalities and then they are unadoptable because often people want new born babies. This is where we will step in and create awareness about other available processes such as kinship and foster care,” says Vasundhara, Managing Trustee and Centre Director.
Poverty coupled with lack of education, unemployment, child labour, homelessness, substance abuse, poor parenting skills, abuse and neglect, physical and mental health needs, community violence, inability to access resources are some of the reasons that children encounter every day.
“Our vision is for children to have safer and stronger family,” says Vasundhra.
“When family is strong, then society is strong as a rule, and if family is weak, the society begins to break down. There are numerous reasons for children being in need of care and protection,” she says.
The main purpose of the Centre of Excellence in Alternative Care is to “percolate the benefits at ground level as India strengthens and reforms the child protection system. The main focus would be encouraging kinship care and foster care.” .
PTI
