‘Many didn’t get government benefits due to difficulties in procuring death certificates’
‘Many didn’t get government benefits due to difficulties in procuring death certificates’
For every child who lost its mother, three children lost their father to the COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra.
‘Vulnerable Children of Maharashtra’, a report on the status of children orphaned by COVID-19 by Vidhi Maharashtra, an independent think tank, found that 22,760 children lost their fathers while 2,678 lost their mothers to COVID-19.
The loss of either parent has a significant impact on a child. However, a greater proportion of children losing their father may indicate that many families may suffer from financial instability post-pandemic as most households in the country are run by male breadwinners.
The study found that as of February 15, 2022, out of the 10,386 children who lost their guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, 718 children were based in Maharashtra. The State has the second highest number of vulnerable children in India out of a total of 1.5 lakh and is also among the top five States with the highest number of children orphaned during COVID-19.
Despite the establishment of Task Forces in each district by the government to identify and rehabilitate orphans, there were discrepancies in providing benefits under a variety of schemes to such children, it said. “Government intervention was hindered by the requirement of the COVID-19 death certificate. In order to avail schemes released for orphans during the pandemic, a COVID-19 death certificate was required. Nearly half the District Child Protection Units (DCPU) interviewed by Vidhi mentioned difficulties in procuring these certificates and documents for orphans,” the report said.
The study found that most DCPUs and Child Welfare Committees in the State stated that even before the pandemic, there were difficulties in coordination and on-ground implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act), 2015, due to limited staffing, funding and training.
Child care institutions (CCIs) stated that they faced additional difficulties during the pandemic as they saw a decrease in donations. “News reports as well as almost all CCIs interviewed stated their donations had reduced during the first wave of the pandemic. Only two CCIs mentioned an improvement in donations during the second wave. Most CCIs also noted an increase in expenditure as they saw an increase in hospital bills and the purchase of online teaching and learning material for children. This caused an additional strain on their resources,” it said.
Kinship care
As of March 23, 2022, out of the 788 children orphaned by COVID-19 in the State, 33 children, that is only 4%, were placed in CCIs.
While the JJ Act prioritises family-based care, decisions with respect to the care of children are to be made on a case-to-case basis. “Our study found that a significantly higher number of children were sent to kinship care during the pandemic. This may signify an unnatural push to place children with their relatives which may not always be in the best interest of the child. This is particularly concerning in districts where home study reports could not be conducted,” it said.
CWC and DCPU representatives interviewed by Vidhi believed that family care was better than CCIs as positive attention and attachment could only happen through individual care. “Yet, our research shows that both institutional and home-based care is required because India still has several problems such as parents who are unable to feed and educate their children or are in conflict with the law. They place their children temporarily in CCIs for lack of other alternatives. Keeping these specific socio-economic conditions in mind, both kinds of care need to be bolstered,” it said.