The Karnataka Regional Organisation for Social Service is initiated HAPPY CHILDREN IN HEALTHY FAMILIES – HCHF, a new project in 2024. The involvement of KROSS in the service of children for the past three decades brought to light several factors that affect children. The prominent among them are:
Concerning the above context, retention of family care for children and/or rehabilitation of children in difficulties through integrating with their families becomes important. Family Strengthening Services (FSS) can play a key role in sustaining and nurturing the child in the family environment and preventing unnecessary institutionalization. It is undisputed that FSS delivers much better long-term outcomes for children, ensuring that all children grow up in safe and loving environments. Hence, as the Regional Forum, KROSSS has developed a renewed thinking on how to address the challenges in the families and ensure ways of keeping children with their families or if separated to undertake efforts to reunite them at the earliest and provide the best care in the interim.
KROSS would like to collect data throughout 32 districts of Karnataka to collect primary and secondary data on children living in various conditions. Based on the data, KROSS on a pilot basis, intends to work with selected diocesan partners in Karnataka to engage with the community on family strengthening initiatives in their districts.
Today’s children are the citizens of tomorrow’s world; their survival, protection, and development are a prerequisite for the future development of humanity. Empowerment of children with knowledge and resources to meet their basic human needs should be the primary goal of development. The opportunities given today for children to realize their fullest potential will determine the quality of human development in the generations to come.
The constitution of India, in its directive principles of State Policy, made many provisions relevant to the development of children and productive opportunities for children. India is a signatory to and has ratified the “Convention on the Rights of the Child” which sets forth a comprehensive set of norms for the protection and well-being of children. The promise and commitment to the survival and development of children – must be fulfilled.
In Karnataka, the plight of the children varies from district to district due to various reasons like regional imbalance, poverty, migration, and geographical conditions. Karnataka Regional Organisation for Social Service KROSS will conduct a comprehensive study of the child protection ecosystem in Karnataka by an external consultancy. The study will be carried out as follows:
Phase 1 – State-Level
Phase 2 – District-Level
Method: Field observations, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Secondary data sources, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and Focussed Group Discussions (FGDs)
The below questions will be answered through field visits to Phase 2 districts, and will be based on the key protection issues and trends identified for those districts are :
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are vital community assets with a long history of caring for the most vulnerable. Given their aligned values of supporting families, FBOs are well-positioned to partner with child protection agencies to protect children and improve outcomes for families in need. Churches have a long-standing credibility in their communities and tend to have a large network through which funds and other resources can be mobilized to support our cause. They have been advocating for child protection and family-strengthening values and act as a bridge linking the child protection programs and the people. It will be important to engage with FBOs and church-run institutes in Phase 2 districts as they can commit to reunification of families and bring more children out of alternative care systems and into families or family-based care.
CHAMPION-NESS:
In this pilot, we will be engaging with key Church stakeholders to influence their approach to the care and protection of vulnerable children and orient faith structures to become primary influencers for promoting family values and advocating for child protection and family strengthening. Some of the key influencers we will work with include parish priests, parish council leaders, diocesan-level commission members, and Bishops, whom we will identify and promote as ‘champions’ for our project. We will engage with these champions to strengthen the Church’s commitment and actions to create social change toward family strengthening in the Phase 2 districts. Orientations on the importance of family strengthening and key messaging on institutionalization and child protection will be shared with these stakeholders, followed by requests for coordination and support.
DSSS, Government departments, ICPS, district-level church structures (Bishop, diocesan family commission, youth commission, etc.), parish councils, parish commissions, and basic Christian communities in target districts.
In KROSS, we hope to achieve the goals outlined in the document with the participation of a wider section of society, schools, voluntary agencies, charitable and philanthropic institutions, and academicians – all who must make this special effort so that the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of children are met, and children grow in the family atmosphere.
To achieve the goal of Happy Children in Healthy Families, we would have to draw upon the commitment and concern of every citizen, of organizations and institutions working for children to lead in our operational area for ensuring the wellbeing of our children. We would avail the existing structures and facilities like the involvement of parishes in and around the operational area. The study will enable us to plan constructively for the future endeavor.
