Chandru panel seeks juvenile home overhaul

CHENNAI: The one-man committee headed by retired High Court judge K Chandru, which the State government had constituted to study the working of homes under the Juvenile Justice Act and suggest measures to improve their efficiency, recommended a slew of steps, including the constitution of a separate board to administer homes meant for children in conflict with law (CCL).

The retired judge submitted the 490-page report to Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday.

Prepared after extensive study of all such facilities in the State over the last seven months, the committee put forth 44 recommendations, including immediate bifurcation of the Directorate of Social Defense and create a new directorate to operate the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) meant for CCLs.

It also suggested pulling down existing homes and build new ones that do not look like a prison; appointing a full-time or part-time doctor, full-time psychologist and qualified counsellors; deploying TN Special Armed Police to man the homes – but without carrying arms, in plainclothes or white uniform, etc.

The one-man committee constituted by the state government to study the working of homes under the Juvenile Justice Act and improve their efficiency has recommended the constitution of a separate board to administer all homes meant for Children in Conflict with Law (CCL). Committee chairman Justice (retd) K Chandru on Tuesday submitted his report to Chief Minister MK Stalin at the state Secretariat.

The 490-page report of the committee, which visited all the homes in the state, during the last seven months before making 44 recommendations, has advised the government to immediately bifurcate the Directorate of Social Defense and create a new directorate to operate the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) meant for CCLs.

The recommendations (copy available with DT Next), included naming the new directorate as Department of Special Services (DSS) and appointing an IAS officer committed to child welfare as its director with a normal tenure of minimum three years besides a deputy director each for headquarters administration and managing the homes. Proposing daily monitoring of the affairs of homes (Juvenile Homes) by the director through a special monitoring room, the committee suggested that the deputy director (Homes) must periodically visit every home and send reports to the directorate.

Train staff managing homes

Strictly advising against recruiting ex-inmates, Justice Chandru has recommended the government to appoint a nodal officer at the headquarters to interact with agencies like Juvenile Justice Board, Child Welfare Committees, district collectors and human rights commission and attend the issues raised periodically.

Establishment of a training academy by the department to train staff appointed to manage the homes meant for CCLs and evolving a special curriculum and their periodic updating has also been proposed by the committee.

An immediate review of registration and recognition given to different homes meant for CCLs by the directorate has also been recommended.

‘Existing homes look like jails, pull them down’

Justice Chandru has suggested that the existing structure of homes be pulled down and new homes built based on the plans of qualified architects in such a way that the homes do not look like a prison or jail. Proposing an assistant superintendent for each home, the retired judge has exhorted the government to make sure that either the superintendent or his assistant stays on the home campus.

He also called for appointing either a full/part time doctor and until such an arrangement is made, the Directorate of Medical Services should ensure periodical doctor visits from district hospitals. Apart from creating a full-time psychologist post, the reforms proposed also include appointment of qualified counsellors on a regular basis.

Justice Chandru has also asked the government to not regularise the existing guards/watchmen and send them to different homes or other government departments. Recommending Tamil Nadu Special Armed Police to manage the homes, the committee said that such policemen drawn from SAP must not possess any arms and they must be in plain clothes or white uniform and they should be trained in martial arts and self-defence.

Enact law for ‘TANBOSS’

In its second set of recommendations, the committee has advised the government to enact a Tamil Nadu Board of Special Services for Children (TANBOSS) to administer all the government homes meant for CCLs functioning under the control of the Social Welfare Department.

The board, according to the committee, shall be an autonomous body which would organise, establish and maintain observation homes, special homes, places of safety and after-care homes meant for CCLs. The TANBOSS shall be headed by the Minister (social welfare), a MD (IAS officer) and five other directors drawn from the fields of security, children’s education, psychiatry, children’s health and one from the civil society.