Juvenile or Children are a conflict with law referred to children under the age of 18 years and suspected or accused of committing a crime or be part of illegal activity. Children in conflict with law cannot be arrested by a police officer and can only be apprehended. Only minors between the age of 16-18 years committed heinous crimes can be treated and tried as adults.

The child in conflict with law cannot be tried in criminal courts and should be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board Chaired by a Magistrate and two social worker members. The idea of having social workers on the Juvenile Justice Board is to handle the child with concern to his/her future and to treat them with proper care.

The child in conflict with the law has the following rights based on the Child Rights Convention, humane treatment, no corporal punishment if detained separation from adult criminals at the correctional facility, access to legal assistance, bail and release on recognizance, privacy, diversion, (Education, skill development, sports etc.), proportionate judgment (age considerate Judgement), minimum possible restrictions on liberty, automatic suspension of sentence, probation on merit, confidentiality of proceedings, right against discrimination, constitutional rights.

The major concern on the detention of a child in conflict with law is to make him/her understand and repent for the crime committed. After the Juvenile Justice Board stipulated detention the child may be released on probation. Great care is required to reintegrate the Juvenile back into society. The rehabilitation of the child in conflict with the law has to be done with the considerations to his/her age, mental and physical makeup.

Childcare institutions and social welfare organisations work hand in hand with government nodal agencies to find constructive solutions to the rehabilitation of the Juvenile. To ensure this Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are laid down by the Ministry of women and child development. Follow up by social workers and probation or parole officer is done periodically to make sure the child reintegrate well into the society he/she was once barred from.

What is Rehabilitation?

The primary motto of punishment is to make the convict understand the grievous nature of the crime committed and regret his/her actions. Hence after the completion (full or partial) of the sentence, the convict has to be prepared to get back into society. The ex-convicts always viewed with a suspicious mind by the general public. Hence the ex-convicts should be prepared mentally and may be taught skill sets to improve their job ability.

Special programs to prevent substance abuse, improve mental health, continuing education was framed for sexual offenders, women parolees and children in conflict with the law. The importance slowly downgraded as the twentieth century progressed towards its end. It regained momentum as human rights concerns are high on the activists’ list.

How does rehabilitation for juveniles work?

While the juveniles held accountable for their violation of the law and kept in juvenile homes or other relevant correctional facilities for public safety, the primary aim is to rehabilitate them. The rehabilitative process includes psychological assessment of the crime committed by the juvenile and the environment, causing it to happen, therapeutic guidance, skill development, involving them in yoga and other mind developing activities.

Financial constraints of the government wade rehabilitation away and involvement of social workers and non-profit organisations resulted in cost-effective multi-modal rehab programs for the juveniles.

Section 40 – Process of rehabilitation and social reintegration

The rehabilitation and social reintegration of a child shall begin during the stay of the child in a children’s home or special home and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of children shall be carried out alternatively by (i) adoption, (ii) foster care, (iii) sponsorship, and (iv) sending the child to an after-care organisation.

Section 41 – Adoption

1. The primary responsibility for providing care and protection to children shall be that of his family.
2. Adoption shall be resorted to for the rehabilitation of such children as are orphaned, abandoned, neglected and abused through institutional and noninstitutional methods.
3. In keeping with the provisions of the various guidelines for adoption issued from time to time by the State Government, the Board shall be empowered to give children in adoption and carry out such investigations as are required for giving children in adoption in accordance with the guidelines issued by the State Government from time to time in this regard.
4. The children’s homes or the State Government run institutions for orphans shall be recognised as an adoption agencies both for scrutiny and placement of such children for adoption in accordance with the guidelines issued under sub-section (3).
5. No child shall be offered for adoption-

Section 42 – Foster care

1. The foster care may be used for temporary placement of those infants who are ultimately to be given for adoption.

2. In foster care, the child may be placed in another family for a short or extended period of time, depending upon the circumstances where the child’s own parent usually visit regularly and eventually after the rehabilitation, where the children may re urn to their own homes.
3. The State Government may make rules for the purposes of carrying out the scheme of foster care programme of children.

Section 43 – Sponsorship

1. The sponsorship programme may provide supplementary support to families, to children’s homes and to special homes to meet medical, nutritional, educational and other needs of the children with a view to improving their quality of life .
2. The State Government may make rules for the purposes of carrying out various schemes of sponsorship of children, such as individual to individual sponsorship, group sponsorship or community sponsorship. Section 44 – After-care organization
   The State Government may, by rules made under this Act, provide-
3. for the establishment or recognition of after-care organisations and the functions that may be performed by them under this Act;
4. for a scheme of after-care programme to be followed by such after-care organisations for the purpose of taking care of juveniles or the children after they leave special homes, children homes and for the purpose of enabling them to lead an honest, industrious and useful life;
5. for the preparation or submission of a report by the probation officer or any other officer appointed by that Government in respect of each juvenile or the child prior to his discharge from a special home, children’s home, regarding the necessity and nature of after-care of such juvenile or of a child, the period of such after-care, supervision thereof and for the submission of report by the probation officer or any other officer appointed for the purpose, on the progress of each juvenile or the child;
6. for the standards and the nature of services to be maintained by such aftercare organisations;
7. for such other matters as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the scheme of after-care programme for the juvenile or the child;

Provided that any rule made under this section shall not provide for such juvenile or child to stay in the after-care organisation for more than three years;

Provided further that a juvenile or child over seventeen years of age but less than eighteen years of age would stay in the after-care organisation till he attains the age of twenty years.

Section 45 - Linkages and co-ordination

The State Government may make rules to ensure effective linkages between various governmental, non-governmental, corporate and other community agencies for facilitating the rehabilitation and social reintegration of the child.