Programs

Current Programs

The COVID pandemic has resulted in severe loss of incomes. Experience shows that children will be forced to go to work, instead of going on to further their education. We wish to help such children under the Sponsorship for Continuing Education programme.  

This programme is intended to benefit children who have passed their Higher Secondary + 2 or Class 10 examinations from government schools and wishing to enter colleges/ polytechnics/ vocational training/ skill development programmes.

We are identifying children from very low income typically single parent families headed by women or with a sick or disabled parent who cannot contribute to the family income.  

Our social workers are contacting such children and their parents and offering Counselling and Career Guidance including suitable choice of courses. ICCW TN will help the child and family with Educational Support of Rupees Six Thousands (Rs 6000/-) per child. Our social workers will monitor the youngsters so they continue their education and don’t drop out.  

We request you to please donate towards Sponsorship for Continuing Education.
You can send us a Cheque or make a Bank Transfer.  

We will be delighted to provide any further information.         
YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: 1976
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED IN 2016-2017: 292
FUNDING PARTERS: CIAI – Italy,Tamil Sangam of Centre Indiana Espoir En Parriange – Belgium Debby and Lidwein, Holland, Individuals in India & Abroad
BACKGROUND: The Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) lays emphasis on the need to provide alternate forms of child care to marginalized and vulnerable children in order to prevent institutionalization of children. Sponsorship is an important alternative to Institutionalising and enables children to live with their families. This Programme aims to provide children from economically weaker sections with financial assistance and counselling services, in order to help them pursue formal education and vocational training. The Programme helps them to live with their own families and continue their education. Special preferences are given to physically challenged children and girl children         

YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: Chennai– 1999, Cuddalore – 2005
NO. OF CHILDREN REACHED: Chennai- 359, Cuddalore- 494
FUNDING PARTNER: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India through Childline India Foundation
BACKGROUND: CHILDLINE is India’s first 24-hour; toll free, phone outreach service for children in need of care and protection. Childline India Foundation (CIF) set up by Government of India is responsible to initiate Childline., It currently functions in 366 cities across 34 states / UTs in India, reaching out to the most marginalized children with the aim of providing them relief and rehabilitation in the space of shelter, medical aid, repatriation, rescue, emotional support and guidance. CHILDLINE collaborates with Police Departments, Government Departments and other functionaries operating under Juvenile Justice Act 2015.
CHENNAI CHILDLINE:
Chennai CHILDLINE was started on 30th April 1999 as a Government and NGO Network. The Council is one among the five Collaborative Organizations maintaining round the clock call receiving centre in the city. We respond to calls on 1098, provide emergency intervention, link children with services and document every call.
CUDDALORE CHILDLINE:
CHILDLINE India Foundation (CIF) initiated this service after Tsunami in the year 2005, and is managed by the District Council of Cuddalore.         
YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: 1981
1981: Home for Destitute Children, Chennai
1985: Home for Destitute Children, Kilambakkam – Thiruvallur District
1972: Children’s Home, Thanjavur
FUNDING PARTNERS: Department of Social Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, through a grant-in aid under Cottage Scheme.
BACKGROUND: The Council provides residential care facility for boys who are either non-adoptable orphans or from dysfunctional families. Three such Homes have been established, one at Chennai and the other two in Thiruvallur and Thanjavur Districts.
OBJECTIVES: · To provide a family like atmosphere and appropriate care to the Destitute Children.
· To integrate Normal and Challenged Children and instill in them values of caring and sharing.
· To provide opportunities for the overall development and building self-confidence in children.
SERVICES PROVIDED:
· A Residential Centre for Destitute Children.
· Provide opportunity for Education
· Provide children with opportunities for their holistic development through extracurricular activities such as art competitions, drama, etc.         
RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL CRECHE SCHEME

YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: NOV 1954
CHILDREN REACHED IN 2017-2017: 1300
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED: 15000
FUNDING PARTNER: Grant received from Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India through Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi.
INTRODUCTION:
The Council is a pioneer in providing Early Childhood Care in India. In 1954, a Balwadi Programme was started in order to provide health care, nutrition and pre-school education for children of 3-5 years, belonging to the weaker economic strata of the country.
In the initial stage, the Council ran 14 Balwadis. In 1976, the Government of India introduced a special scheme called Creche, focusing on the needs of pre-school children of working and ailing mothers. The Council, then, converted its Balwadis into Crèches and expanded the programme to 110 Crèches in the various Districts of Tamil Nadu. With the commencement of ICDS and expansion of ICDS in Tamil Nadu, the need for Creches has gradually declined, restricting the number of Creches run by the Council to 52. ICCW, Tamil Nadu runs a total of 52 Crèches in 6 Districts at present, providing holistic care for an average of 1300 children daily.

YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: APRIL 2018

TOTAL NUMBER OF CENTRES: 9

TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN ENROLLED: 172

FUNDING PARTNER: We wish to link the centres to sponsors under CSR activities or regular donors. Currently they are being supported by kind individuals and members of the Council.

Our Goal is to ensure Holistic Development of the Child:
Development in each domain can be fostered by giving each child a chance to participate in a wide variety of play-based activities. These activities allow the child to engage actively in the process of Development - to learn, practise and master skills at each level. They explore to the next level, and prepare themselves to meet the developmental challenges and thereby develop self-confidence and self esteem. 
Introducing these various activities has rendered our centre child centric.

In 2016-2017 the Council agreed to the merger of another NGO called SANKALP. SANKALP was started in the year 1991 by a group of dedicated Professional Social Workers. However after the demise of the Managing Trustee the organisation faced lot of problems as the other trustees were involved in other work and could not find the time to promote SANKALP. Their request for transfer of all their funds and properties to ICCW was raised in the month of November 2016. Their request was approved by the Executive Committee and transfer was completed by December 2016. The Council retained the title as “Project SANKALP - Education for Girl Children”. The main objective of Project SANKALP is to promote the Education and Empowerment of girl children.         
YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT : 1985
NUMBER OF TRAINEES DURING 2016-2017 : -
TOTAL NUMBER OF TRAINEES : 6000
FUNDING PARTNER : Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India (GOI) through Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu




YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: 1988
FUNDING PARTNERS: CIAI, Italy
BACKGROUND : Indian Council for Child Welfare, Tamil Nadu initiated its fight against the practice of Female Infanticide from the year 1988 with a small grant from National Children’s Fund, initially working in the 309 hamlets of the Usilampatti Taluk. The first project’s phase ensured that no female infanticide occured in the Block since 2001. The present project aims at long term sustainability to ensure that social changes are achieved; fighting against cultural, religious, and social beliefs that hinder the full enjoyment of rights of girls and women.

BACKGROUND : The Community College is an alternative system of education, which is aimed at the empowerment of the disadvantaged and the under privileged youth through appropriate skills development leading to gainful employment in collaboration with local industry and community. The Community College courses are playing a major role in fulfilling the economical needs of adolescent male and female children from marginalised families.
In addition to imparting technical skill, the Community College focuses on the following aspects.
· Life coping skills.
· Inter personal relationship and communication skills.
· Spoken English.
· Basic Computer Literacy.
Due to this, the students receive a comprehensive training and come out of the Community College with clear cut values and goals for their lives, more confident to face the challenges of the outer world. At present, the Council is running two Community Colleges at
1. Vasantham Community College, Usilampatti
2. Suder Community College, Srivilliputur.


YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT :1985
FUNDING PARTNER : Grant received from Ministry of Women and Child
Development, Govt. of India through Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi
Introduction :
Child Labour in Beedi Industry has been declared hazardous and has been prohibited by the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986. However, the practice of employing children for rolling beedis continued. In order to prevent this heinous practice and ensure the rights of children, the Council launched a special Project in Vellore in the year 1985.Until 2005 we continued to work in 16 villages for eradicating child labour in the Beedi sector. We have released 108 pledged children and have mainstreamed 2457 working children in this area. Due to our intense campaigning, the availability of support services and strengthening of Government, monitoring the system has been abolished in the 16 villages. The Project has evolved as a support programme for promoting quality education and active community participation.
Economic empowerment of women through formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs); Educational Support through the Village Education Development Committees formed by the Council; direct sponsorship assistance to children for school and higher education are some of the strategies employed in the recent time. With the efforts of the Members and volunteers at Vellore and with the support of District Council Fund and a contribution from State Council and well wishers and donors the damaged old building of the office at Vellore was completely demolished and a new building with latest amenities was constructed.

YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT : 1985
SCRUTINY REPORTS GIVEN in 2016-17 : 90
FUNDING : Self sustained
BACKGROUND: The Indian Council for Child Welfare is one of the National bodies recognized by the Supreme Court of India along with their affiliated organizations to assist the Courts to come to the conclusion with reference to the merits of individual child adoption cases filed in the courts in India.
· ICCWTN has been appointed by the High Court of Madras as Adoption Scrutinizing Agency since the year 1985
· We regularly receive Court Orders to scrutinize and file reports on matters pertaining to In Country or Inter Country
Adoptions filed in the High Court and District Courts of Tamil Nadu. We conduct thorough appraisals and submit our reports to the concerned Courts with reference to the following facts.
1 Whether the child is legally free for adoption
2 Whether the petitioners are competent persons to adopt a child
3 Whether all ethics, norms, and guidelines as stipulated by the Supreme Court of India, the Central and the State Governments have been followed in a particular case

YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT: 1993 FUNDING: Multiple funding sources have been utilised to set up this resource centre. BACKGROUND: The Centre was started in 1993, to fulfill a need for centralised information on children s issues. The main objective of IDRC is compilation, documentation and dissemination of information on women and children in India particularly in Tamil Nadu and to present it to all concerned with child development. The Center has a library with a rich collection of books, documents, reports, Government Orders, articles and paper cutting on all matters relating to child welfare. This Centre also serves as a training ground for PG students in Child Development, Social Work and Sociology OBJECTIVES · To compile, document and disseminate information on all areas of child welfare and development in India, particularly Tamil Nadu. · Ensure availability of this information to all concerned with child development and protection. · Initiate and sustain advocacy programme for promoting Child Rights Awareness During the year 2016-17 - Major programmes were undertaken by the Council with Support from UNICEF 1. Understanding the Spirit of Juvenile Justice Act 2015. A one day Consultation on Understanding the Spirit of Juvenile Justice Act 2015 was organised on Saturday 16th April 2016. The Consultation was inaugurated by Hon’ble Justice Thiru S. Manikumar, Hon’ble Judge, High Court and Chairperson JJ Committee. Mr Job Zachariah, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Tamil Nadu and Kerala delivered the Special Address. Thiru G.M. Akbar Ali, Retired Judge and Member JJ Committee, High Court of Madras chaired the Panel Discussion on the recent changes and issues concerning children in the JJ Act 2015. Presentations on the two arms of the JJ Systems were presented on a Government and NGO perspective. The Consultation included the participation of the Legal fraternity including Judges, Lawyers and Members of well known NGOs and Child Right Activists. The Amended Juvenile Justice Act 2015 has introduced many new clauses which needs deeper reflection. This Consultation created an opportunity for a better understanding of the provisions of the Act. The Consultation was attended by 35 Members consisting of NGOs and Practitioners. The recommendations was presented to the State Government and the Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Madras.



DATE OF COMMENCEMENT : September 2014   FUNDING PARTNER               : Oak Foundation through International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)   An important collaboration with ISPCAN has resulted in the setting up of Asian Online Resource Centre by the Council. ISPCAN is a multi-disciplinary international organization that brings together a worldwide cross- section of committed professionals to work towards the prevention of child abuse and child  maltreatment in every nation, whether it is in the form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. This International body is currently is in the process of creating an online resource facility about Child Abuse and Neglect for the different regions of the world as mentioned below. 1.   Latin America Resource Center 2.   Africa Resource Center 3.   Arab States Resource Center 4.   Asia Resource Center   The task of building an online resource site on child abuse and neglect for the Asian Region has been assigned to the Council. This Project is for a period of three years and commenced in the later part of  2014.    The Resource Centre aspires to provide Country wise comprehensive information on matters relating to child abuse and other connected issues. Laws, Government Policies, Medico Legal Issues, Child helpline Numbers, systems in place to deal with child protection issues & etc. pertaining to 27 countries in four Regions of Asia are covered.   This valuable web site aims to provide general as well as Country specific guidelines and other resource materials for the benefit of stakeholders such as Medical/ Legal / Social Work Professionals - Law Enforcement Authorities and Judiciary of respective Countries who deal with cases of child abuse & Neglect. Materials are also available to educate teachers, parents and children themselves on preventive aspects.    Web Link Directory Web links of government departments has been successfully searched and uploaded in an appropriate format as a “Web Link Directory” for each country. The Web directory gives the details of web links about Government department in South Asia & East Asia.
Resource Materials Are Available On The Following Subjects:
Child Abuse/Online Abuse/ Domestic Violence National Policies And Laws For Children Child Protection/ Child Neglect Child Labour/ Child Trafficking – For Labour/ For Sexual Exploitation Child Marriage Harmful Cultural Practices Adoption Children And Media Juvenile Justice System Children With Special Needs  Education Training Manuals/  Life Skills Eduaction Guide To Parents Statistics Child Helpline And Other Resources   Visit the site  http://www.iccwtnispcanarc.org to learn more about Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect

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