Naina Mishra Chandigarh, October 19 The State Legal Service Authority (SLSA), Chandigarh, has advocated for considering children of prisoners as ‘children in need of care and protection’ under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, in a report titled ‘Clipped Wings - Impact of Incarceration on Family Members of Prisoners’. Presently, homeless children or specially abled children or those who are suffering from incurable disease and have no one to look after, whose parents are unfit, abandoned, missing or children who are vulnerable come under the ambit of the JJ Act. However, the Act does not deal with children of prisoners directly. A recent study by the SLSA highlighted that 25 per cent of children of convicts experienced peer ridicule and 40 per cent feared family reputation. As 32 per cent of children were found dropping out of school, 23 per cent were found entering into employment not by choice. It has also been suggested that there should be close monitoring of all children of prisoners by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) so that they do not drop out of schools or start working. The SLSA has also advocated for setting up of a helpdesk or helpline for families of prisoners. Police stations should give them information about free legal aid. The SLSA suggested a special scheme for kin of the prisoners and effective information, education and communication (IEC) material to be designed and placed in the meeting room of jails. According to the study, 11 per cent of children and 25 per cent spouses reported having to experienced suicidal thoughts. Thus, the SLSA suggested special counselling services for them. A way forward The SLSA will also deliberate on mental health services for families of prisoners, coping mechanisms adopted by spouses of convicted prisoners, children of convicted prisoners, interdisciplinary approach for rehabilitation of children of incarcerated prisoners, role of grandparents as kinship carers for children, lives of young children living with mothers in jails, foster care as an alternative for children of convicted prisoners and behaviour pattern among adolescent children of convicted prisoners.

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