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File No. CS-WMC-002 · Central Scheme · Ministry of Women & Child Development

Mission Vatsalya

India's central child-protection framework — funding safe institutional and family-based care, rehabilitation, and after-care support for vulnerable children, with the motto "leave no child behind."

What this scheme offers

Formerly the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS, running since 2009-10) and renamed Mission Vatsalya in 2021-22, this scheme funds the entire child-protection ecosystem: Child Care Institutions for children needing care and protection, support for family-based alternatives (adoption, foster care and sponsorship) instead of institutionalisation where possible, capacity-building for Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards, prevention and awareness work against abuse and trafficking, and after-care support for children who age out of institutional care at 18 and need help transitioning to independent life. It's implemented through State Child Protection Societies and District Child Protection Units, working alongside the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Who this scheme is for

  • Children in need of care and protection, as defined under the Juvenile Justice Act — including orphaned, abandoned or surrendered children.
  • Children in conflict with law, or in contact with law as a victim or witness.
  • Other vulnerable children: those of migrant families, street children, child beggars, trafficked or drug-affected children, children of prisoners, or children living with HIV/AIDS.
  • Children with special needs unable to attend regular school.
  • Young people leaving institutional care after turning 18, who need after-care support to live independently.

How to seek support

  1. Contact your District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) or the local Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the first point of contact for any child needing care and protection.
  2. Call Childline 1098, the national 24x7 child helpline, for immediate assistance with a child in distress or danger, anywhere in India.
  3. For adoption or foster care enquiries, contact CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) or your State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA).
  4. A young person leaving a Child Care Institution at 18 should ask their institution's staff about available after-care support before leaving, since this needs to be arranged in advance.
  5. Schools, Anganwadi workers and local police can also refer a child in need of protection to the DCPU or CWC.

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