The child protection field in India suffers from an alarming lack of data. The complete picture of the situation of children and families cannot be fully understood until we are able to quantify the number of families and children in need of and receiving alternative care services.

September 25 will mark the one year date of the release of a joint report put forth by the global leaders in the field of child protection, entitled “All Children Count but Not All Children Are Counted”. This open letter to the UN and member states calls for there to be an increase in resources and effort directed at gathering data on the state of vulnerable children. A copy of that report can be viewed here.

The first goal in the report calls for efforts to: “Ensure that children living outside of households and/or without parental care are represented in disaggregated data. When assessing States’ progress in improving the lives of children, living arrangements and caregiving environments are key markers for vulnerability, risk, and disadvantage. Children without parental care often experience abuse, neglect, lack of stimulation, and extreme and toxic stress, all of which have a profoundly negative effect on children’s health, education, development, and protection. If the Post-2015 agenda is to leave no one behind, it is essential that the global monitoring framework includes methodologies to ensure that children living outside of households and/or without parental care are represented and that data is used to inform targeted, appropriate, and accessible interventions”

The Centre works to contribute accurate, current data to the field through various avenues. We are currently beginning a comprehensive mapping of the situation of children at a district level. Stay tuned for updates or contact us (link to contact us page) if you would like to see how you can become involved!