Aftercare a must for juveniles: Experts

NEW DELHI: The involvement of the juvenile offender named in the December 16 gang rape-murder have raised questions regarding provision of aftercare of those who step out of state institutions after attaining the age of 18 years.
In absence of a proper roadmap, experts say cases of relapse into criminality are most common.
It was these concerns that got experts together to deliberate on ‘Aftercare for children’ at a meet organized by Justice for Children and Udayan Care.
Pointing out the obvious problem, member of Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights MM Vidyarthi said that after the child leaves the state institution “he is prone to conditions in which he may be more miserable”. “The Integrated Child Protection Scheme has provisions which unfortunately have not been implemented properly,” said Vidyarthi.
Vikram Dutt, general secretary of Justice for Children, pointed out one of the guidelines under ICPS which, he claims, is a recipe “for making criminals”. “Aftercare can be terminated if the authorities find the young adult breaking discipline regularly, becoming a negative influence on others, drinking or using drugs. Here, my question is: Are our laws child-centric or state-centric?” Dutt said.