Parliament Question: Aftercare Support for Children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3409 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2026 AFTERCARE SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

3409. DR. INDRA HANG SUBBA:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the schemes and programmes being implemented by the Government to support children who has attained the age of 18 years and left Child Care Institutions

(CCIs), including provisions for education, higher studies, skill development, employment, housing and financial assistance;

(b) whether the Government has formulated/proposes to formulate a comprehensive aftercare and rehabilitation policy for such vulnerable young adults to facilitate their transition into independent living, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the number of beneficiaries who have received aftercare support under the relevant schemes during each of the last five years, State-wise including the number of beneficiaries from Sikkim; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to strengthen/expand aftercare support for children leaving CCIs on attaining the age of 18 years, if so, the details and timeline thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD EVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) & (d): The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing the Mission Vatsalya Scheme under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The scheme, inter alia, provides for aftercare of children who have been in institutional care, in accordance with Section 2(5) read with Section 46 of the Act. These provisions mandate that children leaving Child Care Institutions (CCIs) on attaining the age of eighteen years are to be

provided financial and other support to facilitate their reintegration into mainstream society.

Under Mission Vatsalya, aftercare support is extended to young persons above 18 years of age for a maximum period of three years (up to 21 years of age), which may be extended up to 23 years in exceptional cases or till the individual is suitably rehabilitated and mainstreamed, whichever is earlier.

Further, financial assistance of ₹4,000 per month per beneficiary is provided to Child Care Institutions/organisations/individuals engaged in aftercare services for implementing the Individual Aftercare Plan (IAP). This support is intended to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, healthcare, and shelter, as well as to facilitate age-appropriate education, vocational training, stipend, and other requirements of the young person.The primary objective of aftercare services is to enhance the employability of such young persons by equipping them with necessary life skills and enabling their effective transition to independent living. In addition, State Governments and UT Administrations may supplement this support through convergence with other schemes relating to housing, higher education, skill development, youth affairs, social justice, tribal development, financial services, industries, etc.

The number of beneficiaries under Non-Institutional Care, including those supported under aftercare services of Mission Vatsalya during the last five years, including in the State of Sikkim is given at Annexure.

*****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTs (a) to (d) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3409 FOR ANSWER ON 07.08.2026 BY DR. INDRA HANG SUBBA REGARDING AFTERCARE SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN THE NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER NON-INSTITUTIONAL CARE, INCLUDING THOSE SUPPORTED UNDER AFTERCARE SERVICES OF MISSION VATSALYA DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS, INCLUDING IN THE STATE OF SIKKIM S. No. Name of States and UTs FY FY FY FY FY 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 1 Andhra Pradesh 144 9150 10000 14187 14187 2 Arunachal Pradesh 318 840 1719 1318 1318 3 Assam 434 858 1919 2400 2400 4 Bihar 1646 504 4001 6001 6001 5 Chhattisgarh 1250 288 1137 1550 1550 6 Goa 13 27 62 93 93 7 Gujarat 1438 506 450 472 466 8 Haryana 1042 5155 643 880 880 9 Himachal Pradesh 563 1347 1352 2028 2028 10 Jammu & Kashmir 979 1398 4024 5092 5092 11 Jharkhand 1125 3086 4629 6793 6793 12 Karnataka 1375 3875 12449 18673 18673 13 Kerala 322 1133 1455 2182 2182 14 Madhya Pradesh 2188 2377 13715 20572 20572 15 Maharashtra 1688 9844 21680 32520 32520 16 Manipur 729 1120 1288 1932 1932 17 Meghalaya 489 1028 1083 1285 1285 18 Mizoram 396 591 1516 2011 2011 19 Nagaland 521 752 779 789 789 20 Odisha 1375 1772 3697 5545 5545 21 Punjab 263 612 4150 2483 2483 22 Rajasthan 1438 239 933 475 359 23 Sikkim 188 323 460 427 427 24 Tamil Nadu 1521 2975 5411 8116 811625 Telangana 1563 6454 4858 7287 7287 26 Tripura 364 305 1373 2059 2059 27 Uttar Pradesh 3313 1766 10000 15000 15000 28 Uttarakhand 572 847 1817 1631 1631 29 West Bengal 1083 1670 2750 4125 4125 30 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 51 0 1 0 25 31 Chandigarh 67 199 309 350 350 32 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 155 519 984 929 815 33 Ladakh 0 29 411 482 482 34 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 20 35 NCT of Delhi 521 980 635 952 846 36 Puducherry 197 106 171 256 256 *****