Abstract
Based on available statistics, the number of street children is increasing not only in Europe but also around the world. Street children in the world now number 700 million children who are living below the poverty line, which is attributable to income. In the U.S. street children numbers range from a million to two million – 82% of these children are involved in the drug trade. Number of street children in Latin America is steadily increasing too per year, and approximately 12,500 street children are working [16].India purportedly has one of the highest concentrations of street children in the world, with UNICEF estimating their numbers to be as high as 11 million [9].To find out the true numbers and to investigate what was involved in street children's lives, outreach work experiences in Latvia, Czech Republic and India collected statistical data, summarized studies and conducted qualitative research. The qualitative research was conducted in Latvia, India and Czech Republic. In Czech Republic 5 outreach social workers in Hradec Kralove city were interviewed and in Riga 2 social workers who work in different Day Centres were interviewed and asked for their opinion. In India qualitative information about outreach work with street children was conducted together with identified outreach work programs.
Highlights
It is estimated that around 40 per cent of India’s children are vulnerable to or experiencing difficult circumstances – such as children without family support, children forced into labour, abused/trafficked children, children in streets, vulnerable children, children affected by substance abuse, by armed conflict/civil unrest/natural calamity etc., as well as children, who due to circumstances come into engagement with the police force
The Constitution of India, the National Policy for Children (NPC) 1974, National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC) 2005 and various child specific and related legislations, attempt to honour a robust commitment to produce a protective environment in India, to ensure every child’s right to survival, development and participation
Outreach work in Latvia In Latvia in 1997 a project “A child on the street” was carried out, which was realised by Social Work and Social Pedagogic higher school “Attıstıba” and Criminological Research Centre assert that “in the 20th century 20th-30th years, special attention has been focused on children who were left in street with no maintenance and do not attend school
Summary
It is estimated that around 40 per cent of India’s children are vulnerable to or experiencing difficult circumstances – such as children without family support, children forced into labour, abused/trafficked children, children in streets, vulnerable children, children affected by substance abuse, by armed conflict/civil unrest/natural calamity etc., as well as children, who due to circumstances come into engagement with the police force. Rane and Shroff (1994) in their study “Street Children in India: Emerging Need for Social Work Intervention” attempted to present a profile of street children in India together with reviewing the intervention strategies and existing programs developed by NGOs to work with street children. It emphasises the role of institutions of Social Work in evolving systematic modules of training for personnel working with street children In their study, they found that approximately 314,700 street children were present in six cities, namely Bombay ( Mumbai), Calcutta, Madras, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore. “Surviving the Streets” (2011), a comprehensive census of Delhi’s Street Children, found that 27.91% of the street children are “street-living children” who have run away from their families and live alone in streets Another 29.05% are ‘street-working children’, who spend most of their time in streets fending for themselves, but return home on a regular basis. With increased surveillance of the city, especially post the 26/11 terror attacks, it has been increasingly difficult for the homeless population to live in public spaces and the child street activists may have been forced to shift to the nearby location of the city limits
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
