Kerala, Social Welfare Department
The Social Justice Department was formed on 9 September 1975 for the implementation of social welfare programmes and services in Kerala. The Department initiates and implements welfare programmes and services for women in need and distress, differently abled and mentally challenged persons, women and children, destitute orphans and neglected street children and provides social security for the aged and destitute through a network of organizations, residential institutions and non-institutional schemes. The Social Justice Department also ensures proper implementation of important welfare legislations such as
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000;
- The Dowry Prohibition Act 1958;
- The Probation of Offender’s Act;
- The Domestic Violence Act 2005;
- The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1986;
- Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act 2000, through the Social Justice Directorate. The Directorate also provides financial assistance to the differently abled for aids and appliances, scholarships and pensions to the needy in the State. In addition, it promotes flagship programmes for women and creates general awareness amoung the public about its welfare measures.
Mission and Vision of the Department
The Social Justice Department has been coordinating the Social Welfare measures covering the needy sections of the population and providing social security to all those in need by harnessing its resources and mobilizing public participation. Recognising the need for expansion of its ambit of activities the Department is now poised for reorganization and a separate department is envisaged for Women’s Development.
The Department has adopted and implemented almost all the new Central Government legislations such as the Domestic Violence Act to protect women from domestic violence, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act within a few months of their enactment by the Parliament. The Department has also declared ‘State Policy for Women’ and also ‘State Policy for the Elderly’.
The Department has recently taken a very important step to ensure that all the disabled persons of the state are provided with ID cards within a specific time frame so as to enable them to claim the benefits under the persons with Disabilities (Equal opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full participation) Act, from different organizations using a single ID card.
One of the major initiatives of the Department was the setting up of the Kerala Social Security Mission, the first organization of the kind in the country to cater to social security needs of the destitute, chronically ill, aged and other disadvantaged section of the society.
Major Objectives are:
- Welfare of Women and Children
- Welfare of Handicapped
- Protection and care of orphans, destitute and aged
- Social Defense including Probation and after care
- Adoption services
- JJ Services
- Promotion of Voluntary sector in Welfare Programme
Line departments, Institutions and organizations under the department
- Directorate of Social Justice
- Kerala Social Security Mission
The Kerala State Social Security Mission, a charitable society sponsored by the Social Justice Department, which was set up on 14th October 2008 is a novel initiative of the State Government to cater the social security needs of the population of the State on a mission mode. A corpus fund of Rs.65 crores has been set apart for the Mission by the State Government.
The main objective of the Mission is to formulate and implement social security programmes through the State. It also aims in conduction research and studies on various social problems and extension of the research finding for the betterment of the society at large. The mission also aims to undertake documentation of important literature on social research in development, health, service, technology and environment.
- Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation
The Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation was incorporated in 1988 with the main objectives of implementation programmes for the economic development of women in the State and to formulate, promote and implement any scheme aimed at the welfare of women in Kerala to enable them to earn a better living. The Corporation has been implementing self-employment loan schemes and thousands of women under the poverty line have been benefitted under this scheme.
- Kerala State Handicapped Persons’ Welfare Corporation
The Kerala State Handicapped Persons’ Welfare Corporation was established in 1979. Its main aims and objectives are to formulate, promote and implement schemes aimed at the rehabilitation or improvement of the living conditions of the disabled. This includes the visually impaired, and the physically and mentally challenged. The Kerala State Handicapped Persons’ Welfare Corporation is presently running two units for helping the differently abled.
- Commissionerate of Persons with Disabilities
- Kerala State Council for Child Welfare
The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare, constituted in 1940, and affiliated to Indian Council for Child Welfare has the State Government as Patron, the State Chief Minister as President and the State Minister for Social Welfare as First Vice President.
- National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH)
The National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NiSH) is a Society set up by the Government of Kerala and registered under Travancore-Cochin Literacy and Scientific Charitable Societies Act, 1955 on 23rd March 1997. The mission of NISH is to serve as a comprehensive, multipurpose institution for the total rehabilitation and education of persons with speech and hearing impairment.
State Government Schemes for PwDs
Differently Abled is often described in terms of lack of normal functioning of physical, mental or psychological processes. It is also defined as learning difficulties or difficulties in adjusting socially, which interfaces with a person’s normal growth and development. A disabled child has been defined as one who is unable to ensure by himself, wholly or partially the necessities of a normal individual or social life including work as a result of deficiency whether congenital or not in his physical or mental capabilities.
Persons having any of the disabilities, namely, visual, communication (hearing and/or speech) and locomotor, will be considered physically disabled. More and more people are now convinced that "disabled" is not the right term to describe people who are challenged. Many now prefer using the term "differently abled".
Who are differently abled persons?
As per the provisions of the Persons with Disability (PWD) Act it means:-
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Blindness
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Low vision
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Leprosy cured persons
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Hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing)
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Locomotor Disability
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Dwarfism
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Intellectual Disability
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Mental illness
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Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Cerebral Palsy
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Muscular Dystrophy
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Chronic Neurological Conditions
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Specific Learning Disabilities
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Multiple Sclerosis
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Speech and Language disability
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Thalassemia
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Hemophilia
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Sickle Cell disease
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Multiple Disabilities including deaf blindness
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Acid Attack victim
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Parkinson's disease
Schemes