Rohit, a boy in conflict with the law, entered the house late at night. They remember that they were left alone for more than a month. He said, “I did not even know that my parents knew that I am here.” Nobody explained anything. ,Rohit’s frustration was created, with no family travel or emotional support. “The lawyer was driving me mad. I did not see the sun in the days.” Relief came only when his probation officer (PO) finally visited. “They comforted me and told me that I should do gardening for two hours a day. This helped me to calm down.” With his support and a positive report, Rohit moved to an aftercare hostel at the age of 18. His parents never came, fear of arrest, but he remained in contact with his officer online. “He inspired me,” Rohit said, now there is a plan to become a teacher.Suresh had a similar beginning. “That night I cried,” he recalled his arrival at the Dongri Observation Home. “I didn’t know where I was or what would happen. I was not sure to tell the truth or lie.” But the probation officer gradually gained his confidence and helped him sit for his exam. “When I was finally leaving, they came to the gate to see me.”Both boys were lucky but their stories are rare. “These moments of care are despite the system, not because of this,” Saki Maniyar, the director of the Umerkhadi Observation in Dongri and the Ashiana Foundation at the Children’s Home, says.“Sometimes, there is no PO, and a superintendent takes steps. Even when the PO interaction is clinical.” Child carers, guards, house masters … everyone meets PO. Children are questioned about their case, before they are also processed what has happened.Before a court listens to them or an order is passed, a child is about to meet PO in conflict with the law. Right, probation may mean that written or written back in society. But in most parts of India, this meeting comes very late, or not at all.Earlier this month, the first-different national counseling in Delhi, which was organized by the Ersouus Cell for Juvenile Justice (RCJJ) at TISS and the Social Affairs Department of Delhi University placed this unseen link under the spotlight. In two days, the Faculty of Social Affairs of the 20 states discussed whether the Magistrate of Juvenile Justice, Probation Officer, NGO worker, and how to fix it. “This was the first time that came to share the voices of India together, which is actually on the ground,” Asha Mukundan said, who leads RCJage in TIS. What is happening, it is revealed, POS is working as social workers, consultants, escorts, data managers, all rolled into one, ”said Mukundan. “And the case-to-office ratio is derogatory. In some states, one officer is responsible for hundreds of children.” Most of them are expected to prepare a report, visit home, maintain records, contact families, and coordinate rehabilitation, often do too little or no support. Bharat Parashar, Member Secretary, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), shared that the vacancy rate among corrective employees is about 45%. The model gel manual recommends a reformer employees in 200 prisoners. India currently works on one per 699. The problem is beyond the number. In 2021, the government introduced a hybrid role, a legal-cum-ex-state officer (LCPO) under Mission Vatsalya, where a person is expected to work as both legal aid provider and rehabilitation facility. In fact, it blurred the lines and weakened the effect. Mukundan said, “The role of a lawyer is to protect a customer, no matter what.” “A PO’s job is to help the child understand what went wrong and worked on it. If you try to be both, you neither take the risk of doing justice. ,Overlap has also raised doubts about how much LCPO weighs in JJB decisions. Many people believe that they are barely trained to handle the demands of social work of jobs, give stroke or aftercare alone.Mukundan said, “Most get a three -day crash course.” “It cannot be assigned to anyone with an administrative background.” POS, he insisted, should obtain a degree in social work. “This is sensitive, child facing work that requires skill and sympathy.”Basics such as trained POS, even social investigation reports or care plans are abandoned, JJB is forced to issue general orders or to send children to custodial care by default. Since most of these children are on bail, not in visual custody, it is easy to remember the crisis and in many cases, probation orders are not passed because there is no one to take them out.Thus, unlike the models abroad where the probation involves structured follow -up, the children here are mostly left to leave for themselves. “More and more, they are asked to report to a police station,” Maniyar said. In cities like Mumbai or small towns like Bilaspur, they have seen children out and out of the system for only ten times for small crimes because very often, PO’s role decreases only to get bail. “But rehabilitation is not bail,” she insists. “And the renovation is not only about release, but can the child really survive out.” When children feel that there is no one to walk with them in the system, they start separating, says Mukundan. “A plan without checking the PO or to suit their position, they resume or leave.”In two days of consultation in Delhi, the work groups offered practical calls to separate legal and social roles, hired more trained probation professionals, strengthened inter-state networks, and invested in follow-ups beyond bail. Two social work schools leading the effort will now send reports to women and ministries of child development and home affairs. As Mukundan reminded the room, “If we are serious about giving children a second chance, ‘probation’ should be one of the first things we strengthen.”
