1. SOCIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT AND INDIVIDUAL CARE PLANBY
GEETANJLI GOEL
ADDL. DISTRICT & SESSIONS JUDGE, DELHI
SPECIAL SECRETARY, DSLSA

2. ROLE OF PROBATION OFFICERS
Single most important factor dealing with children in conflict with law is the Probation Officer.
Is the magic wand without whom the aims and objectives of the Act cannot be achieved.
Presence of PO essential in the system of juvenile justice from the stage of child’s first encounter with the system.
Presence of PO essential during the entire course of legal proceedings, during disposal and for care thereafter even after release.
Has multifarious duties.

3. As condition of bail, the child may be placed under supervision of PO.
Cont…
Immediately on apprehension of the child, the PO is to be informed to prepare the Social Investigation Report. S.14(b)
As condition of bail, the child may be placed under supervision of PO.
At time of disposal, Board is to take into consideration the SIR.
If child is found to have committed an offence, as part of order under Section 16, the child may be released on a bond of good behaviour and placed under care of different persons or supervision of PO.
Dispositional order to include an individual care plan to be prepared by PO.[rule 17(6)]

4. PO can present a child before the CWC
Cont..
PO can present a child before the CWC
A child can be released from Children’s Home or Special Home on report of PO.
Duties of PO comprehensively recorded in Rule 85 which include:
-to conduct social investigation of juvenile in Form XVIII or child in Form XIX through personal interview and from family, social agencies, other sources
-to attend proceedings of the Board and to submit reports as and when required

5. Cont…
-to clarify the problems of the child and deal with their difficulties in institutional life -to participate in the orientation, monitoring, education, vocational and rehabilitation programmes -to establish cooperation and understanding between the child and the Officer in charge -to assist the child to develop contacts with family and also provide assistance to family members -developing and following a care plan for every child -to participate in the pre-release programme and help the child to establish contacts which could provide emotional and social support to the child after release

6. Cont…
-to establish linkages with voluntary workers and organizations to facilitate rehabilitation and social reintegration of children and to ensure the necessary follow up -follow up of the child after their release and extending help and guidance to them -to make regular visits to the residence of the child under his supervision and places of employment or school attended by such child and submit fortnightly reports as per Form IX

7. Cont…
-to accompany children wherever possible, from the office of the Board to the observation home, special home, children’s home or fit person as the case may be -to maintain case file and such registers as may be specified from time to time.

8. Social Investigation Report
Means the report of a child containing detailed information pertaining to the circumstances of the child, the situation of the child on economic, social, psycho-social and other relevant factors, and the recommendation thereon.
S. 14 says the probation officer is to obtain information regarding ‘antecedents and family background of the juvenile and other material circumstances likely to be of assistance to the Board for making the inquiry’.
Section 16 also says that Board shall obtain SIR before passing any order
Rule 15 and 17 say Board shall rely on SIR
Rule 32 (4) says inquiry conducted by social workers shall assess the family situation of the child

9. Cont…
SIR has 3 parts:
-first part deals with family details and requires the PO to give the data or information regarding the close relatives in the family, delinquency records of the family, social and economic status, ethical code of the family, attitude towards religion, relationship amongst the family members, relationship with the parents, living conditions etc. - requires both factual data and analytical aspects
-second part requires the PO to provide the child’s history regarding his mental condition, physical condition, habits, interests, personality traits, neighbourhood, neighbour’s report and school, employment, if any, friends, child being subjected to any form of abuse, circumstances of apprehension of the child, mental condition of the child – requires both factual and analytical details like mental condition of child
PO cannot give generalized or vague answers and has to give definitive answers on causes of child becoming involved in offence.

10. It requires great patience, skill, considerable amount of time.
Cont…
Third part is the most important i.e. the result of inquiry where the PO is required to inform the Board about the emotional factors, physical condition, intelligence, social and economic factors, religious factors, suggested causes of the problems, analysis of the case including reasons for the delinquency or reasons for child’s need for care and protection, opinion of experts consulted and recommendation regarding treatment and its Plan by PO/CWO (or regarding psychological support, rehabilitation and reintegrated of the child and suggested plan)- this can be given only by analysing all the factors involving the child and by adding to it the PO’s own wisdom, experience and imagination.
To collect the information PO is required to visit the home and locality and school of the child several times.
It requires great patience, skill, considerable amount of time.
Report should be a speaking document.

11. Nature of Investigation by the PO
Statutory form has been prescribed for making the report but only the summary of the work and findings of the PO can be given in the form. It cannot contain the entire investigation by PO.
Investigation is not a simple ‘interview’ of the child or the family.
There is an element of investigation which means going beyond the apparent, personally visiting the child’s home and school (if any), building rapport with the child and gaining a deeper understanding of his situation, his needs, his problems, cross checking various sources and noticing the contradictions in information received from various sources and identifying the truth from such data.

12. Cont…
Social investigation is not for discovering evidence regarding the alleged offence.
Focus of social investigation is the child in order to identify and understand the circumstances of the child in question that may have led to the alleged crime
Aim is to enable the Board to understand whether there are any grounds for denying bail such as if child is used by gangs or uses drugs
And the kind of orders that it may pass that would enable the child to reform and re-integrate into the community
Investigation is also valuable in enabling the Board to consider potential mitigating factors while passing final orders – they do not justify or excuse an offence but may help to reduce the severity of the final order.

13. Cont…
Social investigation involves finding out the factors which explain the child’s behaviour on a given occasion
It should contain factors that JJB has to take into account while passing order of disposition including specific need for supervision or intervention, emotional, physical, social, economic factors of child.
From rule 15 it is clear that SIR has to be of assistance to the Board i.e. Board will consider SIR in making the enquiry and passing an order.
Rule 17 specifically provides that while passing dispositional order, Board shall have obtain SIR so that it can reflect on specific needs for supervision and intervention, circumstances as brought out in SIR, past conduct of the child so SIR should reflect all these.
Social investigation has vital role in impacting the life of the child and his/ her family.

14. SIR and ICP Board has to include ICP in final order of disposition.
If all the provisions are read together, it is clear that ICP would have to be based on SIR i.e. ICP has to be part of final order and SIR will inform the same.
Board is not bound by whatever PO gives in SIR but an SIR written with due care and effort will have great persuasive value for the Board and the Children’s Court.
SIR has to be submitted within 15 days but Board can call for SIR even at subsequent stages especially if final order is passed after lapse of time as circumstances change.

15. Essential approaches and attitudes needed for a PO for effective social investigation
Balanced Approach, balancing the needs and interests of the child alleged/found to be in conflict with law, those of the victim of the child’s offence, if any, and of the community as a whole, while keeping the best interests of the child as a primary consideration.
Positive attitude towards children alleged and found to be in conflict with law, recognizing that they are vulnerable children and adolescents capable of reform.
Rights Based Approach: Recognize that children in conflict with law are citizens in their own right, and have a right to services that enable care, protection, development, treatment, rehabilitation and re-integration, as provided for in the Preamble, JJ Act.
Non-judgemental attitude

16. Cont…
All orders and actions in the Juvenile Justice System must be guided by the best interest of child
Irrespective of the allegations against the child, the Social Investigation Report will be on the basis of the fundamental principle of “presumption of innocence” of the child, irrespective of the allegations/charges against him.

17. Do’s and Don’ts for an Effective SIR
The Probation Officer has to manage his/her time efficiently so that he/she has the time needed to prepare a quality Social Investigation Report.
Every child is unique and has the right to a fair legal proceeding, which means that all relevant information that is required by the Juvenile Justice Board for a fair and just order, is submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board. The Probation Officer should treat this particular role with concern and caution like a doctor assessing and diagnosing the health concern of a child.
The Probation Officer should provide documentary or other evidence to support the observations and recommendations made in a Social Investigation Report.
The Probation Officer should visit the home of the child, and the place where the child has been residing (if he is not residing at home), in order to get first-hand information about the life that the child has been leading, and other details required in the Social Investigation Report.

18. Cont…
The Probation Officer should approach the Juvenile Justice Board and/or the District Child Protection Unit with concerns about not being able to perform his/her role effectively, like asking for assistance to address barriers or challenges that he/she may be facing. The Probation Officer is responsible and accountable for the information submitted in the Social Investigation Report, and so he/she needs to ask for the requisite support needed to do the job effectively.
The Probation Officer must pay special attention to the cases of children who are alleged to have committed heinous crime.

19. Cont…
The Probation Officer should develop the skills needed to communicate effectively with children and adolescents in conflict with law. Though this is a challenging task, the Probation Officer can make deep impact on their lives, bringing hope, positivity and concrete changes through counselling and preparing an Individual Care Plan to enable rehabilitation and social re-integration.
The Probation Officer should develop the confidence needed to defend the submission made to the Juvenile Justice Board in the form of the Social Investigation Report. The Probation Officer needs to advocate for the best interests of the child, in the case that is being handled, as the Probation Officer is an officer of the court. The child’s advocate may represent the wishes of his/her client, even filing an application asking for bail, when it may not be in the interest of his/her client, whereas the duty of the Probation Officer is to bring to the notice of the Juvenile Justice Board, any factors that should be considered to deny bail, as per the Proviso to Section 13, Juvenile Justice Act, 2013.

20. Don’ts
The Probation Officer should not copy-paste information from the Social Investigation Report that he/she might have prepared for children who have a similar background to the one that is being currently worked upon. Every child is unique, and has needs and concerns that require to be addressed by the orders of the Juvenile Justice Board and the services provided by the State to enable effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2013.
The Probation Officer should not harm the child or members of his family by using stigmatizing words such as accused, thief, rapist, etc.
The Probation Officer should not disclose the contents of the Social Investigation Report to anyone except the Board since it is a confidential document.

21. Individual Care Plans
All dispositional orders passed by the Board shall necessarily include an individual care plan for the concerned juvenile, prepared by a probation officer or voluntary organization on the basis of interaction with the juvenile and his family where possible (R.17(6))
Responsibility of implementation of ICP shall lie with District Child Protection Unit
Board is also to monitor the progress of implementing ICP by having periodic hearings
Where Board is satisfied that ICP needs any modification or change, it may do so by conducting review of ICP in consultation with juvenile, PO, parents or guardians

22. Where the juvenile is in a Home, the release shall be as per the individual care plan prepared in Form IX and reviewed from time to time by the management committee (rule 19)
Rule 32(3) also provides that the CWC shall direct for details to be enquired into for preparing an ICP
An individual care plan for every juvenile or child in institutional care shall be developed with the ultimate aim of the child being rehabilitated and reintegrated based on their case history, circumstances and individual needs.

23. Definition of Individual Care Plan
Rule 2 (g) defines an ‘individual care plan’ as a comprehensive development plan for a juvenile or child based on:
-specific age
-gender specific needs
-case history of the child or juvenile
Prepared in consultation with the juvenile or child in order to
-restore the juvenile’s or child’s self-esteem, dignity and self-worth
-nurture him into a responsible citizen

24. And it is meant to address the following needs of a juvenile or child:
Cont…
And it is meant to address the following needs of a juvenile or child:
Health needs
Emotional and psychological needs
iii) Educational and training needs;
iv) Protection from all kinds of abuse, neglect and maltreatment;
v) Social mainstreaming; and
vi) Follow-up post release and restoration.
Thus it is clear that the age and gender have to be primary considerations when an individual care plan is prepared and the case history of the child is to be considered (which often the Social Investigation Report would provide and as such it can be taken up as a follow up to the SIR) and it has to address the all-round needs of the child.

25. Guiding factors in preparation of individual care plans and their incorporation in dispositional orders of the Board
The guidance as to what should be there in the individual care plan is provided by the definition of individual care plan, the principles specifically the one talking of positive measures and shall include a plan for the juvenile’s or child’s restoration, rehabilitation, reintegration and follow-up.
The Probation Officer while preparing the care plan must address the needs as mentioned in the definition and give recommendations in consultation with the child and his family as to how they can be fulfilled.
The Board or Committee has to consider the same and incorporate the same in the final order.
It is important that efforts should be made to associate voluntary organisations in the process as that would help in assessment of a child’s needs from various angles such as physical, mental, educational and familial needs.
Suitable responsibilities should be placed on the children to make them feel involved.
Provisions for follow up and monitoring should be included.
Most importantly the views of the children have to be given due importance.

26. Problems in having effective individual care plans and their implementation
Lack of sensitivity to child rights issues
Lack of infrastructure such as sufficient number of probation officers not being available
Non-identification of NGOs which can assist in the process, non- availability of other personnel such as mental health experts who could play a key role in assessing the needs of the child and absence of linkages
Absence of trained personnel
Absence of Management Committee in institutions to review the plans
Lack of access to facilities or absence of facilities
Improper monitoring of institutions.

27. The Way Forward…
It should be recognized that if individual care plans are effectively implemented it would go a long way in preventing juveniles from falling back into crime.
If the individual care plans can be given effect to it would also reduce the necessity of institutionalization of the children.
The individual care plan can effectively make possible the all round development of the child.
Thus it is essential that effective linkages should be established and all stakeholders should be brought on one platform along with ensuring the availability of trained personnel.

28. Group Activity Experience Sharing
Close your eyes for two minutes and think about the best Social Investigation Report you have written. Share with the participants:
Why do you think it was the best?
What hurdles you had to face during preparation of the report?
What support did you receive from other persons/institutions?