As per the Multidimensional Poverty Index, released by NITI Aayog in 2021, one in every four Indians was living in poverty. While there are many reasons such as illness, death of parents, divorce, job loss, conflict, a child may end up in a child care institution (CCI) or children’s home often due to poverty. It is well established that factors such as poverty, lack of education opportunities, mental health challenges, addiction, peer influence can lead children to situations of vulnerability, family separation and or crime. For systematic and holistic development of these children and families, the socio-legal approach put forth by the Juvenile Justice Act 2021, recognizes that while children need to take responsibility for their behaviour, they also require opportunities to steer their life towards socially constructive ways. In this direction, developing life skills, especially resilience and self-efficacy, among children becomes paramount, which helps them in dealing with destabilisers in their lives and meeting aspiration.
This study examines the effectiveness of life skill training given to the children separated from families for various reasons. The assessment was completed with 136 children, 52 children newly admitted in CCIs and not exposed to LSE, while 84 children earlier admitted to CCIs and were re-integrated back to the family post family strengthening intervention including LSE. With these children, two broad skills, perceived self-efficacy and resilience were measured using standard scales that are tested for this specific age group in multiple contexts including in India. Measurement of perceived self-efficacy reflects that 51% children, who were exposed to Miracle Foundation India’s Life skill program have a good level of self-efficacy as compared to 33% children, who were not exposed to the same. The organization has been working for two decades in the realm of family strengthening, building agency for children and youth to realize their full potential.
