CHENNAI: After an almost year-long delay, the State government has finally appointed VR Subbulaxmi as the dedicated director of the Department of Children Welfare and Special Services (DCWSS).

Subbulaxmi has been transferred from the position of Chief Operating Officer of TN Rural Transformation Project.

On June 14, DT Next had reported on ‘Department of Child Welfare operating sans director for a year’. For close to a year, DCWSS, earlier known as the Directorate of Social Defence, has been operating without a dedicated director after the previous director, Johny Tom Varghese, vacated the post around August 2025. Since then, the position has been held by another administrative officer in an additional capacity.

Therefore, child rights activists and other stakeholders welcome the recent development. “Such a crucial department calls for a dedicated director of its own and not merely an additional in-charge. Glad, the government paid heed to the concern,” said a member of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

With new director taking over, some of the concerns of the staff are high vacancy in the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) and 1098, lack of funding and administrative issues within the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), and lack of monitoring of Acts related to children among others.