TNCRW stated that the financial and institutional challenges facing CHL threatens its ability to provide timely rescue and protection to children in distress.

The organisation noted that for more than 30 years, CHL had functioned as a 24x7 community-based child protection system, working with voluntary organisations, police, hospitals, railways, schools and government departments to rescue children affected by abuse, trafficking, child labour, child marriage, neglect and abandonment. “The recent restructuring under Mission Vatsalya has strengthened administrative oversight but has not fully replicated the extensive community outreach and rapid field response that made the original model effective,” it stated.

Expressing concern over delayed salaries and travel allowances for frontline workers, TNCRW stressed that emergency services cannot function effectively without uninterrupted financial support. It urged the government to establish an advance funding mechanism for District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), ensuring that rescue operations, emergency transportation, counselling and rehabilitation activities continue without disruption.

Among its key recommendations, TNCRW sought the constitution of a high-level committee on strengthening child emergency response systems, development of a TN child emergency response framework, institutional partnerships with experienced child protection organisations, improved staffing and welfare measures for CHL personnel, and a robust digital monitoring system. It also reaffirmed its willingness to support TN in developing a financially sustainable and community-centred child protection model.