Cyberabad Police Starts Child Care Response Centre for Kids of Covid Affected Parents

The Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) and Cyberabad Police joined hands to launch a child care centre to provide care for children whose parents are undergoing Covid-19 treatment in hospitals or isolated in their home.

The COVID -19 Child Care Response Centre got launched today on 5th May 2021. Childcare centres and individual caregivers will help children be safe and counsel children whose parents are undergoing Covid-19 treatment.

An SCSC official said, "It was being observed that with the rising number of cases in the pandemic, there is a trend of young parents and nuclear families being affected. In most cases, either or both the parents are hospitalised or in-home quarantine. With no immediate relatives being around, it is distressing to see the offspring sharing the same facility or being left alone at home unattended."

This Child Care Response Center will check the child care centres and ensure they are safe for children to stay in temporarily. Caregivers will provide counselling and psychological safety for both children and their parents. Primary child care will be provided at the centres, and children can connect online with their parents.

The childcare centres have joined hands with hospitals and doctors for 24×7 healthcare support. "Children are worst affected when parents have contracted the virus. They become delusional and start having psychological issues. We looked at the immediate need to reach out to them at this hour. We have worked with playschool managements, paediatricians and dedicated volunteers from our Sanghamitra to make this happen," said Pratyusha Sharma, Joint Secretary, SCSC.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said, "At short notice, we could mobilise the resources and get a few facilities operationalised. There is a dedicated helpline, and once details are taken, our SHE teams do a background check and safely reach the child/children of Covid-affected family to this facility. As we see many people using or in need of this service, we will scale up the facilities and provide assistance."

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad, C Anasuya said that the primary purpose of this initiative is to ensure that children are safe until their parents recover from the COVID-19.

Krishna Yedula, Secretary-General, SCSC, said, "SCSC and Cyberabad Police have geared up to meet the growing requirements of the society during this unprecedented pandemic. We are doing our best to assist people with needs. Child Care Centres and individual caregivers can register through our Portal."