Operation Muskan: Mumbai police trace 247 missing children in July

As many as 247 minors were rescued from Mumbai by the city police as part of the drive carried out under ‘Operation Muskan’ in July.

The police said the highest number – 154 –were those who had fled their homes over petty reasons.

Following directions by the central government, the police began the drive as part of Operation Muskan to rescue juveniles found either in child labour, begging or abandoned on the streets.

The drive was carried out between July 1 and 31.

“As part of the drive, the Juvenile Aid and Protection Unit (JAPU) and the police stations traced 247 children. Of them, 61 were found begging and 32 were working as child labourers. These children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and they will be reunited with their parents,” said Pravinkumar Patil, deputy commissioner (enforcement).

The police have also started seeking a daily report from CWC officials in a bid to ascertain the actual figure of the underage children handed over to them.

“There are instances when common citizens find lost children on the streets and directly take them to the children’s home. A daily report from CWC officials will help us get clarity on their actual numbers,” Patil said.

In all, 416 underage beggars were rescued by the police in 2015 till August and as many as 198 were arrested for pushing them into begging, the police said.

In most cases, family members or guardians were accused of pushing children into begging. These people live on the earnings of the juveniles.

As prosecuting those accused under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act was not acting as a deterrent, the police have now begun filing cases under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act and the Indian Penal Code.

Source: http://goo.gl/d58kQL

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Windows 10 wipes your child safety settings if you upgrade from 7 or 8:

Are you a Windows 10 converts responsible for young computer users? Be on your guard. Child-friendly Family Features from Windows 7 and 8 won’t be recognized or accepted in the new operating system.

Rather, children using Windows 10 PCs are seen as standard users; no dedicated child-user account exists.

That means any existing age-related website controls, app and game restrictions, PC time limits, plus your ability to view recent activity, won’t work on Windows 10.

Adults must now create a completely new set of family settings through a long-winded procedure in Windows 10 that requires the child’s participation.

Microsoft had explained the new controls, here, but the details will be lost on many millions following Microsoft’s advice to run Windows 10 on existing PCs.

Even those getting early builds of Windows 10 got caught out. Those unaware their old settings won’t work now risk exposing children on Windows 10 to porn, violence and other online dangers once they’ve upgraded.

A Microsoft spokesperson pointed out you should receive – when you upgrade – a Check Family Safety tip with a link to how to create fresh settings.

But Reg reader Paul Dove, who conducted an experimental upgrade, has blasted Microsoft for putting children at risk with Windows 10. Dove also criticised Microsoft’s process for creating a new child’s account in the OS.

That process involves sending the child or children in your family in invitation via email that they must then accept. Dove, however, reckoned the savvy young user is able to turn off the new security settings in Windows 10.

He was able to change the new child account to a local account and effectively remove protections simply by clicking on the Windows 10 start button, then on the name at the top, and then on Change Account Settings.

“Microsoft should be ashamed of itself,” Dove told The Reg. “Not making sure that this was fixed before releasing Windows 10 it has put many children at risk."

"I might not have realized that after upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 10 the Family Safety needs to be re-done," he added.

Dove recommended three steps Microsoft should now take to help Windows 10 converts.

These are: checking for previous use of Windows Live Family Safety and to automatically disable children's accounts until the Windows 10 machine has been properly set up; scrapping the whole invitations process for set-up via a PC administrator; and offering a wizard that guides people through the set-up.

Defending Windows 10 and Microsoft, a spokesperson told us: “We will continue to roll out new Windows 10 Family features over time. We designed Windows 10 as a service, and we’ll keep listening to our customers. If there are ways to make improvements, we will do so.”

By Gavin Clarke 

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Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) - REPORT ABUSE

VGT REPORT ABUSE

Report Abuse

The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) is actively involved in investigating suspicious behaviour online with or towards a child.
The Report Abuse button is an effective mechanism for reporting suspected sexual predator behaviour.
Sexual predator behaviour includes:

• making and downloading images of children being sexually abused
• approaching a child online for sex (e.g. sexual activity via text or webcam)
• grooming – this is the deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child online, with the intent of later facilitating sexual contact. This can take place in chat rooms, instant messaging, social networking sites and email
• contact offending – once contact has been made with a child online, child sex offenders then move towards meeting up in person for sexual purposes.

If you or a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police.
If there is no immediate danger to you or a child, you can report directly to the VGT:

• Australia
• Canada
• Italy
• Republic of Korea
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Example reports are available on the case studies page.

Raimondo to overhaul 'dysfunctional' R.I. Dept. of Children, Youth and Families

Among the problems: high rates of out-of-home placement, excessively long waits for children to be permanently placed, lack of support for family guardians, over-reliance on group homes.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Saying she “inherited an agency in crisis… an extremely dysfunctional system,” Governor Raimondo on Thursday outlined a plan to radically reform the state’s troubled Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Steps already have been taken, Raimondo said, to “stabilize” a situation she described as demoralizing to line staff and a disservice, at best, to children and families involved with the agency.

“This is an overhaul; it’s not a tinkering,” the governor said. “This is a complete, fundamental restructuring and turnaround of DCYF.”

Among the myriad problems that need addressing, according to the governor: high rates of out-of-home placement, excessively long waits for children to be permanently placed, lack of support for family guardians, over-reliance on group homes, and poor morale among overburdened front-line staff, mostly social workers. Raimondo praised their work amidst trying circumstances.

Financially, DCYF also has failed, according to the governor.

“The state has been spending tens of millions of dollars on service contracts without any performance metrics in them,” she said. “No performance management.”

A state audit due to be released later on Thursday is expected to provide more detail on the agency’s dim financial picture.

“It’s just not right,” the governor said. “Every kid deserves a chance. These families and kids are facing unbelievable struggles. The way we’ve been delivering services – we’ve just been letting them down.”

Raimondo was accompanied by Elizabeth Roberts, secretary of the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), and Jamia R. McDonald, EOHHS chief strategy officer who has been assigned to the DCYF since early this year and who serves as the agency’s de-facto head.

McDonald has been leading an analysis and planning process that also involves the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Deloitte Consulting, Casey Family Programs and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, all of which have offered their services to the state for free.

Two weeks ago, the governor announced a similar reform effort for the state Eleanor Slater Hospital, operated by the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, which, like DCYF, is a division of EOHHS.

The reforms were hailed by Benedict F. Lessing, Jr., president and CEO of Woonsocket-based Community Care Alliance, which provides an array of services to children and adults. 

“We have not seen this level of transparency or acknowledgement that the manner in which the department does business must change in 25 years,” said Lessing, who is also acting head of the newly organized Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families, an advocacy group which represents nearly 30 organizations around the state. 

G. Wayne Miller  

• • Read governor's summary of plan to overhaul DCYF

Source: http://goo.gl/0rF2Y1

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3,889 kids went missing in Delhi from January 1 and June 30 this year:

• Delhi Police have launched project 'SNEH' to tackle the problem of missing children. Representational Image

An average of 21 children went missing daily in the first six months this year from the national capital, according to a government data. 

A total of 3,889 children including 1,715 boys and 2,174 girls went missing in theNCT of Delhi between January 1 and June 30 this year, of which over 1,500 children are yet to be traced by the police, Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. While 2,337 of the missing children were traced, 610 boys and 942 girls remained untraced, he said in reply to a question by Motilal Vora (Congress).

The minister, however, said that no data was maintained centrally about children missing from the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi outside the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, he said. Delhi Police have launched project 'SNEH' to tackle the problem of missing children. Juvenile Welfare Officers at police stations work in close coordination with NGOs and undertake awareness campaigns under the scheme, he added. 

Source: Missing Children - Delhi

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Skeletons of four children, reported missing 2 years back, found in a village near Gurgaon

The Gurgaon Police recovered skeletons of four children, who were reported missing two years ago, in the Aravalli foothills on Wednesday evening.

The children - three girls and a boy, all below 10 - had gone missing from their school in Hariyheda village, nearly 18 km from Gurgaon and close to Bhondsi village, on May 16, 2013. Two of the children are siblings – brother and sister.

The children were allegedly killed and buried there by the maternal uncle of the brother and sister duo.

On Tuesday evening, Gurgaon police arrested the accused Devraj (23) who fled the village after committing the crime. During interrogation, Devraj confessed to police he killed his nephew and niece on May 16, 2013, along with two other children of the village, over a fight he had with his brother-in-law. Devraj and his brother-in-law work in the same brick kiln. He also revealed to the police where he buried the bodies.

According to the police, Devraj lured his niece and nephew for a picnic after school to the Aravalli Range near Hariyahera Village and stabbed them to death. He also killed two other girls of the village who accompanied the brother and sister duo.

“The accused was detained for questioning in 2013 after the incident but released later. Soon he was called for another round of investigation, by that time he fled the village. Recently, we received a tip that Devraj would be visiting his village with his wife. The couple had been hiding in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. We arrested him on Tuesday evening,’’ ACP (Crime) Rajesh Kumar Chechi.

“He stabbed to death all the children one by one by taking them behind the bushes and buried the bodies in the foothills. He fled the village later and had been running from one village to another,’’ the ACP added.

On Wednesday, when the accused was taken to the hillock area where he had killed and buried the missing children, he initially refuted the crime and confused the police about the whereabouts of the skeletons. He claimed to have forgotten the area, said the police official.

The police then called nearby villagers to dug the foothills and found the remains of the children after four hours of operation.

Later in the day, the accused was presented before the city court, which sent him to three days police remand.

The police informed that the skeletons would be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban for DNA tests.

Source: Skeletons of four children.

Trinity Mount Ministries Website

Ohio Community will never get over it: 4-Year-Old with Autism Wanders from Home and Drowns

BY ADAM CARLSON

https://www.safety.com/autism-safety/

The community of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, will never forget the moment the body of 4-year-old Sidney Heidrick was pulled from Lake Erie. 

"I don't think anyone is going to get over any of this anytime soon," Mayor Dennis Bring tells PEOPLE. 

Bring, a Sheffield Lake resident since 1958 who is in his fourth year as mayor, says he can't even remember the last time a tragedy like this struck his community, which is home to 9,000 people. 

It's a grief made more unimaginable by how unlikely it seemed, even minutes before Sidney's body was recovered. 

On Friday, the barefoot little boy, who had autism, walked away from his grandparents' house on the lake, Bring says. 

He was spotted around 4:30 p.m. by a passerby – but the man who called police must have hesitated between the sighting and dialing, Bring says. Officers responded to the scene within 30 seconds, according to Bring, but Sidney was already gone. 

By Friday evening, "people were coming from all over" to look for Sidney, scouring the woods and vacant properties, Bring says. Thousands eventually joined in, assisting the FBI, Coast Guard and a myriad of regional agencies in the search efforts. 

The search continued into the next day. Bring says he went home at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, and the town's police chief didn't head home until 4 a.m. 

"I fully expected I'd get a call that night," Bring says. He dreamed his phone rang with the news that the had found Sidney. But he awoke to discover the search was still ongoing. 

The community stayed hopeful, Bring says, telling one another Saturday afternoon to keep their fingers crossed, not knowing their search was minutes from ending. 

Sidney's body was found in Lake Erie around 3:30 p.m. He wasn't more than 60 feet from shore – not even a quarter of a mile from his grandparents' home. 

Sidney probably entered the water soon after he went missing, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans tells PEOPLE, and he died of an apparent drowning. 

Wandering is one of the greatest risks to children who have autism, officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tell PEOPLE, and nearly half of children with autism will wander. 

Being able to find these children is complicated further by the fact that they may hide from other people or head straight for water, says Robert Lowery, vice president of NCMEC's missing children division. 

Higher-functioning children have been known to travel several miles with the help of public transportation. 

Water poses a particular danger. From 2009 to 2011, 91 percent of the deaths of children 14 and younger with autism were due to accidental drowning after wandering, Lowery says, citing the National Autism Association. 

"It's a very frustrating issue," he says. It's the worst during "wandering season," which runs from early spring to fall, when the weather is warm. 

The ripples of grief from Sidney's death touched many. Bring and other officials were visibly emotional at a Saturday news conference soon after Sidney's body was found. 

One dispatcher was particularly overcome by the news. "I said [to her], 'Some things just happen and there's nothing you can do,' " Bring says. 

The police responded as quickly as they could, but it wasn't enough. 

Bring even broke the news to his 5-year-old granddaughter, who asked him if they had found the missing little boy. 

"It's one of those things that you can't believe," he says. 

Bring says he is grateful for the support of the thousands of searchers who volunteered their time. 

A GoFundMe page set up for Sidney's family has raised more than $32,000 so far. 

It's during times like these that you learn "what kind of community you have," Bring says. 

To aid the search for missing children with autism, the NCMEC has developed protocols for first responders and law enforcement and will dispatch advanced teams around the country to support officials trying to locate a child, Lowery says. 

"I just feel terrible for those people," Bring says. "They'll never get over it."

Source: http://goo.gl/3ZFebL

Original Article: https://www.safety.com/autism-safety/

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