Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran says almost all the children that are on the streets that they have talked to are from broken families and most of them talk about being neglected.
She says the 1,968 cases of child neglect on their database are referred to them from the Social Welfare, the Health Ministry and schools, and most of these cases are heavily under-reported.
Kiran says they are currently running a 24/7 operation where they are meeting and talking to the street kids.
She further says they also take children back to their homes, however, while some kids have parents and guardians to return to, others just don’t want to return home because of abuse.
The Assistant Minister adds they have come up with a methodology where they are working on a rehabilitation program, and some churches have come forward to support this program.
