Are we creating adequate opportunities for children to thrive?
Are we identifying early signals that a child or family needs support?
Are we guiding duty-bearers and care providers to the right prevention or protection pathway?
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How the SOP supports action
It converts field observations into a structured risk profile, routes cases to the appropriate pathway, clarifies role-wise action, and supports consistent follow-up until the child is safer and better supported.
Explore the signals. See the pattern. Choose the right response.
This tool is for CWPC members, frontline workers, programme teams and supervisors who need a visual way to notice risk, record strengths, and choose safer next steps.
It does not replace statutory authorities, police, CWC, DCPU, CMPO, Labour Department, or Child Helpline 1098. It helps field teams slow down, assess consistently, and escalate when needed.
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Privacy: Use anonymised/local case IDs wherever possible. Do not enter unnecessary personal details in screenshots, notes, or shared outputs.
1. ExploreOpen the visual signal map in any order.
2. NoticeMark signs seen, not seen, or needing verification.
3. ChooseReview suggestions, then finalise one or more pathways.
Pre-assessment Details
Collect respondent and location information before Step 1
Respondent and Location Details
Enter your registered email address first. Your participant details will be verified and filled automatically from the authorized KAWACH roster.
Enter the email address listed in the participant roster.
This email is linked to more than one participant. Select your profile:
Are you conducting this assessment together with a field-level stakeholder?
This helps track whether at least 3 of the 10 sample assessments per coordinator are conducted jointly with one of the stakeholder groups below.
Who is conducting the assessment with you?
Only emails included in the authorized participant roster can continue. Details are stored in this browser session only.
Consent and Data Use
Required before Step 1 · No household or child PII is collected
Consent to Participate
The coordinator should read or explain this notice to the adult household respondent in a language they understand.
Why this assessment is being conducted
KAWACH will use non-identifying information to understand child-protection risks, guide the assessment, test and improve the tool, conduct future child-protection analysis and research, and prepare aggregated reports. The child will not be interviewed.
What we collect
Non-identifying household, child and community risk and protective factors; observations shared by the respondent; tool-generated scores and pathways; and the coordinator’s review.
What we do not collect
Household location, names, contact details, address or GPS, identity numbers, photographs, audio/video, school or workplace names, or identifying details in free text.
Participation is voluntary. The respondent may skip a question or stop without affecting access to services or support. If immediate child-safety concerns arise, the coordinator may follow safeguarding procedures separately; identifying information must not be entered into this tool.
Household respondent’s verbal consent
Before asking for agreement, explain that: only non-identifying risk, protective-factor and observation responses will be recorded; no names, contacts or household location will be collected; the information may be used for this assessment and future child-protection analysis, research and tool improvement; participation is voluntary; questions may be skipped and the conversation may be stopped without affecting services; and any urgent safeguarding action will be handled separately outside this tool. Confirm that the child will not be interviewed and allow the respondent to ask questions.
Ask: “Have you understood this information, and do you voluntarily agree to participate?”
Consent record: response status, timestamp, coordinator confirmation and notice version only. No respondent name, location or signature is collected.
Resources
Reference material and field support documents
Resource Library
Resource links and reference materials for field teams and supervisors.
Legislation, notifications and government SOPs / Action Plans
Visible documentation of scoring, pathway activation, overrides and monitoring
How the Kawach assessment works
This page documents the logic behind the current framework for field teams and supervisors.
1. Risk scoring
The worker first selects household, child, community and protective factors. Household + child + community produce the raw vulnerability score; protective factors are subtracted in the adjusted total shown to the worker.
2. Observation scoring
Observations are grouped into broad generic field buckets rather than CM / CL / CT labels. Each item still carries an internal backend tag for Regulated Labour, Prohibitive/Bonded Labour, Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, Substance Use or Migration Safety.
3. Pathway activation
A pathway opens when any critical trigger for that pathway is selected. If no critical trigger is selected, the same pathway opens when its final pathway score is 5 or above. Common indicator score is added to every focused pathway score, whether or not that pathway has otherwise triggered. If only the common indicator is selected, General Vulnerability opens. Child Trafficking indicators also show Migration Safety.
4. Manual pathway selection
The score is advisory. System-generated options remain locked on Step 3. If the worker believes the child is unsafe, coercion is present, the family may flee, or the situation may deteriorate, the worker can use Human Override in Step 4 to select the appropriate pathway(s) and provide factor-level feedback.
5. Protective factor rule
Protective factors now sit in Step 1. They carry negative scores and reduce the adjusted total score, but they cannot cancel critical triggers or pathway-specific escalation.
6. Pathway-specific escalation
Police/FIR escalation appears only inside the relevant statutory pathway step. Follow the pathway-specific instruction shown in Step 5 rather than using a generic escalation shortcut.
Phase 1 — Risk Assessment
Step 1 of 7 · Household, Child, Community & Protective scoring
Step 1 — Risk Scoring
Select all risk and protective factors that apply for this child, household and community. The Step 1 total is adjusted by protective factors, while direct pathway triggers remain active and cannot be cancelled by protective buffers.
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Select every risk factor and relevant protective factor present for this specific case. The adjusted general risk level guides — but never replaces — field judgement and direct observations.
Phase 2 — Observation Scoring
Step 2 of 7 · What you are currently observing
Step 2 — Observation Scoring
Record what you are actively seeing, hearing, or being told. Indicators are grouped into generic field categories; internal pathway tags remain in the backend for scoring and routing.
Score Summary
Phase 3 — Pathway Decision
Step 3 of 7 · Score-based decision with rationale
Phase 4 — Human Override and Factor Feedback
Step 4 of 7 · Select pathways and rate selected factors
Helpline 1098
Legend: Active path Available optionsActive: full detail · Completed: dimmed · Off-path: faded
Phase 4 — Monitoring Plan
Step 4 of 5 · Monitoring guidance
Monitoring Guidance
This is a generic monitoring page. Pathway-specific monitoring details can be added later without changing the overall page structure.
1. Assign responsibility
Assign one CWPC/frontline focal person for each active case. Record who is responsible, date of next visit, and escalation contact.
2. Track child safety and traceability
At every visit, verify where the child is, who they are with, whether they are safe, and whether there are new signs of coercion, violence, movement, marriage or work.
3. Track education and daily routine
Check school/Anganwadi/skilling attendance, peer interaction, play/rest, health access and whether work or household duties are increasing.
4. Track family and service linkages
Review whether scheme linkage, counselling, livelihood support, documentation, health or legal support is moving forward. Record pending blockers.
5. Escalate on warning signs
Reopen or escalate immediately if risk rises, the child goes missing, family stops cooperating, marriage/work/migration plans restart, or violence/abuse is reported.
Phase 5 — Case Closure Principles
Step 5 of 5 · Status model, criteria, and reopening triggers
Case Closure Principles
Case closure in Kawach does not mean poverty ended or vulnerability disappeared. It means the immediate protection risk has reduced, the child is connected to protective systems, and community monitoring continues.
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Core principle: A case should move toward closure only when: immediate harm has reduced · child is safe and traceable · family has received support · protective systems are functioning · follow-up confirms reduced recurrence risk.
Case Status Model
Status 01
Active Case
Immediate risk exists. All interventions continue without pause.
Marriage likely, child still working, child missing
Violence or coercion ongoing
Family refusing intervention
Child untraceable or disconnected from support
Status 02
Stabilised Case
Immediate danger reduced. Vulnerability still present. Any 5 of 10 conditions must be met.
Child safe and traceable
Connected to education or skilling
Family counselling completed
Scheme and livelihood linkage initiated
CWPC focal person assigned and active
Follow-up visits conducted per schedule
Child emotionally stable and expressing safety
Peer support or child collective active
No immediate repeat risk observed at last visit
Community and system stakeholders informed and engaged
Status 03
Closed with Monitoring
All mandatory conditions met plus any 2 additional. Routine monitoring continues.
All 8 mandatory conditions met (Immediate risk addressed/prevented, Child currently safe, Child connected with education/skilling/support, Family informed/counselled, Follow-up completed for required period, No active repeat warning signs, CWPC monitoring responsibility assigned, Documentation completed in Panchayat Diary/register)
Plus any 2 of these (Scheme benefits received, Livelihood support functional, Child attending school regularly, Child emotionally stable, Child linked to peer collective, Community support active, System stakeholders aware)
CWPC monitoring responsibility formally assigned
Status 04
Closed — System Takeover
Statutory system is primary case holder. CWPC continues in a supporting role.
FIR registered, CWC inquiry active, child in CCI
Court proceedings ongoing, Labour Dept handling rescue
CWPC role: monitor wellbeing, support reintegration, prevent stigma, alert if new risk
Follow-Up Periods by Case Type
Case Type
Recommended Follow-Up
General vulnerability
3–6 months
Child marriage — prevented
Until child turns 18; lighter frequency after first 6 months
Child labour (illegal)
Monthly for 6 months, then every 90 days until 18 or school/skilling completion
Child trafficking
1–2 years depending on risk level
Case Reopening Triggers
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A closed or stabilised case must be immediately reopened if any of the following are observed:
—Marriage discussions restart
—Child returns to exploitative labour
—Child goes missing
—Trafficking concerns reappear
—School dropout resumes
—Violence or abuse reported
—Migration risk increases sharply
—Family stops cooperation with CWPC
Decision Framework
Select a pathway to view the phase-wise decision framework
Select Case Typology
Choose one pathway. Every phase card includes the complete assessment context, stakeholder responsibilities, guidance, actions, law, tips and decisions from the guided workflow.
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Kawach Decision Framework
Select a case typology above to view the complete phase-wise content used in the individual pathway workflow — Assess, Stakeholders, Guidance, Actions, Applicable Law, Good Practice / Tips and Decisions.
Prevention
General Vulnerability
Primary prevention, family stabilisation, reducing vulnerabilities before harm occurs
Marriage Prevention
Child Marriage
Age verification, community prevention, system escalation, and rehabilitation
Regulated Work
Regulated Labour
Permissible / regulated work — school, rest, play and safety monitoring
Exploitative Labour
Prohibitive Labour
Reporting, verification, rescue, rehabilitation, and long-term monitoring
Trafficking Response
Child Trafficking
Traceability, prevention, urgent reporting/search, restoration and monitoring
Child Safety
Substance Use
Safety planning, counselling/de-addiction linkage, AFHC referral and escalation
Safe Migration
Migration Safety
Source–destination handover, schooling continuity and entitlement portability