Women inmates in Indian Prisons, are allowed to keep their children upto the age of five years with themselves. Statistics reveal that women are generally imprisoned for homicide cases and on drug trafficking charges. In the former case, victims generally happen to be their husbands who fall prey to the illicit relationships of their spouse. In these cases, the family of the victim disowns any further relationship with the accused and in most cases, if the children are young, they stay with their mother for quite some time. As a result, the family breaks its ties even with these children. After the age of five, the mothers have no option left, but to send them to foster care homes. The condition of these children is not different from orphans who show natural tendencies of revenge towards the community.
    In Delhi, there are many slums which provide cheap and easily available accommodation to thousands of people who arrive in the city in search of a secure future, as the megalopolis provides enough job opportunities for everyone. For the less fortunate, pulling cycle rickshaws, carts, animal driven carts, rag picking, begging etc. offers an alternative. They generally get involved in petty crimes such as theft, robbery and some even get involved in heinous crimes like homicides, dacoity, and peddling drugs. The women who are not able to secure jobs as house maids get involved in prostitution and drug trafficking. In general, slums provide able breeding grounds for crime. We call these areas as ‘Crime Prone’. However, it is again the children who get crime affected. These children are often forced by their parents to beg, rag pick, gamble and peddle drugs. With no arrangements for proper schooling and health care, they tend to grow in an atmosphere conducive  to developing criminals.
    The children in the above cases happen to be victims of misfortune. By identifying them, India Vision Foundation aims to Save the Next Victim.
The Concept 
    India Vision Foundation identifies these crime affected children and ensures their schooling and also provides financial support wherever required. A local guardian oversees their physical safety by home visits. A counselor interacts with the school teachers and the child’s relative (if any). In the event of no home, residential schools are identified for education and security of the children.

    A counselor of the foundation works inside the prison. She not only provides moral support to the inmates but also interacts with the authorities on their behalf. During the course of her work schedule, she comes across many unfortunate children who live with their mothers. These children are with her the whole day long as she is also the incharge of a Balwari (crèche) which provides these kids an opportunity to learn what they are otherwise missing, primarily basic education and health care. By virtue of these children being with her for quite some time and her interaction with their respective mothers, the counselor is able to assess the needs of each child. Coupled with the above, if it is felt that the child would lose out on education after attaining the age of five, he/she is provisionally registered under the project with the consent of the parents. 
    The counselor regularly meets the male inmates too. The inmates are apprised about the activities of the Foundation and applications for registration from needy prisoners are sought. Needless to add, presence of case histories of the prisoners with the authorities, helps in identifying genuine cases. The children so identified are provisionally registered.
    Our associate projects being run in the slums of Delhi which aim at their upliftment, help us in identifying applicants for ‘Crime Home Children’ project. Our presence in these slums has been duly recognized and accepted by the slum dwellers over the years. In most of the cases where children have been registered from the Prison, it has been observed that the prisoners had been living in slums. During the course of the regular home visits of our counselors, local guardians and even the team members of our slum projects, needy cases are identified and provisionally registered.
    Fresh study is conducted upon the child which includes home visits by the counselor. The family atmosphere is taken into consideration before arriving at any final decision. The child is formally registered after conducting the case study in detail. If the family does not exist, or the situation is not conducive for education of the child upon his return, efforts are made to transfer the child to a residential school. In case the families are willing to accept the responsibility of the child or our counselor is able to make them accept it, the child is handed over to them and admitted to a nearby school.
    Simultaneous efforts are made by the counselor to secure admissions in prominent schools of the city for the children so registered under the project. We already have a number of residential as well as day schools as associates in our project. The schools not only undertake complete responsibility of the children, but also make extra efforts to upgrade the child’s skills in order to make him compatible with other children of his/her age group in the class. In this effort, the counselor assists the authorities. Some of the schools participating in the project are —

· Assisi Convent School, Sector 33, NOIDA
· St John’s Boys School, Khera Khurd, Delhi.
· Grace Mission School, Daya Vihar, Gurgaon.
· Butler Memorial Girls Senior Secondary School, Boulevard Road, Delhi.
· B.M. Gange’s School, Delhi.
· Government Lady Noyce School for Deaf and Dumb, Delhi. 
· Navjyoti School, Yamuna Pushta, Delhi

The counselor then becomes the local guardian of the child. He/she keeps a schedule of regular home visits and school visits and also reverts to the prison to post the prisoner suitably about the progress of his/her child. 
    Since inception, India Vision Foundation has registered 150 children of which 43 children are studying in boarding schools and the rest in day schools while a few are being prepared to be put in regular schools.
    A proper coordination amongst the counselors and local guardians and other supervisors enables the project to run smoothly and enables to give back the unfortunate children some part of their childhood which they very rightly deserve . . . Like any other child.
Update
    Of the 17 girls studying in the Assisi Convent School, six have topped in their classes while the rest are amongst the first ten. A factual demonstration of what a change in atmosphere can produce. Suman, a student of 1st class has shown brilliance in the field of sports and the Sisters of the school have promised full support to further her strengths.
    Robule, a student of Class III at the St John’s Boys School has shown exceptional talents both in the academic and sports field. He has been provided extra facilities by the School authorities and by Shaligram, Robule’s Local Guardian and one of the most experienced Counselors of the Foundation.
    This year, 10 new admissions have been secured in the Primary class at the Grace Mission School. Of them, three are over aged but had not had any basic education and were therefore made to sit with children much junior to them in terms of age. The school stepped forward and has organized special classes for these three so that they could be given an extra promotion at the end of the semester.