The core philosophy behind all CHILDLINE centres in the country is partnership and accordingly, the structure in each city is determined by the needs of its children. The CHILDLINE model is based on the brand add-on model that ensures cost efficiency and quality service to the child.





CHILDLINE Advisory Board (CAB)
The CAB is the principal policy-making body of CHILDLINE at the city level and is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of CHILDLINE. The board comprises of government officials, NGOs, corporates and concerned individuals. The key functions of the CAB are to review the functioning of CHILDLINE and suggest measures to enhance the service.

While the composition of the CAB in each city/town may differ, the suggested members on the
CAB include: Social Welfare Department/Women and Child Development, Municipal Corporation, Police, Health, Juvenile Justice, Railways, Media, Education, Telecommunication, Other NGO networks, Representatives from the CHILDLINE nodal, collaborative, support and resource organisations


CHILDLINE Nodal organisation
The primary role of the CHILDLINE nodal organisation is to ensure effective networking and training
of organisations associated with CHILDLINE. The nodal organisation ensures that the issues faced
in responding to calls are addressed for the effective functioning of the service. The Nodal organisation has a city coordinator who coordinates CHILDLINE activities on behalf of the Nodal organisation.


CHILDLINE collaborative organisation:
It is the phone-receiving centre. Each city may have one or more collaborative organisations. The functions of the collaborative organisation include receiving calls from children/adults dialling 1098, responding to the calls and long term follow-up of calls received. Additionally, the collaborative organisations are responsible for awareness, training, research and documentation.


The criteria for a collaborative organization:
- Proven capacity to network with other government (Juvenile Welfare Board, Police and Health Systems) and non-government organisations
- Programmes and activities of the organisations should include medical facilities (preferably a
health van), 24-hour shelter, legal aid, counselling etc.
Professional capacity and motivation of the team members

Organisations ability to deal with crisis situations


CHILDLINE support organisation:
It receives calls from the collaborative organisation and provides follow-up on a call, based on its area of operation. The support organisation assists in publicity and testing of phones in the city, training, research and documentation. The primary eligibility criteria for the support organisations include:

- Extensive outreach with children
- A 24-hour shelter or drop in centre
- Infrastructure of the organisation in terms of transport facilities, staff and services for children


CHILDLINE resource organisation:
It provides specialised services such as counselling, shelter, legal advice, sponsorship, adoption etc. The resource organisation is willing to extend their services to children referred by CHILDLINE. The eligibility criteria for a resource organisation is:

- Willingness to accept children referred by CHILDLINE on a priority basis
- Willingness to report follow-up of children referred by CHILDLINE

All the five components are essential for the effective functioning of the service in each city.
However, the composition differs according to the population and problems of children in each city.