Section 42 of The Children Act CAP 141: Functions of the Council
The National Council for Children Services shall—
(a) be the central authority for the purposes of the Hague Convention on
Inter-Country Adoptions;
(b) advise the Cabinet Secretary on matters relating to child protection;
(c) collaborate with relevant state departments, state and non-state agencies to monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of all social programmes established in the interests of children;
(d) facilitate, monitor and evaluate the enforcement of the principles of international law and treaty instruments binding on Kenya in respect of matters relating to children;
(e) develop policy, codes of conduct regulating good practice relating to child protection and child welfare;
(f) monitor and evaluate implementation of public education programs on the rights and welfare of children;
(g) advice on technical and support services to state and non-state agencies participating in child welfare programmes;
(h) prescribe training needs and requirements for authorized officers;
(i) formulate, approve, evaluate and monitor implementation of programmes to facilitate the full implementation of Kenya’s international and regional obligations relating to children and support the formulation of appropriate reports under such obligations;
(j) formulate, approve, evaluate and monitor implementation of policies to regulate family empowerment and social security that are designed to alleviate the hardships which impair the social welfare of children;
(k) regulate, register, approve, evaluate and monitor implementation of child welfare programmes proposed by charitable children’s institutions in accordance with this Act;
(l) advice the Cabinet Secretary on establishment of children rescue centers or designation of children’s institutions to operate as children rescue centers;
(m) formulate, approve, evaluate and monitor implementation of programmes to create public awareness in all matters relating to the rights and welfare of children;
(n) formulate, approve, evaluate and monitor implementation of programmes for the alleviation of the plight of children with special needs or requiring special attention;
(o) promote, carry out and disseminate research relating to welfare and protection of children matters;
(p) establish panels of persons from whom guardians ad litem appointed by the court in matters relating to children including adoption regulated under this Act;
(q) maintain and update a register of guardians ad litem;
(r) establish, regulate and manage the activities of County Children Advisory Committees to advise on matters relating to the rights, welfare and protection of children;
(s) promote linkages and exchange programmes with organisations in and outside Kenya;
(t) establish, maintain and update a database of children in Kenya;
(u) advise the Cabinet Secretary on matters relating to the formulation of national policy on domestic and inter-country adoptions;
(v) accredit and license duly registered adoption and child protection agencies in order to facilitate domestic and inter-country adoptions;
(w) establish, update and maintain a database for domestic and intercountry adoptions;
(x) advise the Cabinet Secretary on matters relating to adoption practice and procedure;
(y) provide professional and technical advice and support services to licensed adoption agencies on matters relating to adoption and to individuals who intend to undertake domestic and inter- country adoption;
(z) receive, record and report from Charitable Children Institutions, adoption societies, parents and guardians, authorised officers and other relevant persons particulars of children available for adoption;
(aa) consult with Charitable Children Institutions and adoption societies on matters relating to adoption;
(bb) establish, maintain and update a register of children free for adoption and prospective adoptive parents;
(cc) certify and declare a child free for adoption;
(dd) establish, maintain and update a database of adopted children in consultation with the Registrar;
(ee) promote co-operation between state agencies, local and nonstate agencies concerned with matters relating to adoption with central adoption authorities in other countries including tracing and repatriation of children in need of care and protection;
(ff) review and make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary for approval of fees chargeable by adoption societies for the processing of applications for adoption;
(gg) make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary on matters relating to the fees chargeable for registration and licensing of adoption societies;
(hh) monitor, prepare and submit to the Cabinet Secretary annual reports on matters relating to adoption; and
(ii) any other functions as maybe conferred on this Act.
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- Section 43 - Composition of the Council
(1) The Council shall consist of—
(a) a Chairperson appointed by the President;
(b) the Principal Secretary in the Ministry for the time being responsible for matters relating to children services...
- Section 44 - Term of Office.
(1) The Members of the Council appointed under section 43 (1) (a), (e) and (f) shall hold office for term of three years, and shall be eligible for reappointment for one further term of three...
- Section 45 - Vacancy of office of chairperson and members
(1) The office of the Chairperson or member of the Council shall become vacantif the holder— (a) dies;
(b) resigns from office by notice in writing addressed to the respective appointing Authority...
- Section 46 - Remuneration of members of the council
The Council shall pay its members such remuneration or allowances as the Cabinet Secretary shall, in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, determine.
- Section 47 - Committees of the Council
(1) The Council may, from time to time, establish committees for the bettercarrying out of its functions.
(2) The Council may engage such experts or consultants as the Council may consider necessary...
- Section 48 - Staff of the Council
(1) There shall be a Chief Executive Officer of the Council who shall be competitively recruited and appointed by the Council and whose terms and conditions of service shall be determined by the...
- Section 49 - The common seal of the Council
(1) The seal of the Council shall be such device as may be determined by theCouncil and shall be kept in the custody of the Chief Executive Officer, and shall not be used except on the order of the...
- Section 50 - Protection from personal liability
(1) A matter or thing done by a member of the Council or any officer, staff oragent of the Council shall not render such member, officer, staff or agent personally liable for any action, claim or...
- Section 51 - Proceedings against the Council
(1) Any proceedings against the Council shall be deemed to be proceedingsagainst the national government, and shall be subject to the Government Proceedings Act (Cap. 40) and the Public Authorities...
- Section 52 - Powers of the Council
The Council shall, for the purpose of carrying out its functions, have power to do all such acts and things as appear to it to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for or in connection with the...
- Section 53 - Regulations by the Council
The Council may, with the approval of the Cabinet Secretary, make regulations for the effective discharge of its functions.
- Section 54 - County Children Advisory Committees
(1) The Council may, for the better performance of its functions, establish such County Children Advisory Committees as it may deem necessary for the proper discharge of its functions at the County...
- Section 55 - Sub-County Children Advisory Committees
(1) The Council shall establish, in relation to every sub-county, subcounty children advisory committees, whose functions shall be to advice the County Children Advisory Committees on, and make...
- Section 56 - Funds of the Council
(1) The funds of the Council shall consist of—
(a) monies appropriated by Parliament for purposes of the Council;
(b) grants, gifts, donations or other endowments given to the Council; and
(c) such...
- Section 57 - Annual estimates
(1) Before the commencement of each financial year, the Council shall cause tobe prepared estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the Council for that year.
(2) The annual estimates of the...
- Section 58 - Financial year of the Council
The financial year of the Council shall be the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth of June in each year.
- Section 59 - Accounts and Audit
(1) The Council shall cause to be kept all proper books and records of accountof the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of the Council.
(2) Within a period of three months after the end of...
- Section 60 - Annual Reports of the Council
(1) The Council shall, in each financial year, prepare and submit to the Cabinet
Secretary its annual report containing— (a) the financial statements of the Council;
(b) a description of the...
- Section 61 - The Role of County governments
(1) In the discharge of the functions specified in Part II of the Fourth Scheduleto the Constitution, every county government shall—
(a) provide or facilitate the provision of pre- primary education;...
- Section 62 - County government welfare schemes
A county government may, either by itself or jointly with other county governments, and in consultation with the Council, establish welfare schemes to provide or facilitate the provision of childcare...
- Section 63 - Establishment of children rescue centres
(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall, in consultation with the Council and by notice in the Gazette, establish children rescue centres in every county for the temporary care of children in need of care and...
- Section 64 - Establishment of child protection units
(1) The Inspector-General shall establish child protection units in every policestation for the purposes of providing, on a temporary basis, a safe and nonthreatening environment for children in...
- Section 65 - Charitable Children’s Institutions
(1) No person shall register or operate a Charitable Children’s Institution except as provided in law.
(2) The Council shall—
(a) keep and maintain a register of all Charitable Children’s...
- Section 66 - Manager and Staff of Charitable Children’s Institution
(1) A person operating a Charitable Children’s Institution shall appoint or designate−
(a) a duly qualified person as the manager of the institution; and
(b) a sufficient number of staff or other...
- Section 67 - Overriding objectives of charitable children’s institutions
(1) The main objective for the establishment of charitable children’s institution shall be to provide family- based care for all children in accordance with the national policy for the promotion and...
- Section 68 - Certain institutions not deemed to be Charitable Children’s Institutions
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a "Charitable Children Institution" does notinclude—
(a) a rehabilitation school established by the Cabinet Secretary under section 78;
(b) a children’s rescue...
- Section 69 - Change of user of institutions
(1) Any registered Charitable Children’s Institution may change user of theinstitution by making an application to the Council for approval of the proposed change at least six months prior to the date...
- Section 70 - Criteria for approval of programmes
(1) A Charitable Children’s Institution shall not administer any child welfareprogramme under this Act without the prior written approval of the Council.
(2) The Council shall make regulations...
- Section 71 - Placement of children in a charitable children’s institution
(1) A Charitable Children’s Institution may admit a child to its care only if—
(a) in an emergency situation, the child is referred to the institution by way of an interim care order or a care order;...
- Section 72 - Secretary to monitor the well- being of children
(1) The Secretary shall establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate theeffective periodic monitoring of the wellbeing of every child admitted into a charitable children’s institution,...
- Section 73 - Inspection of charitable children’s institutions
(1) The Secretary shall authorise an authorised officer to inspect a charitable children’s institution or any other premises which he or she has cause to believe are being used to accommodate children...
- Section 74 - Duty to notify the Council
(1) A duly registered public benefit organisation or charitable children’s institution which intends to implement a child welfare programme shall notify the
Council and provide full information...
- Section 75 - Review of child welfare programmes
(1) The County Children Advisory Committee shall, at the end of twelve months from the date of approval of a Child Welfare Programme, and thereafter annually, review the programme and advise the...
- Section 76 - Deregistration of Child welfare programme
(1) Without prejudice to the generality of section 73, the Council may, on there commendation of the County Children Advisory Committee, deregister and direct the termination of a Child Welfare...
- Section 77 - Establishment of children’s remand homes
(1) The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, establish such children’s remand homes as the Cabinet Secretary considers necessary for the accommodation, care and protection of children in...
- Section 78 - Establishment of rehabilitation schools
(1) The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, establish such number of rehabilitation schools as the Cabinet Secretary may consider necessary to provide rehabilitation, accommodation,...
- Section 79 - Rehabilitation schools to establish separate sections
(1) There shall be separate rehabilitation school classified for children in conflictwith the law in accordance with the needs and risks of different sexes and age categories.
(2) Every...
- Section 80 - Managers to admit children into rehabilitation school
The manager of a rehabilitation school shall admit into the school every child who is duly placed or transferred to the school or otherwise committed to the manager’s care, unless—
(a) the school is...
- Section 81 - Leave of absence from school
The manager of a rehabilitation school may, with the authority of the Secretary, grant leave of absence to any child accommodated in that rehabilitation school for such period and on such conditions...
- Section 82 - Revocation of children’s committal order
(1) If at any time during the period of a child’s placement at a rehabilitation school the Secretary is satisfied that such child should not remain in the school under a committal order for the time...
- Section 83 - Transfers and supervision on release
(1) The Secretary may through a court order, at any time cause a child to betransferred from one rehabilitation school to another, but the period of his or her rehabilitative care shall not be...
- Section 84 - Absconding children and children of difficult character
(1) Where the Secretary observes that a child committed to a rehabilitation school persistently absconds, is of difficult character, or is exercising inappropriate influence on the other children in...
- Section 85 - Removal to health institution
(1) Where a child detained in a remand home or rehabilitation school is seriously ill and in need of medical care, the manager shall facilitate the removal of the child to an appropriate health...
- Section 86 - Authority to confine a child
(1) The order committing a child to custody in a children’s remand home orordering him to be sent to a rehabilitation school shall be sufficient authority for his confinement in that place in...
- Section 87 - Supervision of institutions
(1) The Secretary shall be responsible for the supervision of all rescue centres, child protection centres, charitable children’s institutions, remand homes and rehabilitation schools.
(2) In the...
- Section 88 - Inspection committees
(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall appoint an inspection committee to inspect any rescue centre, child protection centre, charitable children’s institution, remand home or rehabilitation school or a...
- Section 89 - Regulations
The Cabinet Secretary may, on the recommendation of the Council, make regulations for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Part and, in particular, such regulations shall make provision...
- Section 90 - Designation of the Children’s Court
(1) The Chief Justice may, by notice in the Gazette, designate children’s courts in such counties and sub counties as the Chief Justice may determine.
(2) The Chief Justice may, by notice in the...
- Section 91 - Jurisdiction of the Children’s Court
(1) Without prejudice to the generality of section 90(1), the children’s Court shall have jurisdiction to—
(a) conduct civil proceedings on matters set out under Parts III, VII, VIII,
IX, X, XI,...
- Section 92 - Friendly environment of Children’s Court
A Children’s Court shall have a setting that is friendly to the children who are before it.