Equal Childhoods | What we Do

Vision

EqC envisions an India where every child with every ability thrives. It envisions every Divyang child-is no longer invisible, is supported and included. It envisions that children specially the youngest under-3 years are cared for in a nurturing environment. Grounded in neuroscience that shows the first six years as the foundation for lifelong development, EqC envisions the professionalization of ECCE practice, supporting research-incubation, elevating parenting —laying the path for Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

Mission

Bridge policy and practice by strengthening government systems and lifting quality in the fragmented private/urban market. We professionalize the ECCE workforce-aligned to Navchetna, Adharshila, NCF-ECCE, and global standards adapted to India and serve as a hub for early detection and inclusion (DIA/DSS), practical evaluation tools, extra-familial care for children 6 months–6 years, and parent guidance. We deliver measurable outcomes at scale so families access safe, evidence-based care with clear standards and accountability and everychild with everyability learns, belongs, and thrives.

The Science Behind Equal Childhoods

EqC is not built on theory alone. Its intellectual foundation rests on four decades of validated, government-adopted research tools developed by its Founder:

• DSS — Disability Screening Schedule: The Disability Screening Schedule (DSS) — Authored and validated by Dr. Chopra and embedded in India’s national ECCE curricula Navchetna and Adharshila. Now used by 1.4 million Anganwadi Workers as the national standard for early disability detection.
• DIA — Detection, Inclusion, Action Module: A comprehensive grassroots training module for early detection of disabilities in community settings and inclusion of children with disabilities in Anganwadi Centres. Field-validated with 1,00,000+ individuals screened in Delhi’s urban slums.
• Published Knowledge Base: 8 published books including Systems Approach to ECD- Bridging Theory, Policy and Practice (Springer 2025) and Child Rights in India (Springer 2015). Author, UNICEF HQ Global Policy Brief (2024) on Parenting support to families with Children with Disabilities. Three practitioner volumes on disability and child rights. 25+ peer-reviewed papers. An internationally credible, copyrighted knowledge corpus.
• India-First. Evidence-Based. Fieldproof.: EqC’s science is built on India-specific norms, field-tested tools, and 40 years of ground-level practice — not imported frameworks adapted post hoc.

Rationale & Market Gap

In India, two of the most underserved segments in early childhood lie at the heart of the challenge: children with disabilities and children under three years of age.

With the launch of the Divyang Protocol for Anganwadi workers (MoWCD, Nov 2023), the government has, for the first time, placed children with disabilities at the centre of the ICDS scheme through a Screening–Referral–Inclusion mandate. The intent is clear, but the capacity gap is enormous: India’s 14 lakh Anganwadi workers serve over 6-7 crore children under six, of whom nearly 7–8% can be expected to have disabilities. Yet these frontline workers receive minimal training on childhood disability, and there is a severe shortage of professionals and services to meet children’s specific needs. Without urgent systemic capacity-building, millions of children risk remaining invisible and unsupported.

At the same time, India’s 0–3 years segment remains the most neglected within the ECCE space. Families, especially with working mothers in urban areas, rely heavily on crèches, day-care centres, and informal community/home-based care. Most of these settings are unregulated, fragmented, and staffed by unprepared workers-leaving the most critical years of brain development at risk. While government provisions are expanding for 3–6 years, a yawning gap persists in private and urban markets for the youngest children.

By simultaneously addressing the neglect of Divyang children and the underdeveloped 0–3 care sector, EqC seeks to transform India’s ECCE landscape, making inclusion, quality, and professionalism the new standard.

What we bring

The EqC offers:

• Disability Inclusion: Nationwide Screening–Referral–Inclusion training of Anganwadi workers, CDPOs, senior staff, Master Trainers, NGO teams, using DSS and DIA Training Module and develop holistic support systems for children with disabilities and their families.

• Professional ECCE Training: Upskilling Anganwadi, crèche, and ECCE staff with curricula aligned to Navchetna, Adharshila, NCF-ECCE, and global neuroscience.
• Developing a holistic ecosystem to address the service needs of young children with disabilities and their families.

• Closing the 6m–3y Gap: Professionalize the “care” side of ECCE. Raising standards in crèches/day-care with nurturing care, play, and safety in private/public system
• Upgrade private/urban quality: Accreditation, audits, and coaching to improve fragmented private/urban ECCE markets, with transparent tools for parents.
• Parents & Startup/EdTech advisory and partnerships: Parenting labs, micro-learning, and cross-sector partnerships, including advisory for startups/EdTech.

Who we serve

EqC serves across the equity spectrum—supporting government programmes for underserved children while elevating quality for urban middle- and higher-income families. Our goal: close the yawning gap by improving care wherever children are.

1. 1. Government & NGOs: We partner with national and state agencies, ICDS, SCERT/DoE, health departments, and NGOs to strengthen public ECCE systems, set quality standards, and scale inclusion.  Engage for policy and developing standards.
   2. Providers & Startups: Preschools, day-cares, crèches, clinics, and EdTech innovators work with us to raise quality, meet safety and pedagogy benchmarks, skilled workforce in ECCE and access expert strategic guidance for innovation.
   3. Parents & Families: We support families through parenting labs, workshops, webinars, and simple tools—covering nurturing care, mindful parenting, storytelling, music, art, and non-violent discipline, , early red-flag awareness for early detection of development lags and intervention thereof.
   4. CSR, Philanthropy and Academia: We support CSR programmes, philanthropic foundations and Universities & training institutes to build knowledge, pilot solutions, select projects and invest in sustainable early childhood development.

Programme Pillars

1. Skilling- service providers-carers, teachers, managers; ToT cohorts; entrepreneurship skilling
2. Research & Innovation Incubator– pilots; tool validation; multi‑partnerships
3. Advocacy & Documentation– videos, messages, popular articles
4. Parenting Support– workshops, webinars, parent labs, corporate training
5. Leadership & Fellowships– Early Childhood Professionals Collective and preparing Early Childhood fellows
6. Policy Support– Working closely with govt to set quality standards and implementation road map for extra-familial care of 6m-3 and 3-6 YO children