Children’s Authority urgently needed

A CALL is being made for the establishment of a Children’s Authority to ease some of the pressure on the Child Care Board (CCB).

 

It came from legal consultant and children’s advocate, Faith Marshall-Harris, at the Frank Collymore Hall on Saturday night during ‘A Conversation and Celebration Children, the Law and Society, Safeguarding the Future’.

 

Marshall-Harris explained that, at present, the CCB has too many responsibilities, including investigating allegations of abuse, treating those children, and housing them or providing places of safety. The organisation also handles adoption and foster care cases, registered day nurseries and child care providers, as well as children’s homes.

 

“It is under-resourced and under-capitalised, while many officers spend countless hours at various Courts giving evidence when they need to be heard.”

 

“I recommend the CCB’s functions be transferred to a new Children’s Authority with overarching powers while at the same time permitting a degree of rationalisation.

 

“I also suggest that Barbados follow a model used in other countries, UK and Canada where government child protection case officers focus exclusively on child protection while the equally importing function of providing support to families is outsourced to private organisations.

 

“The development of the Children’s Authority would give them much more time and the authority to look after child protection. I recommend that they divest various other functions.”

 

She also stressed the importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the need to protect those rights. “I am recommending that we have a children and young person’s Ombudsman. This is something that was being urged upon us by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child some time ago and it is about time that we got down to it.

 

“Many countries have done it … nearby Jamaica has appointed a children’s Ombudsman or Commissioner as it is called in some countries and that is some person who ensures the rights of the children and the interest of the children are protected.” She noted that the ombudsman investigates any matter relating to the children’s civil rights and publishes reports.

 

She also addressed the topic of access to medical treatment, including their sexual and reproductive health, “Particularly those persons between 16 and 18 since we have given them the ability to consent to sex and then you tell them because you are not 18 you cannot see a doctor on these matters without parental consent,” she noted

“That obviously is an injustice. And I’m suggesting that we look at it again… We observed World Aids Day a few days ago, which reminds us how important that cohort should be able to access sexual reproductive health.” (JH)