By Chantalé Fletcher
AN investigative team has reported abuse and absconding at children’s facilities including government-funded ones.
The places include the Valsayn Child Support Centre and the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre.
Minister of Gender and Child Affairs Ayanna Webster-Roy presented the findings of the 11-member committee in Parliament on Friday, into the abuse of children at Children’s Homes, Rehabilitation Centres and other Institutions providing residential care.
The team chaired by retired Appeal Court Justice Judith Jones commenced investigations in July and submitted the report on December 13, 2021.
Webster-Roy said 46 interviews were conducted with staff at the community residences, children residents, former residents and former and current employees of the Children’s Authority.
She added the estimated expenditure for the implementation of the recommendations to the National Child Policy and related to the Report for the Children’s Authority was $126,081,715.
The team conducted 21 site visits to community residences and child support centres, and 23 to residential care institutions which were selected using the set criteria ranked by low, medium or high priority.
Webster-Roy said focused areas were on the safeguarding, as well as sexual and physical abuse.
She said some of the findings from the committee’s report showed that staff promoted a culture that encouraged abuse among residents and security officers were found guilty of abusing residents.
Webster-Roy said, “The inclusion of children in need of supervision at child support centres has exposed the staff to child offenders however, the staff is not trained to deal with this form of behaviour, and guards, especially the external guards, are not trained to deal with children.”
She said, “Physical abuse occurred very rarely at the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre. There is a plethora of regulations and layers of oversight that makes the use of excessive force difficult to go undetected.”
She said in addition to major security concerns, the investigation team through its interviews has found the following reasons why residents abscond from these facilities:
- The discipline meted out to the residents is subjective and, in some cases, unorthodox;
- The lack of structured and educational activities has been complained about by residents who have openly stated that they miss their classes while at these facilities and they want to get an education;
- Complaints made by residents are not being taken seriously by those in authority; and
- The residents miss their families and in some instances, the stay is longer than first anticipated at the facilities.
Webster-Roy said the number of children in need of licensed children’s homes, community residences, and hostels was greater than the current capacity.
In addition, all existing facilities were understaffed and under-resourced for the number of children in their care or cannot operate at capacity.
She added the committee added in order to curb the abuse of children, the Children’s Authority is to ensure a standard caregiver to child ratio, dependent on the child’s risk, age and needs, is maintained at Community Residences and Child Support Centres.
In addition, they should have an internal security force trained to treat children in residential care.
Webster-Roy said, “This security function should also extend to private children’s homes. While this will be a cost to the Authority and GORTT, the returns will be in children’s safety, protection, and care.”
