GOVERNMENT will continue to work for the enhancement and enrichment of the lives of persons who previously had runnings with the law.
The commitment came from Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox.
Cox along with other officials was present at the launch of Probations Services Division’s Case Care Management Pilot project on Wednesday at the Probation Services Division, Ansa Building in Port-of-Spain.
The event was aimed at enhancing the existing coordination and integration systems at the Probation Services Division and streamlining the interventions to clients in a more efficient manner and the Case Care Management Project seeks to reintegrate and rehabilitate drug offenders first, rather than resort to incarceration, the ministry stated.
Cox said, “I am pleased to state that the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services already has several programs and strategies for the provision of rehabilitation and psychosocial support to individuals and families, which can support the Case Care Management model. Such programmes include the Ministry’s Piparo Empowerment Centre which provides treatment and rehabilitation services for males 18 years and over whose lives are negatively affected by substance use and associated disorder.”
In addition, she stated that the ministry was working feverishly to establish additional Centres to assess and assist street dwellers who are strictly homeless, by way of transitional housing to enable them to reintegrate into society.
She added that the ministry was also embarking on a similar case management model to strengthen its social protection system for the most vulnerable sectors of society.
She said, “By managing clients on a case-by-case basis, the ministry is able to utilise the resources allocated to it much more efficiently, and in an era of limited and dwindling resources, this is certainly a more prudent approach.”
The feature address was delivered by Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds.
Hinds said, “The CCM Pilot Project, is in alignment with Government’s Vision 2030 National Development Strategy, which prioritizes vulnerable sectors of society in the development agenda, under Theme I – Putting People First: Nurturing Our Greatest Asset. This theme acknowledges that the citizens are central to our development and in fact, are our greatest asset. We must therefore create a society in which all basic needs are met and each individual is valued and given the opportunity to contribute.”
He commended the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services for its rehabilitation role over the years, in treating with persons who are affected by Substance Use Disorder.
Also in attendance were Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago to the US and Mexico and Permanent Representative to the OAS, Brigadier General (Ret’d) Anthony Phillips-Spencer, Executive Secretary of the Inter American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States CICAD/OAS Adam Namm, US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Shante Moore and Chief Probation Officer Sintra Maharaj.
