Legislation to improve treatment of children soon complete

By Randy Bennett

With two critical pieces of child legislation soon to be completed, Minister of Home Affairs, Information, and Public Affairs Wilfred Abrahams, has promised major improvements to how children are processed and treated in the system.

He said Child Protection and Child Justice legislation, which is now getting the finishing touches, would bring about transformative changes.

“The Child Protection legislation definitely is coming very, very, shortly…. After we almost nailed it down we got some additional comments from stakeholders that we are trying to incorporate. I am the person with responsibility for that one and I can tell you we are in the final stages of that,” Abrahams said on the sidelines of a press conference on Monday afternoon. 

“We would have put that before Cabinet already but some comments and suggestions were made that we had to take on board. It doesn’t make any sense pushing it through when you can make it perfect, so we are nailing down some of those things and we actually hope to get that before Cabinet before the end of the year because it is in the absolute final stages.

“You’re going to see a transformation in the way we treat to children; the way we deal with children outside the system, the way we deal with children in the system, the way we try to keep children out of the system, so a lot is going to be happening in a very short space of time,” he added.

Minister Abrahams said that in the New Year, there would be more programmes aimed at developing young people.

“There are some lags in the system, we know that, and we are trying to fill all of those so that they have the most productive experience that they can in the time that they have to be there,” he said.

Abrahams also gave an update on the relocation of female wards to the Government Industrial School (GIS) at Dodds.

In September, it was revealed that as part of changes to the GIS, wards in the female unit at Barrows, St Lucy would be moved to the St Philip location where the males are located, although in different buildings.

Abrahams said the transition had gone seamlessly.

“The process has gone amazingly well, so the girls are now fully integrated and the staff have it entirely under control. Ms Katherine Jordan has done a wonderful job in managing the process,” he reported. 

“For the most part, they are kept separate and apart but they also are allowed to integrate under very controlled circumstances. Some classes are done together, some social activities are done together. We are trying to settle on what is the perfect blend for the combined school but we have had no difficulties at all.”

When asked if Jordan, who is currently acting as principal, would stay on in the post, Abrahams said she was “on a contract doing things with the ministry and managing the process”. 

“We are trying to get the right fit and we are going to be advertising for positions at the school because it is critical and we can’t play with the children’s education, we can’t play with the children’s wellbeing, so we want the best persons who are qualified to do the jobs to which they are assigned,” he added. 

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb