Anderson
Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter
THE MINISTRY of Health has delayed issuing operating licences to persons who wish to set up new children's homes and other child care facilities.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, head of the Child Development Agency (CDA), Alison Anderson, said health officials are also hoping to review current licencing procedures, with a view to making licenses renewable after a certain period.
At present, licenses are issued only once to children's homes, or places of safety.
"The CDA has, for obvious reasons, put a moratorium on licensing homes so that although we have had several requests come in, we have indicated to client service providers that we are not able to accommodate their requests at this time because we are trying to refine standards. With the Child Care and Protection Act, new regulations will come into force and this will relate to licensing," Ms. Anderson said, during a recent briefing at the Ministry of Health, King Street, downtown Kingston.
And, speaking at the Gleaner's Editors' Forum yesterday, Ms, Anderson added that the CDA was also "toying" with the idea of developing a contractual arrangement with privately run homes, which make up more than 70 per cent of the 57 homes and places of safety in Jamaica.
STRICT MONITORING
A contractual arrangement would automatically force the facilities to abide by set standards and come up for strict monitoring by the government agency.
"I am toying with the idea. We will have to do a lot of legal investigating. We haven't started yet and there is the question of how many people, who are there now, would be willing to enter into such contractual relationships," she said, describing the lack of contracts as one of the challenges facing Govern-ment.
"They just come... and out of their outreach programmes and Christian principles, they say, we want to run a home. If they (are already running the home) and can no longer manage to do it, because of strict rules under a contractual agreement, it means that we have to find alternative arrangements for these children,' she told the Gleaner editors at the newspaper's North Street, Kingston, office.
BREACHES AND ABUSES
Ms. Anderson's remarks come after a four-member committee reviewed operations in Children's Homes and Places of Safety. The Com-mittee found that health officials are inadequately monitoring and supervising state facilities. It also found that this resulted in breaches and abuses.
There are 58 children's homes and places of safety in Jamaica, 13 of which are operated by the Government.
