wo years ago the Probation
and Child Welfare Act was passed "to make better provision for the care
and protection of children." A Board was created to carry out the mandates
of the law. Although it has been slow to pick up steam, it now appears that
the Board is moving forward in a number of areas.Dr. Ian Liburd, the Chairman of the Probation and Child Welfare Board, identified "improving the Children's Home and dealing better with child abuse cases" as the first priorities. The twelve member board, three of whom were appointed by the Nevis Island Administration, includes doctors, a lawyer, community workers and the religious community.
In July, three members of the Board traveled to Barbados to learn about how their Child Welfare Board operates. "There was a lot we could learn from them," Marlene Liburd said. The Barbados Board operates with an EC$13.5 million budget, to provide services for its population of 255,000. Over $2 million would be required to establish a similarly comprehensive programme here.
"I'm happy with the recent progress, but it's taken a long time," acknowledged Sam Condor, Minister of Trade, Sports and Youth and Community Affairs. "When we came in, we reviewed the Board and had some difficulties figuring out how to implement the Act." The central problem was the fact that the Act called for the creation of a new agency to be governed by the Board. While all involved believe that this would be the ideal situation, securing the funding for such a large endeavour seems unlikely. Board member and Acting Director of Youth and Community Affairs Maurice Williams pointed out that "slow implementation will allow" for trial and error to work out a system which functions well for St. Kitts and Nevis.
"The Act was informed by recommendations over the years coming out of conferences, seminars, workshops, etc.," Williams pointed out. "Calls for new legislation began in the early 1980's," he said. The lack of a national response to the problem of child abuse is a key factor the Board must address. There are currently several departments which deal with these issues, with calls coming into both Youth and Community Affairs and to the Department of Women's Affairs. And, more importantly, there is no standard way that the cases are handled, nor a central place where statistics are kept. The inability to say how many children are affected by abuse is a major problem in planning for an adequate response.
A new Child Welfare Agency with specific responsibilities for working with victims of abuse and neglect, will be created within Youth and Community Affairs early next year, according to Condor, although some board members were unaware of these specific plans. "We are still trying to find the money" for three new staff people for the unit," Condor told The Observer. One of the new staffers will be a trained social worker.
Providing counseling services to children and families will be one of the important responsibilities of this unit. Receiving reports on cases of child abuse and investigating those complaints are additional duties.
Establishing a foster care system is part of the board's mandate. This would include certifying foster parents, placing children in appropriate settings and providing the necessary monitoring and support services to both children and foster families. "Foster care is currently very informal," Dr. Jacobs said. He pointed out that family members, teachers and social welfare agencies currently play this role. Adoption is another item on their agenda, though it isn't being given priority.
Concerns about the Children's Home have been raised for years. The Home is currently run by a private board of directors, although it receives significant government funding. Many private individuals and organisations have also contributed to the Home, though many insist that those donations never reach the needy children for whom they are meant. The government has been negotiating with the board of the Children's Home, and Mr. Condor reported that their board will begin working with the Probation and Child Welfare Board towards a change of management for the Home.
The Act gives the board responsibility for the registration and regulation of private child care centres. The board will take over the policy-making functions in this area, while carrying out the work "will still remain the function of the Early Childhood Development Unit (ECDU)," stated Vanta Walters, ECDU Director. She is on the board and looks forward to its support in this area. The law provides for inspections and centres and the ability to shut down centers which don't meet minimum standards. Walters said that this has already occurred in one case.
"Government has an obligation to insure that each of its citizens can care for him or herself or government should take care of them," Williams stated emphatically. This responsibility is more specifically enumerated in the 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which St. Kitts-Nevis is a signatory. Full implementation of the law in question would be an important step toward bringing our nation into compliance with this agreement.
While funding will certainly constrain the government's ability to provide all the services which are necessary, more can and must be done to safeguard children. UNICEF, which paid for the trip to Barbados, is likely to provide financial support for staff and board training. However, international support to run the programme itself is very unlikely in the current aid climate. This means that government must prioritize this vital area of human development so that the coming generations can grow up in the joy and playfulness which is appropriate to youth.
