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Diahann Gordon Harrison, Jamaica's Children's Advocate has issued deadlines to the Child Development Agency, CDA, to furnish information in relation to the probe into the treatment of wards at the Sunshine Child Care Facility in St. Catherine.
Mrs. Gordon Harrison was speaking on Tuesday evening, on RJR's Beyond the Headlines. She said the deadlines must be complied with between 21 and 30 days.
These deadlines relate to reports of disciplinary measures to be imposed on staff members, a plan for the improvement of CDA procedures, and a training plan for staff. Mrs Gordon Harrison imposed the deadlines based on the findings of an investigation into the conduct of CDA staff towards wards of the state at the Sunshine Child Care Facility.
One of the recommendation is that the CDA should implement proper systems to streamline its operations, rather than focus on personalities. Other major recommendations relate to the approach to be taken in similar operations in the future.
The Children's Advocate has also requested details for the training plan for the improvement of staff behaviour.
Disciplinary action
The staff members implicated in the questionable treatment of the children at the Sunshine Child Care Facility will also face disciplinary proceedings in two weeks.
This has been disclosed by Youth Minister Lisa Hanna, who on Tuesday released a report to the House of Representatives.
The report, which was submitted by the Office of the Children's Advocate, found that the CDA breached the Child Care and Protection Act in relation to the rights of the wards to be consulted on matters which might affect them.
It also found that the CDA communicated poorly, and acted unreasonably in how it handled the removal of the wards.
Also speaking on Beyond the Headlines, the Youth Minister outlined the disciplinary procedures which will be conducted by an independent panel.
The report has been forwarded to the Public Service Commission and the Attorney General for advice on any further action which can be taken.
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