Committee overseeing merger of OCR, CDA meeting with non-State entities

The committee appointed to oversee the merger of the Office of the Children's Registry (OCR) and the Child Development Agency (CDA) is now in consultations with non-government organisations (NGOs) which have a vested interest in child care in Jamaica.
  
The Michael McAnuff-Jones Committee was appointed in January and has six months to complete the process.
  
Floyd Green, State Minister in the Youth Ministry, has said he is satisfied with the progress of the committee so far.
                                                         
"It is about ensuring that we have an efficient and effective child protection system and removing the bureaucracy... It is definitely not about saving staff cost... If we are going to look at staffing, it's how can we ensure that we have as much staff as we need in the field," he told RJR News in an interview on Tuesday morning.
     
He said staff at the agencies have nothing to fear, as while it is expected that there will be a restructuring at the end of the merger, they will not lose their jobs.
  
The appointment of a Chairman for the merger was fast tracked following reports that the CDA and OCR did not act promptly in addressing a reported case of sexual abuse of a six year-old child.
  
The Office of the Children's Advocate is investigating the handling of the case by the two entities.

Meanwhile, commenting on the rampant abuse of children in Jamaica, Mr. Green said a portion of the budget allocated to the Child Development Agency for the new financial year will be dedicated to employing more field officers.

"We did I think in 2015, (have) 13,000 reports of child abuse, which is over a thousand each month. So it does take a lot in terms of having all of those reports investigated and where intervention is necessary, that intervention happens. So we do need more officers in the field," the State minister asserted.