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Richard Skyers, President of the Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education and Kelena Pusey, Children's Officer at the CPFSA's Southern Region
Since the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance counsellors have not been able to adequately respond to the needs of children, heightening concern for their safety.
Richard Skyers, President of the Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education, says members have been improvising like other segments of the society.
Mr. Skyers says prior to the closure of schools, guidance counsellors were responding to reports of emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
He says the concern has now increased as the option of school, which is considered a safe environment, has been removed.
Speaking on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Wednesday, Mr. Skyers shared that some counsellors have been interacting with children online, engaging with them via Zoom.
Others counsellors, he said, have been "very brave" and have been "travelling to (students') homes, they have been delivering care packages, they have been taking work to those students who are not able to access internet."
In the meantime, Mr. Skyers urged parents and guardians to be vigilant and observe changes in the behaviour of their children.
"Watch out if your child has become withdrawn, your child is not as active as they usually are. These are indicators that something seriously might be happening to your child. And as well, we ask our good neighbours...to listen out and to give an eye. Look out to see or to hear if there is anything that is unlike the norm at your neighbour's house where children are, and make a report," he recommended.
Decrease in reports of abuse
The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says there has been a decrease in reports of children being abused, neglected and missing for March.
Children's Officer at the CPFSA's Southern Region Kelena Pusey provided figures for March, which showed that 842 reports were received compared with 1,163 in February.
This represents a 28% decrease.
Data for April are not yet available.
As it relates to the number of reports on missing children over the last three years, said the decline was evident, as for the period from March 10 to April 1, there were 138 reports, compared to 154 for 2017, some 146 for 2018 and a little more than that figure for 2019.
Ms Pusey said an assessment is to be done to determine the reason for the decrease.
"As time goes on, we can properly assess why we are experience that decrease but it would be safe to assume that access perhaps is a challenge for some persons. So as time goes on, we can see how persons are actually using the virtual space to contact us and whether we will actually see the number or the statistics actually climbing," she said.
She was speaking Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106FM.
Cases going unnoticed?
In the United States, experts believe that the recent decline in calls to child abuse and neglect hotlines might mean more cases are going unnoticed.
Figures provided to CNN from states across the country show considerable drops in reports of child abuse as physical distancing measures have kept people home and children out of sight.
In Massachusetts alone, reports of alleged child abuse dropped almost 55% from 2,124 in the first week of March to just 972 by the last full week in April.
Compared to last year, Connecticut, California, Michigan, Kentucky, New Hampshire and Louisiana have all seen double-digit percentage drops as they have implemented their own stay-home orders.
Children's advocates say they are also having a harder time finding ways to intervene before abuse starts in at-risk families.
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