The Government s plan to amend the Child Care and Protection Act, 2004, to remove the provision under which a child deemed “uncontrollable” can be placed in a correctional facility by the court is being supported by United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF).
Education, Youth and Information Minister Fayval Williams recently announced that a Cabinet submission has been drafted to amend Section 24 of the Child Care and Protection Act under which a judge may make a correctional order in respect of a child brought before the court.
According to Williams, the amendment will remove the discretion of judges to place children who have not committed a crime in penal institutions and replace it with an option for the court to make a therapeutic order.
More mental health services needed for abused children, experts say
jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More mental health services needed for abused children, experts say
jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A group of children being instructed by a teacher in an inner-city community. She has painted blackboards on walls to continue her lessons in the pandemic after schools were closed. Credit: Kate Chappell
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Dec 16 2020 (IPS) - In Jamaica, school playgrounds are deserted, filled only with phantom shrieks of delight. Blackboards remain devoid of arithmetic and uniforms hang wrinkle-free in closets. When the first case of Covid hit Jamaican shores in early March, the government closed primary and secondary schools and over 500,000 children transitioned to remote learning. The majority of schools have yet to resume face-to-face classes since the March 13 closure.