ANDERSON. one major change that the residential care system has undergone is the implementation of a fully robust monitoring system

THE Child Development Agency (CDA) yesterday criticised rights group Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) for suggesting that government was doing little to improve the condition in the island's children's homes.

Dr Carolyn Gomes, executive director of JFJ, told the Inter American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR), in a recent report that the human rights group was deeply concerned that two years after the Keating Report the government's efforts to change the situation for children within the children's homes have resulted in little more than administrative review. She said that there was a need to urgently better the lives of the children under the state's care.

"JFJ believes that the main issue is to bring about real change and improvement in the quality of life for these children. The various problems that still plague these homes are manifestations of a deeper problem of negligence to the concerns of these children. It is imperative that the recommendations offered in this report be established and enacted for the main goal of securing a better future for the children of Jamaica," JFJ told the IACHR.

GOMES. the main issue is to bring about real change and improvement in the quality of life for these children

However, the CDA, in a statement yesterday, said it was not factual to say that problems in residential care remained unresolved or unaddressed.

"The CDA is working according to clear policy and strategic framework so as to improve the standards, quality of service and the quality of outcomes for children in residential care. This strategic framework is informed by findings and recommendations of reports into conditions of residential care (1999 and 2003)," said the statement.

"One major change that the residential care system has undergone is the implementation of a fully robust monitoring system that, ironically, is the source from which the JFJ has based its allegations," said Alison Anderson, the CDA's executive director.

"The fact that we have a monitoring system in place, and one which others rely upon, speaks to our steadfast commitment to addressing the inadequacies that were inherited prior to the formation of the CDA," she added.

"While we are not denying that breaches occur from time to time, one cannot ignore the fact that the agency now has a coherent policy and procedural framework in place, which has both prevented breaches and managed them as they have arisen. Yes, there is need for improvements in this area, but we have begun to address them using a very methodological approach," said Anderson.

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