MINISTER with responsibility for Information Senator Sandrea Falconer said Government is reviewing the work of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) regarding teenage pregnancies.

However, she explained that, while the review has started and is to be followed by a survey of all the centres for teen mothers across Jamaica to inform government policy, no timelines can be set until the funding can be identified.

Falconer told the Senate on Friday that, in terms of the centres operated by the foundation, the Government was concerned that they were not reaching as many teenage mothers as they should.

“We are doing a review of how we get to the teenage mothers. We have a study that was ordered after the review which is about to be started. We are working on that, and hopefully we will be able to address some of those issues in more detail,” she said.

“They (centres) are not doing enough, in terms of serving teenage mothers, and we want to do more. We believe we should do more if we are to properly reintegrate them and make them meaningful citizens,” Falconer said.

She was responding to questions raised by Opposition Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith about the national policy announced by Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, in December 2013, for the reintegration of school-age mothers into the formal school system after pregnancy.

Thwaites’ announcement of the policy followed the Senate’s approval of a motion moved by Johnson-Smith in February to amend the Education Act Regulations, which currently mandate expulsion of pregnant schoolgirls from classes, so as to allow the girls to return to classes after conceiving to complete their education.

Senator Johnson-Smith noted that, despite the announcement by the minister, the Education Act has not yet been amended to facilitate it, and she wanted to know how soon it would be done.

She also wanted to know if additional centres planned by the WCFJ for Portmore, St Catherine, and Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, which were also announced last year, had been established.

“I would also like to know the number of adolescent mothers reintegrated into the formal education system since last year, and whether the Women’s Centre Foundation has yet been registered as a special education facility. If so, when, and if not, why not?” Johnson-Smith asked.

But Senator Falconer said that she would not be able to answer the questions at this time, and suggested that the Opposition member await the survey.

Asked by Senator Johnson- Smith, whether there were any timelines for completing the study, Senator Falconer admitted that there were challenges.

“The big challenge that we have, as you know at this time, is money. One of the things we are doing is trying to find the money to do the study, because we want it to be a study across the island,” she said.

“Does that mean that nothing will be done until the study is done?” Senator Johnson-Smith asked.

“We have to start with the study, and that will influence us,” Senator Falconer said. However, she pointed out that the WCFJ was working with its international partners to get some assistance for the project.

— Balford Henry