KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Work is now complete for the merger of the Child Development Agency (CDA) and the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), and is awaiting approval by Cabinet.

Making the disclosure, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green, said by the end of October, the “merger will be operationalised”, while work continues on the legal aspects of the entities.

In an interview with JIS News, the State minister said both the ministry of finance and the public service, and the public sector transformation unit gave feedback on the structure of the new entity, and all the changes have been shared with critical partners.

“Those have been finalised, and we expect that within a few weeks, Cabinet will sign off on the approval,” he informed, adding that the two agencies are now operating on a parallel basis as they await a formal decision by the Cabinet.

In January, the Government appointed a committee chaired by University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Director, Michael McAnuff-Jones, to streamline the services offered by the agencies, and as part of forward planning, the CDA and the OCR recently met at a retreat and agreed on a strategic three-year plan, in keeping with the objectives of the new-look agency.

“We are in the process of circulating that draft strategic plan among staff members,” Green said, noting that work is far advanced for the reallocation of spaces.

“The changes are holistic. This is a complete reorganisation of divisions, the creation of a new department, as well as strengthening the internal efficiencies and accountability, to ensure that the agency functions with secrecy and in a timely manner,” the State minister explained.