KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, has warned that the Government’s zero tolerance approach towards the abuse of children in state care will result in homes being closed.

“We will close homes if we get reports of abuse in those homes and we will investigate later,” Williams said Tuesday.

She was addressing the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a state-of-the art facility to deliver effective screening, assessment and therapeutic treatment for children, particularly those in state care, at the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in St Andrew.

“Our children are in our care; we have to act, we have to believe their stories, we have to believe the information that comes to us about our children and about the abuse that they bring to our attention,” Williams said.

“It is our responsibility as a ministry to ensure that we are the voice for the powerless against the powerful,” added Williams, who noted that the children were often the powerless with adults being the powerful. “We will always be on the side of the children,” she declared.

The education minister pointed to a study which showed that less than 10 per cent of children who are deemed to be in need of mental health treatment and care are currently accessing such service. She said there are plans to transform the Maxfield Park Children’s Home into a centre of excellence and a task force is being assembled to oversee the modernisation of the facility.

She explained that the government was looking at the possibility of creating two or three large facilities for children in state care to replace the existing 42 homes now scattered across the island.

“We believe that would serve the needs of our children better than to have 40 or 50 different, small homes all over Jamaica,” Williams noted.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), is providing the bulk of the $117 million that it will cost to construct the facility. According to JSIF, it has come out of recognition that there is a gap in Jamaica’s treatment and diagnosis of children who are exhibiting behavioural challenges.

The project is being undertaken jointly with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency [CPFSA], which will put up $30 million of its own funds. The remaining $87 million is being provided through the JSIF-implemented Basic Needs Trust Fund, BNTF9 which is financed by the Caribbean Development Bank.

Construction is scheduled to take six months through a contractual agreement with Apex Consultant Limited. Actual construction will be carried out by Alphasure Structures and Roofing Limited.

An additional $40 million will be needed to equip and furnish the centre which will feature consultation, screening, counselling and treatment rooms, a reception area, a parking area and a courtyard. It will also house physical and behavioural therapy rooms. It will be called the Child Protection and Family Services Agency — Child Therapeutic Centre.

It is expected that some 6,576 Jamaican children in children’s homes, places of safety, foster care and family reintegration settings will benefit from the centre.  An additional 16,000 children and/or families who access the services of the CPFSA will also be able to use the centre, said JSIF.

Apart from Williams, those in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony included junior education minister Robert Morgan, CEO of the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage-Grey, managing director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney and Member of Parliament East Central St Andrew, Dr Peter Phillips.