Merger of CPFSA and NPSC to better serve children in state care – Williams
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, says that as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the childcare and protection sector, the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) will merge with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).
The minister said the merger will facilitate better coordination of support services for children in State care.
Williams made the disclosure during her address at the ground-breaking and contract-signing ceremony for the $117-million CPFSA Child Therapeutic Centre, on July 6.
She said that the centre will be constructed on the grounds of the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston.
Formerly the Child Development Agency (CDA), the CPFSA is the entity under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information that is responsible for enabling a stable and nurturing living environment for children who are in need of care and protection.
The agency was renamed following its merger with the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) in 2017.
This was done as part of the ministry’s plans to create a more efficient child protection sector with emphasis on the pooling of resources, timely service delivery, and increasing field services staff.
“We continue in the reform of CPFSA. That reform process is ongoing. Operationally, they are together. The legal work is being completed, but there is still another step to go in terms of merging the CPFSA and the NPSC for a more holistic and coordinated approach to all the services that our children who are in State care will need,” Williams said.
The minister said it is intended that the islandwide audit of children’s homes and places of safety now under way will identify the needs of these institutions.
“While we are going through that reform, we also started an audit of all our children’s homes to set a beginning point for the homes to identify what are the gaps and to give us a holistic view of what is on the ground, so we can make those reforms that are necessary,” she said.
The audit is being conducted within State-run and private facilities. There are over 40 childcare facilities in total.
