KINGSTON, Jamaica – Civil society groups, Jamaicans for Justice, Eve for Life and Stand Up for Jamaica, on Friday called on the Ministry of Education and Youth for clarity on the status of the replacement of the chief executive officer of the Child Protection and Family Service Agency (CPFSA).

Additionally, the agencies also called on the minister to outline the steps the government has taken since its announcements on proposed alterations to CPFSA’s governance structure, as well as the matters presented for further investigation.

This call follows the report from the Office of the Children’s Advocate’s (OCA) around the relationship between the CPFSA and Embracing Orphans/Carl Robanske, and the” institutional failure” that led to allegations of young girls being sexually abused by Robankse.

“Since the damning allegations of the OCA report, the country was advised that the chief executive officer, Rosa-Lee Gage-Grey was terminated. Whilst media speculation may exist about a proposed replacement of Gage-Grey, there has been no confirmation or any update from the ministry. This, in our collective view, is unacceptable given the important role and function of the agency. The country must be apprised of any interim or permanent replacement, as well as the steps to be taken on the transparent process of replacing the CEO, in keeping with the provisions under the Executive Agencies Act,” the statement said.

The agencies also urged the minister to provide updates following the announcement of the intention to revise the governance structure of the CPFSA with a board that has a directive role, rather than an advisory one.

“We note the announcement that a cabinet submission is being prepared, but no deadline for completion was given. We also ask about the status of the staff audit assessment and capacity building of existing personnel,” the statement said.

“We believe that the OCA report, though welcomed, had far too many remaining questions for comfort. Having taken note of the minister’s statements that the OCA report was referred to police, we collectively request an update on any initiated investigations by relevant authorities to ascertain if there are any clear breaches of the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA) that may warrant termination, criminal charges or other appropriate sanctions of any CPFSA officer, beyond just the CEO,” he statement outlined.

“Given the allegations of obstruction of justice during the OCA’s investigation and the fact that Robanske had access to the girls, the country cannot accept the CEO’s termination as the only outcome of accountability. We acknowledge that several aspects of the investigation is quite sensitive and may be deemed a ‘police matter’.”

The statement also dwelled on the importance for the state to answer if any other child and former ward of the state, in addition to the three outlined in the report and questioned if they were sexually engaged or possibly groomed by Robanske. Also, what psychosocial support, if so needed, is being provided.

The statempent also noted the importance of the minister in spearheading the charge to revamp the act inorder to “protect the nations “most vulnerable children.”

“It is our collective opinion that the minister must lead on a comprehensive review of the Childcare and Protection Act to consider amendments that ensure greater protection of our most vulnerable children,”

The organisations suggest changes that include, implementing strong background check procedures for all individuals (foreign and local) interacting with children in state care.

“We also call for a review of the Sexual Offenses Act for dialogue around the following recommendations: adding sex offenders from foreign jurisdictions to the local registry; reviewing the recommendations around access to the sex offender registry, including safeguards and unambiguous guidelines on access; directly addressing non-supervision of children in the Act as that is a catalyst for abuse; and importantly, empowering the Court to make orders restricting the contact of sex offenders with vulnerable persons, which does not currently exist,” the statement outlined.

The organisations, in concluding, reiterated the need for change in “ending the unfortunate cycle of institutional failure,” and emphasised the need for substantive changes to be made to address the “underpinning and deep-rooted issues” that continue to put our children at risk.