The debate on the Child Care and Protection Act 2023 (CCPA), to amend the section that allows for the placement of children with behavioural challenges in correctional facilities, was postponed shortly after it started on Tuesday as several Opposition members requested more time to go over its contents.

Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams had opened the debate on the bill in the House of Representatives before it was postponed for one week.

Williams, who expressed her disappointment over the delay, noted that the amendments provide a wider range of options to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) in dealing with children in need of supervision or behaviour modification.

“The position of the Ministry of Education and Youth is that allowing the use of a correctional order without a child committing a criminal action under section 24 of the CCPA is an injustice against a child who may be exhibiting trauma derived from abuse, neglect and suffering and in need of psychological treatment,” Williams said.

She highlighted that “the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has seen numerous children in this category and has therefore advanced the proposal to treat this category of children by placing them in a facility to treat their individual psychological needs”.

Williams explained that by repealing section 24 (2) of the CCPA, Jamaica would become compliant with notable international treaties on child justice and child rights and establish a fair and more equitable means of dealing with cases involving children exhibiting behavioural challenges thereby promoting the best interest of the child.

Meanwhile, Williams shared that the National Children’s Registry receives some 5,000 cases each year of children mostly between 14 and 17 years old who display behavioural challenges.

She said the cases are treated through the CPFSA’s Children and Family Support Unit with most of those who receive treatment being able to remain with their families during the necessary intervention.

“For those with severe problems, there is the need for residential treatment which, in the absence of a suitable alternative facility, invariably causes these children to be placed under a correctional order,” Williams lamented.

The minister said that with the bill, having been examined by a joint select committee of the Parliament, there was renewed advocacy for the removal of the power of the court to make a correctional order under section 24 of the CCPA and connected matters by child rights organisations, including Jamaicans for Justice and the United Nations Children’s Fund in Jamaica.

She said this was in recognition of the fact that juvenile detention centres do not have adequate resources to treat or rehabilitate children who are referred to these facilities by order of the court under section 24 of the CCPA.