KINGSTON, Jamaica — Strengthening adoption, foster care and support for children with special needs has been identified as a national priority to ensure better outcomes for vulnerable children across Jamaica.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dana Morris Dixon, emphasised the need to modernise Jamaica’s adoption framework in order to create more opportunities for children to transition into permanent and nurturing family environments.

“We keep talking about it, [but] we have not gotten there. We have to work on our adoption law,” she stated.

Senator Morris Dixon was speaking during the 14th annual educational achievement awards ceremony, hosted by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), on Thursday at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

She highlighted the need to streamline the adoption process to ensure that children can more efficiently transition into stable and supportive family environments, noting, “The process has to become much simpler, and it needs to be quicker.”

Regarding foster care, the minister said children thrive best in family-based settings, and called for greater national participation, adding, “I really do believe that the best place for a child is in a home with family.”

Senator Morris Dixon further highlighted gaps in support for children with special needs, particularly during their transition into adulthood.

‘‘There are so many children with special needs. We are expanding our programmes in the ministry, and we have to do more of that,” she said.

Speaking on inclusion and opportunity, she noted that children with special needs can make meaningful contributions to national development.

“We must, therefore, put in place programmes that [facilitate] these children.”

Minister Morris Dixon stressed the importance of developing national frameworks that ensure every child, regardless of circumstance or ability, feels valued, supported and fully included in society.

— JIS