Barbados Child protection and justice legislation to go before Parliament this Child Month

The much-touted Child Protection Bill and Child Justice Bill are set to go before Parliament as early as next Tuesday, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey has announced.
Speaking on Wednesday about planned debate on the two pieces of “revolutionary” legislation in the month observed as Child Month, he said architects of the Child Protection Bill have described that as the most progressive piece of legislation for children anywhere in the world.
“We are going to be addressing the mandatory reporting; we are going to give the court more options. We also have put in place a facility to be able to attend to children who should not be in the justice system but who are too tough, in many cases, for the Child Care Board. And, therefore, there needs to be a middle facility which is our secure residential treatment facility which is in the legislation,” he said during a press conference at the ministry’s Warrens, St Michael office.
Minister Humphrey also announced that the Barbados Children’s Trust would assist the Government with funding for the construction of a home at Bullens, St James specifically for adolescents in state care.
“And that would therefore mean that we have proper facilities for our children who are young and we have first-class facilities for the children who are older. There are other little things I think we need to do, like take the Child Care Board [name] off the bus so that children can feel a sense of pride and dignity,” he said.
The Minister also indicated that the Government had significantly increased funds to facilitate upgrades to Child Care Board nurseries across the island.
He added that his Ministry was working with a United States-based charity to teach Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to residents of state-run children’s homes.
Humphrey said such training would equip those children with skills they could use to generate revenue later on in life.
“So, the Child Care Board and the Ministry in relation to children, I think, [are] well poised. I think this has been a very good period for the Child Care Board. It certainly has been a period of immense work, a lot of work, a lot of pressure, and the pace has increased, obviously, but I think we are seeing the results of that work,” he said.
Director of the Child Care Board RoseAnn Richards told members of the media that every day during Child Month, the agency will host daily devotions on radio and television.
The Child Month church service will also be held on Friday at the Abundant Life Assembly, beginning at 10 a.m. Richards said other activities planned for the month include parenting sessions, church services dedicated to children, and open days at day nurseries.