The
Child Development Agency
Protecting and Caring for our Children
What is the Child Development Agency (CDA)?
The CDA is a merger of the Children Services Unit, the Adoption
Board and the Child Support Unit. This new Agency is in transition
to become an Executive Agency. It is headed by a Chief Executive
Officer. The CDA is:
• Client centred
• Family focused
• Performance driven
• Measurement driven
What will the CDA do?
The Agency has four strategic objectives that guide its operations.
1. To be an advocate of child rights
2. To facilitate the best use of resources
3. To improve the welfare of all children who are in need
4. To strengthen monitoring mechanisms in areas under its management
and control
How will the CDA function?
The CDA is an autonomous body.
• It has its own budget which it gets from the Ministry of
Finance
• It has human resource autonomy which means that the CEO
can hire, discipline, reward and dismiss staff
• It has been regionalized- North East, comprising the parishes
of St. Ann, St. Mary and Portland; Western, comprising St. James,
Westmoreland, Hanover and Trelawny; Southern, comprising Manchester,
Clarendon and St. Elizabeth and the South East region comprising
St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew
How will our children in institutions benefit
from this new Agency?
Our children will benefit in three main areas:
1. Every child will have a care plan and the case officer and social
worker who are assigned to this child will assessed based on the
implementation of this care plan. The care plan will outline the
educational, health and behavioural milestones that the child is
expected to achieve. The care plan will be developed after assessing
the child in a number of areas.
2. Each child will be supported. The institutions will
support the development of each child. Minimum standards of care
will be established for each institution. The Children’s Homes
and Places of Safety will be assessed on the indicators such as
access to education, access to health care, effectiveness of rehabilitation
programmes, skills training for wards, counseling and training for
parents and training for workers.
3. Every child will be heard. Clear procedures will be put in place
to deal with complaints, concerns and suggestions from our wards.
These must be clearly documented, there should be evidence of follow-up
and a decision or action must be taken and communicated to the child.
Will
the CDA work with other groups, individuals and organizations that
are involved in activities relating to children?
Certainly. The governance structure allows the CDA to include stakeholders
in decision-making and to work closely together to address the issues
that are facing children. Together, we want to increase public awareness
on children’s issues, train Jamaican parents to raise children
and provide a nurturing and loving environment for all of
our children.
How
will the public know what the CDA is doing?
The Agency will utilize community meetings, the media, Parliament
to inform the country on our progress, challenges and needs.
How
can the public assist the CDA?
The Agency is working on a mechanism that will allow Jamaicans anywhere
in the world to contribute and work with us to protect and provide
for our children who are at risk.
What
are the success factors of the Agency?
• Children at risk are identified and provided with satisfactory
care and rehabilitation
• Quality client service delivery exists in all institutions
• Staff is well trained, motivated and committed
• Stakeholders are involved in decision-making, implementation
and evaluation
• The public is aware of issues affecting children and is
allowed to support the work of the Agency
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