– counselling for parents
The Child Care and Protection Agency has custody of Charran ‘Sanjay’ Sahadeo who was assaulted at the hands of relatives and based on an initial assessment he is likely to be in the state’s care for another six months.
Sanjay’s case is being handled by Probation and Social Services and the Child Care and Protection Agency, but the agency is the authority for placing children. The child’s mother, Babita Sahadeo, has temporarily given up custody of the boy and agreed for him to remain in state care for the period identified. The woman has expressed a desire to care for her son, circumstances permitting.
Director of the agency Ann Greene reported on Thursday that the families involved need counselling, which the Ministry of Human Services is in the process of providing. She said a range of issues needed to be addressed during the sessions with the families, including parenting education and family planning.
Sanjay’s incident was unfortunate for many reasons, Greene said, and she emphasized that his aunt, Sunita Sahadeo, was in no position to offer him the care he needs. The children taken from the aunt’s home are also in need of proper care, she disclosed. A one-month-old baby taken from the home was briefly hospitalized and continues to be monitored.
Sunita Sahadeo has been on the radar of welfare officials for “some time now”, according to Greene. She said the woman has struggled and failed over the years to provide a suitable home environment for her own children which resulted in several of them being placed in protective care. However, the fact that Sanjay was living with Sunita and her husband was new information which the authorities had no word on prior to his plight being highlighted in this newspaper.
“…She disappears and then comes up with another child. We are now focusing on family planning history during the sessions with families because she obviously needed family planning,” Greene said of Sunita.
Greene stressed yesterday that the community is “our eyes and ears” stating that the authorities cannot realistically knock on every door. She said people need to look out for children and constantly report matters to the relevant authorities until action is taken. “If something doesn’t look too right with the children next door, find out, call us,” Greene pleaded.
Families are struggling in the country and children are suffering, Greene continued, noting that the Child Protection Agency is redirecting its focus on community engagements to prevent child abuse. She underscored that the cases which are “after the fact” are not what the authorities are waiting on people to report. But she added that people have been utilizing the hotline number to report child abuse since it was launched in November last year.
Figures to date reveal that reports to the agency have been consistent at one every day, and on some days, two reports. Greene said the period mid-November to December 2009 showed 55 reports of child abuse all of which were investigated, and for this year the numbers at the end of January are just over 30 reports. The hotline number is 227-0979.
Greene said too that the agency will assist Sanjay’s mother to possibly relocate while he is being cared for by the state because her current living conditions are not ideal for his education. Babita resides in the ‘Kayman Sankar Backdam’ at Vonbetter, which is cut off from schools in the surrounding areas.