Sarah (not her real name), a teenager, was removed from her home by the Childcare and Protection Agency (C&PA) after she was sexually molested.
But officials did not want her to spend her remaining childhood years in state care, so they made it their mission to reintegrate her with her family. However, they found that apart from the molestation, her physical home environment provided no comfort as it was little more than a shack. Then the officials observed that the family had started the foundation for a new building and approached the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) which provided materials to complete it. With residents of the community providing voluntary assistance, the house was completed and further help from UNICEF saw it being furnished.
The abuser was also removed from the home and Sarah lives there today with her mother and other siblings.
Sarah is one of the over 40 children who have been reintegrated with their families starting last year with assistance from UNICEF and other partners, the C&PA’s reintegration officer Poshia Bryan said, though she noted that there are many others who just do not have homes to go to.
She stressed that growing up in a family setting is always the best option for children as growing up in children’s homes can cause untold damage where they go on to become troubled adults.
“The family institution is a place where children are supposed to be cared for, it is the responsibility of the parent. They grow and develop much better in family situation… On the other hand if they are in institutions it’s difficult… After a while they become institutionalized and there could be depravation…” she told Stabroek Weekend in an interview.
She said that there is an established national alternative care programme to integrate around 700 children who are in institutional care, in both government and private homes. As a result, the agency has a mandate to reintegrate those children with their families, but if that fails alternative care, either foster care or adoption is the next option.
She stressed that reintegrating children is not an easy task as she pointed out that there are children in homes whose parents could take care of them, but they need support to do so.
“And that is where UNICEF comes in. They care about our children and so we are concentrating on a family base care for children instead of institutionalized care,” she said.
Explaining the process of reintegration, Bryan said they first have to do family tracing to find out about the family, what is their situation, if they are willing to take the child or children and also talk to the child. “It is a back and forth to ensure that the child wants to return, and the family wants them to return,” she said, adding that an assessment is done which includes other family members and at times even neighbours and other residents.
Bryan shared the story of another child, a boy, who is autistic and was abandoned by his mother. His father, who was homeless, visited the child at the home and it was obvious that he wanted to be reunited with the child but just did not have the means.
“Poverty is not a crime… That is not reason enough to take away a child,” Bryan commented.
The father now has a shack-like home which he shares with his new partner who has four children and he indicated that he would like to take the child back into his custody. But when the agency officials visited the home the assessment revealed that the family needed material to extend the house and some furnishings. The father is working and the stepmother, who knows the child, is self-employed but apart from the physical things that are needed, Bryan said, they also have to assist the parents to care for the child’s emotional needs especially in light of the fact that he is autistic.
So while it is hoped that UNICEF will assist with some of what is needed physically, the agency will tap into specialist assistance, this time from ChildLink, to work with the family. ChildLink, according to Bryan, also assists in other cases with counselling and following-up with families. UNICEF also provides groceries, school supplies and other forms of assistance to families who are in need.
“Whatever we do, we take the safety of the child into consideration first and foremost,” Bryan said, adding that it is not as simple a task as calling the parents.
She pointed out that while at times the physical surroundings of the home might not be a problem, the child could be exposed to danger in other forms and they have to take this into account when returning children into homes and communities.
And while things have slowed up because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bryan said they have taken the necessary precautions and have continued their work because it is important that children are reintegrated. She said in one instance they had to have a family meeting and they held it in the yard of the home as they ensured that social distance was practiced.
The agency also assists parents in finding jobs where needed, as Bryan noted that it is not just the child’s well-being that is important but the entire family.
On a mission
Bryan, who has been employed with the C&PA since 2010, said while integration was always part of the agenda, the process is more focused now especially with the assistance of UNICEF. She believes that there will come a time when “we have to dig deeper” and maybe coordinate with the Ministry of Housing and Water and build entire houses for families to bolster reintegration.
Concerned about children’s reintegration, Bryan said, she researched why children’s reintegration was delayed and came up with several reasons, including the situation in the home not being changed. There are instances where family members are not prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for the child or children and in other cases, family members cannot be found. Some of them, because of poverty, might have moved to the interior and are never heard from again.
The childcare worker said she is on a mission to get children back with their families as she understands the importance of having children living in family settings.
“My heart is for children and I want to see children at home with families… We have to look at it in the long run because when we have these children in institutional care and they age out, they don’t know about family life and they might fall into the wrong situation and may even commit crimes and it would be a burden on society,” she noted.
On the other hand, if the child is reintegrated, follow up is done and the necessary support is given then it would make a difference.
The most hurtful thing for Bryan is when the agency tries to reintegrate a child and it does not work out and the child remains in an institution. “The children have an expectation that they will return to their parents but [sometimes] in the middle of the process we just have to pull back,” she said.
She shared the experience of three siblings who were placed at a home and whose parents did not return to see them for over five years. The home was forced to close, and officials said they started to look for family members and while they found the maternal grandmother she was unable to take them. They found the home of the paternal grandfather and left telephone numbers for contact to be made, but this was never done.
“What hurt me was it was obvious that the paternal grandfather had the means, but they never made contact…” she said.
Because the home was closing down and they did not want to place the children in another home, Bryan said, they began looking at foster care and adoption as the children were small and they wanted permanency for them.
The agency found a potential family, but they had to first publish in the national newspaper the direction they were going in, in an effort to reach the parents. She said within a week of the publication both parents, who were no longer together, appeared at the agency and requested that the adoption be placed on hold.
The mother indicated that her mother would take care of them, but she said that was an option they were not willing to explore as the grandmother had already expressed unwillingness to care for the children when they first approached her.
She said the situation was heartrending as the siblings had already begun to bond with the potential family and so when they had to put the process on hold both the children and the family suffered.
Because the father did not sign for the children, he was told that he had to take a DNA test before the children could be given to him, and while he said it would be done he has not returned to the agency.
“He promised us, we put it on hold, and he went back into the interior. That is over two years ago and none of them has returned for the children. We are now in the process of trying to get them adopted and that could have happened two years ago,” Bryan said.
She said the oldest of the children has taken the responsibility of caring for his siblings as he always appears to be protective of them.
She pointed out that while the agency gives parents’ opportunities to get it right children cannot wait indefinitely for this to be done as they are growing and need a secure home environment.
“If a parent doesn’t get it right, we would give a further six months or so. We would work with them and if they don’t get it right within a year then we move another step… because the child cannot wait on the parent and we need parents to understand that…,” she pointed out.
Bryan noted that at times the extended family members are approached and they are unwilling to take the children but as soon as the agency goes in the direction of adoption, “then everybody comes, aunty, uncle, mommy, daddy, everybody…
“Children want love. They wouldn’t get that love in the homes, and they need families. And so when people are taking children to foster care, we tell them don’t pay attention to the money because the money is small. We tell them take them in their home and love them…,” she said.
She noted as well that since they commenced the recent reintegration programme they have only had two re-entries while in the past there were many more. “So I am saying UNICEF is doing something good,” by assisting in in the provision of more than just emotional care for families.
“I am enjoying what I am doing because the good thing is, I feel a sense of satisfaction. It is hard work and frustration sometimes, but I feel satisfied,” Bryan said.
