child care and protection/foster care …caribbeanfostercare.com/files/antigua.pdfchild care and...
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MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION AND CONSUMER AFFAIRSAND CONSUMER AFFAIRS
CITIZENSCITIZENS’’ WELFARE DIVISIONWELFARE DIVISION
REDCLIFFE STREET & CORN ALLEYREDCLIFFE STREET & CORN ALLEY
ST. JOHNST. JOHN’’S, ANTIGUAS, ANTIGUA
CHILD CARE AND CHILD CARE AND
PROTECTION/FOSTER CAREPROTECTION/FOSTER CARE
ANTIGUA & BARBUDAANTIGUA & BARBUDA
General InformationGeneral Information
• Antigua and Barbuda is a twin island state
comprising of 108 square miles
• Estimated population is 87,000 persons
• It is estimated that non-nationals comprise
of approximately 1/3 of the population
• Citizens’ Welfare Division is the
government agency responsible for Foster
Care and Child Protection
BackgroundBackground
• Citizens’ Welfare Division was established
in 1987
• Initially the Division catered to destitute
persons
• Currently there are three core units – Child
Protection and Family Services, Probation,
and GRACE Program (Government Residential Assistance and Care for the Elderly and Eligible)
Mission Mission
StatementStatement
• To promote the social and psychological
well-being of the Citizens’ of Antigua and
Barbuda through empowerment oriented
services of Social Work, Probation, and
Elderly Care support.
Child Care and Protection/Foster Child Care and Protection/Foster
Care UnitCare Unit• Staff Compliment of 17 (10 of whom are frontline workers)
• In 2008 there were 286 new cases requiring Social Service intervention on Child protection and family issues
• Presently there are approximately 88 children placed in Foster Care (Not including children placed in residential care)
• 42% Foster Children are Kin Foster Care(placed with family members)
• 54% are Female and 46% are Male
• Government support – monthly stipend, counseling, annual summer camp and Christmas party and gift giving
Challenges/BarriersChallenges/Barriers
• Limited Human and Financial resources
• Inadequate legislation/lack of Policy
• Effective monitoring
• Insufficient support services to biological parent
• Difficulty placing male and special needs children
• Lack of continuous training and support of staff, foster parent and biological parents.
The Way ForwardThe Way Forward
• Attending regional workshops (such as this) to build network and learn best practices in working with such a volatile population.
• The Division is currently in the process of developing a National Child Protection Policy with the assistance of the UNICEF. The outlined goal is to enhance legislation, policy and social service delivery in the Child Protection sector
• Develop a prevention strategy to reduce the number of children placed in foster care