Carrington: Strong families build strong communities

“Our families are the foundation of our society and it is in our mandate to create a strong and stable foundation.”

This was the word from Health, Wellness and Family Development Secretary Dr Agatha Carrington, who said strong families will ultimately lead to stronger communities.

Speaking at a public consultation hosted by the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services in collaboration with the Division on Monday at the Canaan / Bon-Accord Community Centre, Carrington said contributions at the consultation will help to shape policy and provide the opportunity to create a more robust framework for parenting in the country

She noted that the Division has changed its focus to the development of families from baby to the elderly and so a parenting policy was very welcomed.

“As the Ministry continues to develop this policy, the Division has been doing tremendous work as well to help our families,” she said.

“We provide a range of services under the Family Development Department, with a cadre of specialists to assist our families at their various points of need. We established Facilities Review Committees for Children and the Elderly to improve the quality of service we provide to them, we continue to meet with special needs and differently abled stakeholders on the island to cater for their needs and we continue to collaborate with the Children’s Authority and the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago to provide avenues of assistance for our families,” she added.

Carrington encouraged attendees to contribute to the policy. “Government cannot do this alone, we need everyone’s input to ensure that the framework is robust,” she said.

The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services has been conducting a series of national consultations on the Green Paper - National Parenting Policy of Trinidad and Tobago throughout the country.

The public consultations are being done in three phases. Phase I aims to capture the views of partner ministries/government agencies, non-government and faith-based organisations, as well as international organisations and academia. Phase II involves national consultations targeted at the general public and Phase III entails focus group sessions aimed at specific groups of parents and children.

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