TT praised for having strong child protection systems

WHILE TT is being praised by other Caribbean countries for having robust child-protection systems, there is a need to strengthen its foster care system.

On the last day of a three-day regional work-planning meeting hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Heather Stewart a child protection specialist with UNICEF for the Eastern Caribbean, said while TT has led the way in child protection services, there are also lessons TT can learn from other smaller countries in developing foster care homes.

“We would like other countries to catch up with their child protection systems. At present TT only have about 22 assessed foster-care families, where we have smaller countries that have far more. During the meeting TT learnt about some of the strategies other countries are employing to have more foster care parents.

“We understand it is not a one size fits all in the Caribbean, and while we came and look, we are also trying to adapt to the similarities offered to the island. This week allowed us to fully interrogate the baselines. Where were we in the beginning of 2017 and where do we want to get to in 2021.”