Director of the Children’s Authority of T&T, Dr Shariffa Ali-Abdullah, says more than 2,500 cases have been received, inclusive of more than 150 emergency cases.
She said the recent placement of the authority under the Office of the Prime Minister signalled that the Government was serious about child protection and had accorded it very high priority.
This, she said, was a move the authority welcomed.
The authority came into force in May this year.
In an interview with the Sunday Guardian last week, Ali-Abdullah said, “Demand for services remain high as measured by the record number of cases received—over 2,500 inclusive of over 150 emergency cases.”
She said the child protection system has been broken for a long time and was not easy to fix.
Ali-Abdullah said, “The major issue remains the inadequate infrastructure required to support the Children’s Authority and new child protection system—accommodation for children in conflict with the law, transition homes, facilities for children with special needs, therapeutic homes for children with mental illness, just to name a few.
“Referral services also need to be expanded to cater to the increased demand in child protection cases.”