JCPD to Launch Database Next Year

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) will take one major step towards improving its operations when it launches its multimillion dollar database next year.

Executive Director of the Council, Christine Hendricks, informed JIS News that the system, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a cost of US$450,605, will provide the country with a quick and accurate representation of the community of disabled persons.

“This database is important because it will help us to be able to retrieve information quickly. It will also give us the information we need in order to make better developmental plans,” she said.

Mrs. Hendricks added that the database, which is the first of its kind to fully account for disabled Jamaicans, will also help policymakers and researchers to better capture the community in their reports as well as better inform their partners.

“In terms of policies and research, they can begin to research what is happening where you have quite a number of blind or deaf persons concentrated in an area. It will also provide information to our local and international partners, so they can plan for emergencies and disaster management,” she informed.

During his debate on the Disabilities Act in the Lower House in July, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, also underscored the need for an updated register in order to enable proper planning for the disabled.

Staff at the JCPD will begin training this month, after which the system will go through a testing period before full implementation in 2015.