CPFSA Thankful for Support under Public Sector Transformation Programme

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) is thankful for the support received from the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU), in enhancing its delivery of critical services to the nation’s most vulnerable children.

The CPFSA has benefitted from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Network Infrastructure Expansion Project being spearheaded by the TIU, under the public sector transformation programme.

The support received, has enabled the CPFSA to modernise its operations through better use of ICT to improve its service delivery.

“We have a sensory room that through the support of the TIU, is very much active and operational and has been a tremendous blessing to the CPFSA and of course to the children as well,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CPFSA, Laurette Adams-Thomas tells JIS News.

Last year, a state-of-the-art sensory room was officially opened at the Muirton Boys Home in Portland.

“So, what will happen now as a result of this partnership is that children who are facing traumatic experiences, will be able to be assessed by a child psychologist within that sensory room, [which] would then facilitate better communication,” Mrs. Adams-Thomas states.

Meanwhile, Director of Children and Family Programmes at the CPFSA, Dr. Warren Thompson points out that through the partnership with the TIU, more sensory spaces are being implemented at other state childcare facilities.

The spaces will be used for early stimulation and for delivery of occupational therapy for children with behavioural disorders or developmental disabilities.

Dr. Thompson tells JIS News that the CPFSA has recruited an Occupational Therapist, who is based at the Therapeutic Centre, but has been visiting the various facilities.

He notes that many of the children who are in the care of the CPFSA have various sensory issues.

“If you were to sit with the Occupational Therapist and hear, for example, about the challenge that a child may experience in bathing himself/herself because the arm can’t pass, what she calls, the mid-line, then you understand that this is a whole field where there are items that we have in our sensory room that she will then use to work with those youngsters to provide the therapy, so that they are able to gain some kind of independence and learn and grow,” Dr. Thompson explains.

Support from the TIU has also enhanced the CPFSA’s capacity to deliver mental health services to children in state care.

The agency was able to expand its fleet of mobile mental health units, dubbed ‘Smiles Mobile’ to three, making it easier for them to meet the mental health needs of wards at residential childcare facilities.

“One of the things that we have done, certainly within the Southeast Region and we are looking to expand that now to the other regions, is we have been able to screen children in all the facilities in the region,” Dr. Thompson informs.

He notes that the Southeast Region is the largest of all four health regions and has half of the childcare facilities that are in the island.

“The Smiles Mobile [and] the team have gone into all the facilities in this region more than once to screen all the children. Screening means, we are assessing for things like depression, stress, anxiety and other behavioural or mental health issues,” Dr. Thompson states.

He further indicates that from the Smile Mobile, the CPFSA has been able to refer children for additional psychotherapeutic intervention, identify children who show signs of severe mental health issues and may need to see a psychiatrist.

“We’ve been able to identify children who need additional psychological assessments to determine exactly what kind of support they need and the other thing that the mobile mental health team does is provide psycho educational training in the institutions,” Dr. Thompson adds.

The Agency also received a boost to its capacity to provide psychological support to children in state care.

Under the ICT Network Infrastructure Expansion Project, the CPFSA subscribed to and purchased electronic assessment tools used to garner critical information about a child’s development and growth.

One such tool is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

The CPFSA also received several desktop computers, laptops and multifunctional printers for its offices and Therapeutic Centre.

The CPFSA is the primary body responsible for children deemed to be in need of care and protection, including those who are suffering from neglect and other forms of abuse, such as physical, sexual and emotional.