Just One Number to Call for Parenting Support

The National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) has established a single helpline, (876) 560-9272, to replace the 36 helplines that were launched in April 2020 to support parents struggling with the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, told JIS News that the helpline will serve all parishes.

“We now have one main helpline number that we have institutionalised… . We now have one main number for the public to use, and those calls will be diverted to officers within the NPSC. We still have the 36 numbers, but instead of calling all 36, we are directing parents now to one line and we will assign the officers accordingly,” she said.

Ms. Kerr said for sustainability, the helpline will be manned by staff of the NPSC as part of the Commission’s intervention programme.

She further noted the use of a single number will facilitate data collection, tracking and streamlining of the processes of the Commission.

Ms. Kerr explained that in the initial phase of the pandemic, 36 phone lines were established to provide immediate responses to parents during no-movement periods.

“We had an emergency at the beginning of COVID and we felt that we needed to pull in our volunteers to have a more granular response coordinated. Now that a year has passed, we have fully institutionalised the helpline to support the existing framework for interventions to parents. We are now communicating with one number,” she said.

The NPSC is an agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, established to streamline and coordinate parenting programmes in Jamaica.

Persons may call the NPSC helpline at (876) 560-9272.