More is needed to meet the needs of the agency and the protection of our children

Aug 23, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The death of Ms Neesa Gopaul, and the punishment meted out to two workers from the Child Protection Agency and teachers of Queens College were the highlights of a failed attempt by the Child Protection Agency to protect a child from the adults responsible for her safety and well-being.
Recently, in Brooklyn, a supervisor and the caseworker of the child protection agency were detailed to face criminal charges after a child died of neglect under their watch. The horrific death of a child often brings about changes in any child welfare system.
The Minister and the boss of the local agency promised a review of the agency’s operations and the quick implementation of these changes. The Minister identified some changes but more is needed to meet the needs of the agency and the protection of our children.
The workers need more support if you hope to succeed at keeping children safe. I would like to look at the Neesa Gopaul case and suggest three changes that might have saved this child’s life.
The child attended school, meaning that she was in community and visible to all who provided her with education and social support.
This child was not meeting her academic potential and the teachers were concerned about her grades and attendance.
I am fully aware that teachers in high profile schools concentrate on examination results and not the protection of children from abuse and maltreatment.
So, I applaud those teachers who came forward and attempted to bring the child’s situation to the attention of the responsible agencies.  In the developed countries 65 percent to 75 percent of the child abuse and maltreatment reports come from schools and other such institutions.
The presence of social workers and guidance counselors in schools with a mandate to ensure children’s safety and well-being makes this possible.
The social workers/counselors in schools are the first line of defense against child abuse and maltreatment.  They provide the initial counseling and engagement that allow children to open up and talk about issues that negatively impact their lives.
The first change is to work with the Ministry of Education to employ social workers and guidance counselors in all schools. The skills of these professionals would have led to the obtaining of accurate information about the child’s situation.  The accurate information obtained would have assisted the investigators of the protective agency in their investigation.
The Protection Agency’s decision to send the child to her grandmother during the investigation was a great move.  However, the mother removed the child and returned the child to her home.
Unknown at this time is whether or not the child was being supervised by the Protection Agency during that period. Maybe, the Protection agency was unable to protect the child because of the lack of staff.
The second change that would match the above would be the decentralization of the agency.  Decentralization of the agency does not mean a regional position with strong political ties but staff supervised by and reporting only to the Protection Agency’s administration . The decentralization of the agency must be tied to good communication between offices so that important information like the child’s location will be shared.
Sharing the necessary information on the child’s locations in a timely manner would have improved the quality of supervision provided for the child when she lived out of her home environment.
It was mentioned that a worker made numerous attempts to enter the home but
he or she was refused  entry.  Also, the news stated that the worker knew about the child being at school and he or she did not visit the school to see the child.
A school visit is appropriate but a follow up visit to the home is ideal. This is a major red flag. To correct this situation there must be strong judicial and law enforcement involvement in the protection of children and families.
Obtaining a warrant from a judge or the police responding expeditiously to the worker’s concern would have led to the worker gaining access to the home.
The protection agency can only be serious about protecting children from abuse and neglect when there is legislation that fosters a close relationship with judicial forces, law enforcement bodies and the protection agencies.
I would like to touch briefly on investigating child abuse and neglect. Workers and supervisors must understand that no one works well without supervision. Workers, do not leave the office unless you understand what is expected of you and you have written directives from your supervisors.  Supervisors meet with your workers to develop a strategy for the investigations they are about to start. There should be a time limit for all investigations.
Workers think safety all the time.  Determine on every contact whether or not the child is safe.  Err on the side of safety. Discuss the case with your supervisor every time you make contact with that child and family.   Don’t take everything the parents/caregivers say to you as gospel.  Confirm by contacting other stakeholders who know this family. Call the schools, the doctors, extended family members and everyone else who knows the family. Most importantly take care of yourselves. Your safety matters and you should request assistance if you are concerned about your safety.
Call/visit the source of the reports before commencing your investigations. Finally, follow the agency’s practices and protocols.
The Ministry needs to develop a system that is based on accountability. Accountability is only possible when there are mandates that call for supervision of workers and staffing of cases. Finally, workers and supervisors please document, document and document. You can only convince someone of your actions if you document what you did and share same with your supervisor.
Clyde Zunty Clarke

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