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Child Protection legislation for House today

Jan 15, 2009 News

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand will today table in the National Assembly legislation aimed at providing for the protection of children.
The Minister confirmed this during an interview with Kaieteur News yesterday in which she explained that the Bill is just one of five pieces of legislation aimed at ensuring the rights and protections of children, especially the vulnerable.
She noted that for 2009, children will be high on the agenda of the ministry, adding that the real work begins when the legislation has been approved.
Under the bill entitled Protection of Children Bill, a child will be deemed in need of protective intervention where the child is at risk of being physically or emotionally harmed by the action or lack of appropriate action by the child’s parent, guardian, person in whose care the child is left or other persons living in or visiting the household; is, or is at risk of, being sexually or emotionally abused or exploited by the child’s parent, guardian, person in whose care the child is left or other persons living in or visiting the household; is being emotionally harmed by a person; is in the custody or de facto custody of a person who refuses or fails to obtain or permit essential medical, psychiatric, surgical or remedial care or treatment to be given to the child when recommended by a qualified health practitioner; is abandoned; on more than one occasion caused injury to another person or other living thing or threatened, either with or without weapons, to cause injury to another person or other living thing, either with the parent’s encouragement or because the parent does not respond adequately to the situation and is being exposed to drugs, or obscene printed material or objects among others.
Under the proposed legislation, a child means a person under the age of eighteen years, whether born in or out of wedlock, who has never been married, and includes a stepchild or child adopted by law or a child of the family except that in the case where a child has special needs that child shall be a child under this legislation, regardless of age.
The legislation provides that the Director and a social worker shall be responsible for assessing whether a child is in need of protective intervention when the information is received and sets out the duties of the Director or social worker after the assessment.
The Director under the Bill would be the Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency appointed by the Minister.
One week ago, the House successfully approved the Childcare and Protection Agency Bill.
The passage of that Bill will allow for the establishment of a Children and Protection Agency, the duties of which will include monitoring childcare facilities.
This Bill also provides for the minister to appoint the director and other officers and employees, who will be responsible for the management of the Agency in accordance with directions issued by the minister.
It provides for the welfare of the child to be paramount, and matters relating to a child, whether before a court or any other authority, shall be determined without undue delay.
This is taking into consideration certain criteria set out, including the wishes of the child, and his/her age and capacity to understand the matter to be determined.

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