Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC says Government is “fully committed” to protecting the nation’s children, indicating that stronger coordination will allow earlier intervention and better outcomes.
She says her administration is building a more proactive system and has “adopted a whole-of-government approach to safeguarding children.”
Responding to a question in the Lower House on recent criminal incidents involving children, Mrs Persad-Bissessar said the current administration is strengthening collaboration among key agencies to identify risks before they escalate.
“We have strengthened collaboration amongst the Children’s Authority, the TTPS, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of the People and Social Development and Family Services to ensure that vulnerable children are identified earlier and protected more effectively.”
The Prime Minister added that Government is also working to improve systems behind the scenes, targeting case management and information sharing to ensure warning signs are not missed.
“We have accelerated efforts to strengthen children protection systems, improve case management and enhance information sharing amongst agencies, so that warning signs do not fall through the cracks. We are also working to increase frontline capacity within agencies responsible for child welfare and family support.”
The Prime Minister also criticised the previous administration for failing to adequately support children.
“And even after that 10 years, in this last session of this Parliament, they failed to support children. They failed to support the Children’s Life Fund.”
Her comments come amid growing public concern following a series of tragic incidents involving children in recent months.
On April 19th, J’layna Armstrong was among four people shot and killed along Lady Young Road in Morvant.
On May 11th, two-year-old Angelo Tobias-Plaza went missing in Tobago and remains unaccounted for.
And most recently, over the weekend, 12-year-old Mercedez Layne was found dead near an oilfield in South Trinidad.