Some 222 children are in the foster care system in Guyana. This was revealed by Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud, who also disclosed that this amount represents 118 girls and 104 boys. These figures reflect the period January 2021 to May 2021.
Additionally, she disclosed that 79 children have been placed in non-biological families and 143 are in kinship care.
Dr Vindhya Persaud0
She made these revelations in her message on the occasion of Foster Care Month, which is being observed under the theme, “Foster Care as a Support for Families, not a Substitute for Parents.”
According to the Minister, while these figures are reasonably good in so far as Georgetown and a few other places are concerned, “what we are really interested in promoting this month is having the buy-in of persons from outlying regions, such as those far-flung and riverain communities.”
She explained that at the moment, in order to work with the families and make things right for the children, Government has to bring them to Georgetown.
“We are pleased to say that we are working to change this. During this month, officers of the Childcare and Protection Agency are heavily promoting foster care across the Regions, explaining how our programme works and how individuals could be part of this rewarding and positive experience of being a foster parent.”
Persaud expressed hope that, by the end of this month, there would be increased awareness of the programme, and families in the hinterland regions would sign on to be foster parents.
“We plan to do our best to continue raising the level of awareness of our Foster Care Programme, and to recognise the important role and dedication of foster parents. We wish to honour you for your time and commitment in being there for our children.
“Even as you continue to care for our young ones, we urge you to be willing to work towards helping the children to be reunited with their biological families. We want to remind you that while foster care offers continued family-based care, support, guidance and love to a child who has to be separated from his/her biological family, it is only a temporary arrangement until the child can safely be returned home.”
