Being in institutional care has negative impact on children – CCPA

“Right now there are too many children in institutions. They become institutionalised and our mission here is to get children out of institutions,” the Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene told Guyana Times during a recent interview.

She referenced the fact that being in care, according to several surveys and studies, may have a negative impact on a child’s life, as they may feel unwanted among other things.
According to her, “It’s not any place where a child should spend the rest of their childhood in…” as they may feel neglected and unimportant.
The Director noted that owing to this, the CCPA has implemented a number of initiatives to tackle the issue, which may help children to feel more confident in the end and ‘loved’.
She reminded that children in institutional care normally leave at the age of 18, when they require the most attention. “When a child turns 18 their parents don’t push them out (because) they so need guidance, they need a whole lot of guidance (and) these are children that will turn 18 and can leave the formal care and there is no linkages to a family.”
Greene said that being cognisant of the impact being in institutional care has on the life of children, the CCPA would exhaust every measure to ensure children are placed with adults who are capable of caring for them.
These measures, she explained, include the kinship programme where a child can be placed with the nearest kin, instead of being placed in care.
Another important initiative to note is the foster care programme where children can be placed with a capable family to take care of them until they are placed with a stable birth family or join an adoptive family.
While on this note, Greene alluded to the fact that while being in care for an extended period may have a negative impact on a child’s life, it often serves as a life saver for some, as many children were taken into the homes from the streets or even abusive homes, among other hostile circumstances.
At present, some 700 children are in formal care, Greene disclosed. This figure, she said, generally lessens at this time of the year, as persons generally become sensitised with the observance of the ongoing Child Protection Week.
This year, Child Protection Week is being held under the theme “Supporting families to prevent child abuse through education and community involvement”. A number of activities are planned for the week, which began on September 23 and will conclude on September 29.