JIS: After losing both her parents in quick succession, Maxine Williamson found herself in an interesting situation.

 

The two children that her parents fostered had suddenly become her responsibility. Rather than having them return to the residential-care system, Ms. Williamson, who was living in Canada at the time, decided to return to Jamaica to take care of the children.

 

“I left my corporate job in Canada and came to Jamaica ‘cold turkey’, because I really wanted to provide a home for these children,” she tells JIS News.

 

She says that because she was not the original foster-parent, she had to go through an evaluation process with the then Child Development Agency now Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) to determine her suitability.

 

“I was so nervous,” she recalls. “However, they interviewed me, did their background checks and told me everything is in order. Today, I am the proud parent of two beautiful foster children,” she boasts.

 

Ms. Williamson says she has no regrets in making the decision to become a foster-parent.

 

“Persons were saying that the children were so lucky to have me, but for me, it was the other way around; I was so lucky to have them. They helped me heal after the death of my parents; we found solace in each other. It was these foster children that saved me from the devastating loss,” she shares with JIS News.

 

Ms. Williamson, who has been a foster-parent to 16-year-old *Sandra and 17-year-old *Javaughn for over two years now, also has two biological daughters.

 

She notes that they are “wonderful and loving children”, and after raising two girls, it was interesting to parent a boy.

 

“They call me ‘sis’ because they were used to calling my mother ‘mom’, but that has not stopped me from being an effective parent. Sandra’s academic performance has improved significantly, moving from an F student to a B+ student and she is now preparing to take her (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams. I am seeing this once-shy young girl become the vice-president of a club and representing her school at events. She is now a very confident young lady,” she tells JIS News. Javaughn is also doing well in high school. “I remember him getting 100 per cent on a math test and the excitement and joy when he was showing it to me,” she recounts.

 

Ms. Williams says Javaughn was described as someone with anger issues, but she has never seen that part of him. Instead, she says, she sees a young man working every day to become a better person.

 

She tells JIS News that her wish is for them to become great citizens, and, so far, they have surpassed her expectations. “Our family is a very loving family, and to see these two children returning hugs just warms my heart,” she says. Sandra, in relating her experience as a foster child, says that “coming from a children’s home it was a different environment, and I had to adjust and get used to having new persons in your life”.

 

“It has been a great experience so far. I now get to be part of a family, and this helps to build different aspects of my life in a positive way. I now know what it is like to live with a family of my own; it has just been great,” she shares with JIS News. Sandra wants to become an actuary, and is confident of achieving her career goal with the support of her foster family.

 

The Foster Care Programme is the CPFSA’s flagship family-based programme where wards of the State are placed in homes to be part of a family.

 

Director of Children and Family Programmes at the CPFSA, Audrey Budhi, tells JIS News that studies all across the globe show that children perform better in a family setting, as a nurturing environment is provided for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual and emotional growth and development.

 

She explains that unlike adoption, foster care does not involve the total surrender of parental rights.

 

Mrs. Budhi notes that children need personal care and attention even from the earliest stage of development.

 

“Studies have shown that when a child looks in your eyes, when you talk to him or her, that deep bond and emotional connection assists in their growth, builds self-confidence and self-awareness,” she says.

 

Mrs. Budhi is encouraging more Jamaicans to become foster-parents. She notes that there are not enough facilities to accommodate children who are in need of care and protection.

 

“If we have enough foster parents to take care of these children, then we will be assured that children, who are in need of care and protection, will be taken care of, and this is why foster care is being pushed by the CPFSA,” she points out.

 

Dwayne Haynes was placed in foster care at eight years old agrees.

 

“Every child deserves to feel special, to have somebody there for them, someone to count on, because that is what is going to make the difference between my generation going in the wrong direction or going the right path,” he tells JIS News.

 

Dwayne was placed in the State care system due to his mother’s mental illness. After learning that he was a resident at the Maxfield Park Children’s Home, his grandfather applied to the CPFSA to become his foster-parent. Dwayne is the youngest of four children for his parents and was the only one to become a ward of the State.

 

Today, the 23-year-old University of the West Indies (UWI) and St. Jago High School graduate is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Data Analytics at UWI and is also working with the Sandals Foundation.

 

A Residence Advisor for the Irvine Hall of Residence at UWI, Dwayne has high praises for the CPFSA.

 

He tells JIS News that the agency ensured that he and his foster-parent got all the help necessary to aid in his growth and development. He, too, is encouraging more responsible Jamaicans to become foster-parents. “A lot of times, persons are skeptical about foster care, not knowing how they will deal with issues that may arise, but everything in life is a risk,” he points out.

 

“Children in State care need somebody to take care of them,” he says, noting that “I am willing to give back a lot of my time to the children’s homes”.

 

The Foster Care Programme has been operating since 2004, and as at December 2017 there were some 767 children in the programme and 800 families providing foster care.

 

Each child in foster care gets a bimonthly subvention, annual back-to-school assistance and medical support. The foster parents are exposed to training in childcare and receive certification upon completion.

 

To become a foster parent, one has to be a responsible adult between the ages of 25 and 65 years, single or a couple. Consideration is given to persons over 65 if they are in good health. Placement with a single male is only done if the applicant is related to the child, or in exceptional circumstances.

 

Interested persons must have suitable accommodations, be gainfully and consistently employed and must be willing to undergo a medical examination. When submitting their application, they must provide two references from a notary public, such as a justice of the peace or pastor; two passport-sized photographs and a police record.

 

A children’s officer will follow up with background checks and home visits to ensure that the environment in which the child will be living is up to the standard of care that the CPFSA sets out.

 

Mrs. Budhi explains that in order to ensure that the children are taken care of the CPFSA has developed 29 Standards of Care to which foster parents must adhere.

 

There are also monitoring officers who visit the foster homes and each child is assigned to a social worker, who works with the parent and child. There is zero-tolerance for breach of standards.

 

Persons who are interested in becoming a foster parent, may contact the CPFSA at 948-2841-2 or visit any of their offices islandwide for further information.

 

CAPTION: Twenty-three-year-old master’s student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and former ward of the state, Dwayne Haynes.

JIS: The National Youth Service (NYS) is accepting applications for its HOPE Youth Summer Work Programme until April 13, 2018.

 

The programme will enable 14,000 young people to benefit from valuable work experience during the months of June, July and August.

 

The target group, aged 17 to 29 years, will be placed in various entities for a period of three weeks, where they will gain some of the necessary skills for the world of work.

 

Since last year, the programme has been rebranded in line with the Government’s initiative of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.

 

Addressing a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on March 13, Director of Communications and Marketing at NYS, Julia Smiley Green, outlined that the programme consists of recruitment/selection, training, orientation, placement and monitoring.

 

“We go on a vigorous recruiting drive each year to ensure that we are attracting participants who not only need work experience but who also need some form of personal and professional development. So, at the beginning of the programme, each potential participant will be required to undergo an orientation that will have them trained in key employability skills that will help to make them more rounded individuals and more employable,” Mrs. Smiley Green said.

 

In addition to completing an application form, persons are required to submit copies of their birth certificate, tax registration number (TRN) and national insurance scheme (NIS) cards, national or school identification card, proof of qualification (if any) and résumé.

 

Persons may download the application form at www.heart-nta.org or www.nysjamaica.org. Once completed, the form can be dropped off at any HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning or National Youth Service (NYS) office.

 

“If you are an employer and has an interest in youth and corporate social responsibility, and want to help mould young lives, then we are saying to you that here is an opportunity to get someone who can contribute meaningfully to your place of work; persons that are trained, adaptable and ready to learn,” the Marketing Director said.

 

For more information, persons may call the NYS office at 754-9816-8 or send an email to: [email protected].

 

CAPTION: Director of Communications and Marketing at the National Youth Service (NYS), Julia Smiley Green, highlights the various components of the NYS HOPE Youth Summer Work Programme at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on March 13

JIS: The National Youth Service (NYS) has expanded its Empowerment Programme to reach young people with all forms of disabilities.

 

Previously, the initiative was targeted at persons with mild intellectual disabilities but this year, it will be open to some 360 persons, aged 17 to 34, with various disabilities. Persons within this target group have until March 31 to apply.

 

The Empowerment Programme aims to provide the tools and opportunities to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities and increase their participation in and contribution to society by strengthening their capacities and improving their preparation for the labour force.

 

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (March 13), Director of Communications and Marketing at NYS, Julia Smiley Green, noted that the expansion will allow an additional 240 persons to participate.

 

She said the programme will last for seven months, consisting of a three-week non-residential camp, followed by six months of supported work experience.

 

Participants in the camp will “undergo a series of training, mentoring and coaching that will make them more job-ready, employable and improve their personal and professional development,” Mrs. Smiley Green said.

 

Throughout the programme, the beneficiaries will be guided by a job coach, who will cater to their general needs and ensure that they are assisted to make the transition to the world of work.

 

Mrs. Smiley Green said that the job coaches will be responsible for ensuring that the participants get the personal and professional development training that they need.

 

“So we look at topics such as how they can manage their finances how it is they can make themselves more employable, how they should behave in the workplace, dress and deportment, and general skills that these young persons will need to help them to acclimatise themselves to the workplace,” she pointed out.

 

The job coaches and parish field officers will help the participants to identify their interests and skills during camp, after which they will secure placement opportunities to match their abilities.

 

They will also assist participants in exploring career development opportunities and programmes, individualised career pathways, as well as determine their readiness for the workplace.

 

On completion of the camp, the participants will undertake their six-month job placement.

 

During the first week of assignment, the job coaches will accompany participants to their placement and help them to get settled into the new environment, including understanding their tasks.

 

The parish field officers and job coaches will create and maintain a relationship with the employers and participants, conducting biweekly monitoring.

 

“We encourage our placement partners to allow these participants, despite their disabilities, to be fully engrossed in the workplace. We understand that they may need to be more closely supervised than the average worker within the workplace, but we want our partners to be reminded that they, too, have a meaningful contribution to make, and all they need is that opportunity to showcase their talents and skills,” Mrs. Smiley Green said.

 

In addition to completing an application form, persons are required to submit copies of their birth certificate, a referral from an institution to which they are attached, tax registration number (TRN), and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) number.

 

For more information on the programme, persons may visit any HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFFL) or NYS office or call 1-888-432-7868.

 

CAPTION: Director of Communications and Marketing at the National Youth Service (NYS), Julia Smiley Green, highlights the various programmes being undertaken by the agency, at a JIS Think Tank on March 13.

JIS: With the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) slated to go ahead as planned for March 22 and 23, Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Patricia Haughton, says preparations have been going extremely well.

 

Speaking to JIS News on Thursday (March 15), Ms. Haughton, who was specifically asked about the western region, added that the Ministry is truly impressed with the weekend camps and extra hour of lessons that have been made available for students, noting that “a lot of effort went into these preparations”.

 

“We have selected and trained our invigilators, so that too has been going smoothly. We do expect a full sitting of the GSAT by our students, and we are not anticipating any problems,” she said.

 

GSAT, to be replaced by the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) in 2019, is Jamaica’s national high-school entrance examination. It is usually taken in March, with the results released in June. GSAT replaced the Common Entrance Examination in 1999.

 

The national mean score per subject from 2017 shows mathematics, 62.4 per cent; science, 64.7 per cent; social studies, 70.6 per cent; language arts, 72.8 per cent; and communication task, 76.2 per cent. With the exception of science, which had a slight decline, there were improvements in every other area over the previous year.

  

Ms. Haughton further noted that the Ministry has also done its part in implementing programmes such as mock exams, deploying math coaches and literacy specialists, practice papers and other programmes and workshops to assist students with their preparation.

 

She added that she expects parents to also be conducting extra lessons with the students at home, so as to put on the finishing touches.

 

“Special workshops have also been implemented as part of our assistance programme,” Ms. Haughton further pointed out.

 

For her part, Principal of the John Rollins Success Primary in St. James, Yvonne Miller-Wisdom, said “it’s all systems go” at her school, adding that “we could not be more ready”.

 

“We have a very good feeling about this, as we have not left anything up to chance. Our preparations have been excellent, and the children have certainly put in the work,” she said.

 

Eleven-year-old John Rollins head boy, Okere Bremmer, who listed Herbert Morrison Technical in St. James and Munro College in St. Elizabeth as his top-two high school preferences, said he finds the mock exams and the practice papers useful, adding that “we now have a better idea what to expect”.

 

“Our teachers here at John Rollins Success Primary have done everything to get us ready,” he added.

 

 Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Minors, who also attends John Rollins, said that while there will be the expected butterflies and a little nervousness, all that should disappear “once we sit down to take the exams”.

 

“I have been studying very hard, and I am very confident,” she added, noting that her top-two high school preferences are Montego Bay High School and Mt. Alvernia, both in St. James.

 

CAPTION: Grade Six Teacher, Theresa Morgan Williams, at the Corinaldi Avenue Primary School in Montego Bay, St. James, interacting with her students in class on Thursday (March 15).

JIS: The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) is reporting that for the 2017-2018 academic year it received 13,679 applications. for which more than $3.09 billion was disbursed, with an approval rate of 99 per cent.

 

The SLB provides loans as well as grants to help with non-tuition expenses to students pursuing tertiary studies.

 

Addressing a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on March 14, State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, assured students that the Government is working to ensure that all persons who qualify to access tertiary education will be able to pursue their goal.

 

“As a Government we want to see more youth accessing tertiary education, and this is a policy directive at the SLB,” he said.

 

There are three types of loans that students may access – Targeted; Pay as you Study and Postgraduate.

 

Executive Director of the SLB, Monica Brown, who also addressed the ‘Think Tank’, said that under the Targeted loan type, where a majority of the students would access tertiary financing, they are required to repay the loan on completion of their studies.

 

The loan repayment period has been adjusted from 10 years to 15 or 20 years, depending on the programme of study.

 

Ms. Brown said that although students accessing Targeted loans are not required to make repayments during the in-school years, the SLB encourages those who are able to make payments during the moratorium period to do so, as this reduces the amount that will be left to repay on completion of their studies.

 

She pointed out that effective April 2016, the Bureau switched from using the ‘add on method’ to using the reducing balance method to calculate the interest rate on repayment, and this has resulted in significant savings for those who borrow from the SLB.

 

The applicable interest rate using the reducing balance is 7.8 per cent during the in-school years and 9.5 per cent when the loan enters repayment stage. Ms. Brown noted that there are areas given priority for the allocation of funds, particularly where the contributions to national development are greatest. They are agricultural studies, engineering, information technology and maritime and logistics studies. The interest rate repayment is six per cent on the reducing balance.

 

Applications, which are now open for persons who wish to access loans for the 2018-2019 academic year, will close on Thursday, May 31.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, addresses JIS ‘Think Tank’, on March 14. At right is Executive Director of the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB), Ms. Monica Brown.

JIS: Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ) has provided $4.5 million to further boost the operations of the Government’s national school-feeding programme, which will supply an additional 1,500 meals for students.

 

The funds will facilitate the provision of meals for the remainder of the academic year, which ends in June 2018.

 

The money was officially handed over to Nutrition Products Limited (NPL) during a ceremony at the National Heroes Circle offices of the Education Ministry on Wednesday (March 14).

 

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, welcomed the donation, noting that it will significantly help to fill gaps in the feeding programme, particularly at the early-childhood level.

 

He noted that the initiative, which represents good corporate citizenship, will go a far way in advancing the Ministry’s effort to provide greater support to students in need of nutritious meals, many of whom depend on the State to provide the only substantial meal they receive daily.

 

The Minister said this partnership with ROJ will ensure that more children attending school are provided with the appropriate nutrition that will improve their educational outcomes.

 

Minister Reid also praised State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, who requested assistance with boosting the programme to support more children, for forging the partnership with ROJ.

 

For his part, Mr. Green noted that the Ministry has been working to expand the scope of the programme, by increasing the number of products that are provided in the system.

 

“That is why this injection will help us to do just that… . We’re now going into the final semester of the year, and this will enable NPL to roll out more products,” he said.

 

In the meantime, Marketing Director for ROJ, Tina Matalon, said the entity’s support to the school-feeding programme, is “a small but worthy contribution…which will make a difference in providing the nutrition that (children need)”.

 

“We don’t think any child should go to school hungry. We do believe that all children need proper nutrition and proper meals to be able to learn. As an organisation that feeds the nation, we want to make sure we do our part to feed the students,” she said.

 

Mrs. Matalon further informed that this support represents the first step in the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Jamaica ‘Add Hope’ initiative.

 

Add Hope is an international initiative by KFC’s parent company, Yum International, which collects donations in-store to fund meals for undernourished children.

 

Mrs. Matalon noted that the ROJ is currently in discussion with the Education Ministry to launch a second phase of the programme in September 2018. The second phase will enable KFC customers to donate part proceeds from select menu items towards the school-feeding programme.

 

NPL, which is responsible for the production and distribution of meals to schools under the national nutrition programme, currently provides approximately 300,000 students in more than 800 schools with breakfast and/or lunch each week.

 

They include youngsters on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), and others deemed vulnerable.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (second left), accepts a representational cheque valued at $4.5 million from Marketing Director, Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ), Tina Matalon (second right), during a ceremony at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices on Wednesday (March 14). Also pictured (from left) are State Minister in the Education Ministry, Hon. Floyd Green, and Brand Manager, ROJ, Andrei Roper. The funds will provide support to the Government’s national school-feeding programme.

JIS: The Government is working towards the development of a Special Education Policy in order to better fulfil the academic requirements of students with special needs.

 

This was noted by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, in a speech delivered by Director, Industrial Relations and Allied Services at the Ministry, Gillian Corrodus, at the Regional Disability Studies Conference at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters on March 12.

 

She said it is the objective of the Government to ensure that the educational system has accessible centres of learning for the development of all children, regardless of their circumstance.

 

“We believe that if we get the education right, identify the children with disabilities and put the provisions in place to deal with their needs, socially and otherwise, then the issue of inclusiveness will be less challenging,” she noted.

 

The Minister added that the Government is committed to the creation of a framework that is conducive to the advancement of persons with disabilities from an early age into adulthood.

 

“[Responding to] persons with disabilities cannot and should not be pigeon-holed… or put off for the future… so while we seek to grow our economy, simultaneously we must seek to grow those individuals who depend on society to give them even a much-needed start,” she said.

 

The biennial conference was organised by the UWI’s Centre for Disability Studies under the theme: ‘Advancing the Disability through Culture and Sports in the Caribbean’.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson.

JIS: The allocation to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information for financial year 2018/19 has increased by $2.7 billion, moving to $101.6 billion from $98.9 billion in 2017/18.

 

This was disclosed by Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid in a statement read by Senior Education Officer in the Ministry, Sophia Forbes Hall, at the launch of the social enterprises in secondary schools programme at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on March 12.

 

He said the Administration is doing all it can, within the budgetary constraints, to provide access to quality education for all.

 

“We have already removed obligatory fees from the secondary school system. Through a special partnership with the Ministry of Transport and Mining, we are piloting a school bus system in eight parishes for some of our most vulnerable students,” he said.

 

He added that more resources have been pumped into early-childhood and primary development.

 

“We have made it easier for students at the tertiary level to access loans through the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) at reduced interest rates, and the Government has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in scholarships to our most needy students,” he said.

 

Senator Reid said the Government is committed to advancing the cause of education, and called on all Jamaicans to partner in the process.

 

“We know that poverty destroys the life chances of our people. This Administration is doing all that is possible to lift all our people out of poverty. For too long we have tried to tax and or borrow our way forward; that approach is not sustainable,” he said.

 

He noted that for the first time in 14 years, Jamaicans are not being called upon to pay new taxes, inflation is low and economic growth is returning to the economy after massive flood rains and other setbacks last year.

 

“More people are employed today than any other time in our history. Those achievements must be protected going forward. I call upon all stakeholders to appreciate the delicate balance that must be kept to ensure that we do not return to the times when Jamaica’s economic hopes stagnated year after year,” he added.

 

Minister Reid hailed the Social Enterprise in Secondary Schools programme, noting that it will equip students with all the necessary skills and tools to make them locally, regionally and globally competitive.

 

He noted that hundreds of lives will be improved as a consequence of the training that will be delivered over the coming months.

 

The Social Enterprise in Secondary Schools programme is a joint venture between the British Council and the Victoria Mutual Foundation, which will be implemented over three years starting in 2018.

 

During the first year, it will be piloted in six schools to benefit 300 students from grades seven to nine and 24 teachers. The institutions are Denbigh High, Clarendon; Montego Bay High, St. James; Charlie Smith High and Kingston Technical High, Kingston; Greater Portmore High, St. Catherine; and St. Elizabeth Technical High, St. Elizabeth.

 

The initiative is intended to reach 16,000 students from grades seven to nine and 272 teachers from 50 schools over three years.

 

CAPTION: Senior Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Sophia Forbes Hall (second right), greets Country Director, British Council, Olayinka Jacobs Bonnick (left), during the launch of the social enterprise in secondary schools programme at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on March 12. Others (from second left) are President and Chief Executive Officer, Victoria Mutual Group, Courtney Campbell; and British High Commissioner to Jamaica and The Bahamas, His Excellency Asif Ahmad.

JIS: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says ground is to be broken in short order for five new high schools.

 

Addressing a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee in the House of Representatives on March 1, Senator Reid informed that the Ministry will be working to have them completed within three to five years.

 

Senator Reid noted that the Ministry will be seeking to remove schools from the shift system and that it will take a total of 17 new schools for this to be done.

 

He pointed out that the parish of St. Catherine has recorded the highest number of schools still on the shift system with 40, including 10 primary schools, one all-age and four high schools.

 

“In region five (Manchester and St. Elizabeth), we have four high schools still on shift; in the Montego Bay area, we have three primary, three high schools; Brown’s Town has two primary, one all-age and five high schools; and in Port Antonio (Portland), we have two primary and three high schools,” he noted.

 

The Minister identified Kingston as having two high schools still on the shift system.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid