JIS: The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) no longer wants to be seen as the institution that provides loans for only needy students.

 

“We don’t want that stigma. We want to be known as the institution of choice that provides funding for tertiary-level studies,” Executive Director of the SLB, Monica Brown, tells JIS News.

 

She says that the 48-year-old institution’s mission is to provide affordable financing to all students pursuing tertiary education, thereby contributing to national development. For a long time, the issue of access to tertiary education has been of concern to administrations, but with the change in policy direction of the Bureau, it is being made much easier.

 

According to Ms. Brown, needy students will continue to get priority with special emphasis on those beneficiaries under the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH).

 

She notes that the Bureau has been moving decisively in the direction of ensuring that those who qualify to pursue tertiary education, but can least afford it, have access. The SLB is also mandated to take a broad-based approach to tertiary education, and is therefore partnering with organisations within the tertiary sector to ensure that the sector is aligned to the productive needs of Jamaica in relation to economic development. However, Ms. Brown tells JIS News that for the SLB to effectively meet the demand for loans, it is critical that borrowers repay their loans.

 

The SLB disburses funds from a revolving loan scheme, therefore its ability to sustain the fund is heavily dependent on the repayment of loans.

 

Several steps have been taken by the SLB to make loans more accessible, while encouraging loan repayment. The Pay As You Study (PAYS) is one step in that direction. PAYS targets undergraduate students and can be accessed by a parent or whoever is able to pay monthly by salary deductions, while the student is pursing studies.

 

Repayment on this loan attracts six per cent interest on the reducing balance. Persons may borrow up to $1 million with seven years to repay. Unlike the traditional loan type, application to access the PAYS loan can be submitted at any time.

 

There is also the income contingent approach to repayment of loans, which is to be formalised and fully implemented by the SLB. Under this loan repayment arrangement, the amount repaid by the borrower monthly will depend on his or her income. This approach to loan repayment will also be enhanced by loan tenure which has been extended from 10 to 15 or 20 years depending on the area of studies.

 

Ms. Brown says this makes it easier for persons to repay and more persons will be willing to repay their loans. “Our aim is to make repayment more manageable,” she says. Borrowers are advised to inform the SLB of their employment status when they have completed their course of studies.

 

The Executive Director laments that in most instances, they are not aware of the loan beneficiaries’ status, whether they are unemployed or is unable make the full monthly payment based on the loan agreement.

 

“If you are not in a position to make that full payment, come in and speak to us so we can put a structure in place based on your ability to pay. The system will now reflect that although you are paying less, you have expressed an intent to honour your obligation. When the SLB knows what is happening, we are now in a position to exercise some discretion. Our contingent approach to payment will be used to solve issues like these,” she says.

 

Policy Analyst at the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC), Tracey-Ann Smith, who supports the SLB efforts, said that income contingent loan repayment is a popular mechanism used in many countries across the world. However, in order for income contingency regime to be effective, a sophisticated administration system is critical.

 

Mrs. Smith says that while the cost of tertiary education can seem overwhelming, achieving education at that level has a plethora of benefits. A highly educated society engenders better citizenry, greater health outcomes, increased productivity and a more robust democracy. The SLB is now accepting loan applications for the 2018-2019 academic year. The deadline for applications is Thursday, May 3, 2018.

 

CAPTION: Executive Director of the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB), Monica Brown, addresses a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’.

JIS: Participants in the Universal Service Fund (USF) Technology Advancement Programme (TAP) will receive training from a well-rounded curriculum, inclusive of face-to-face, experiential and practical exercises.

 

Associate Vice-President for the Faculty of Advanced Skills and Professional Development at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Dr. Cornell Brown, speaking at a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, pointed out that there are nine modules to be taught for the duration of the TAP training.

 

“We start out with employability skills, as the trainees are going to be gainfully employed, so we believe it is meaningful to expose them to some of the fundamentals that must be attended to, in being an effective employee,” Dr. Brown said.

 

After that, module 2 training will focus on effective communications strategies, adding that module 3 to 8 will focus on types of data; data collection methods, digitisation and some aspects of data analysis.

 

Participants will also be trained in data collection and integrity, which relates to the security of the data, the responsible use of the Internet and responsible data collection.

 

Dr. Brown said that the training phase will culminate with a field experience exercise, which is module 9.

 

For this, the participants will be going out and collecting data, guided by the course instructors.

 

Meanwhile, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at the USF, Deleen Powell, pointed out that many of the participants would not have had any kind of experience with using personal computers, “so one of the key things will be basic word processing, and showing persons how to use a computer, because for many individuals their experience with the Internet has been with handheld devices, tablets and mobile phones.”

 

“While that [experience] is great, as that is the direction the world is moving in, when it comes to being in the workplace, you need to have these basic word-processing skills, and the basic understanding of the various components of a computer,” she said.

 

The training started in March with regional workshops held in various regions across Jamaica over a one-week period.

 

In the meantime, Dr. Brown pointed out that even with the structure of the training, participants will get the practice of a real workplace, as they will be required to attend the training five days per week, with six contact hours per day.

 

He said that in addition to the academic portion of the training, the youth will participate in extra-curricular activities.

 

The TAP, which aims to train and place young people, 18 to 35 years old, in organisations to conduct digitisation or to collect data in relation to the organisation’s specific field, will last for 12 months.

 

CAPTION: Associate Vice-President for the Faculty of Advanced Skills and Professional Development at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Dr. Cornell Brown, speaks at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ recently.

JIS: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has applauded the grade-six teachers, the principals and administrators across the island, who have collectively assisted with making the 2018 sitting of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) a success.

 

“For day one, by all reports received, everything went very well, and, again, I am very proud of the Ministry’s team. They have been experts at this. We have had seamless examinations over the last many years, and it is a full credit to the team at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information,” he said.

 

“I want to praise how committed these teachers have been,” he added.

 

He said that despite industrial action last week, the grade-six teachers facilitated the students in order to ensure that they were well prepared.

 

“From all the schools I have visited and interacted with the students, it’s clear that they were not affected, and full credit to the leaderships of our schools,” Senator Reid said.

 

He was speaking to JIS News at the Mountain View Primary School in Kingston this morning (March 23) where he offered words of encouragement and support to the GSAT students.

 

He also assured them that they will all be placed in a secondary school, and the onus was on them to aspire for greatness, no matter the school in which they will be placed.

 

“All students will find a place in high school, so we look forward to them continuing to do very well,” Mr. Reid said.

 

Vice Principal, Mountain View Primary, Michelle Robinson, said the visit was “quite encouraging for our grade-six students”.

 

“Seeing him in person gave them a little boost, and his words to them were quite encouraging as well as his prayer,” Ms. Robinson told JIS News.

 

A total of 39,093 students sat the two-day test in Communication Task, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics and English.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, praying for students at Mountain View Primary School on Friday (March 23) before they sat their Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

JIS: All students sitting the 2018 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) will be placed in a full five-year secondary-level institution.

 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said that for the first time in the country’s history, there will be no need to place students who take GSAT in a junior high school’s grade-seven class.

 

He said that given the reduction in Jamaica’s birth rate in recent years, coupled with expanded capacity at the secondary level, more space has been created for students to be placed directly in a high school.

 

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show a 22 per cent reduction in the number of live births in Jamaica for the period January to March 2017, when compared to the same period in 2016.

 

“The total number of students who have been registered this year (to do GSAT) is 39,093. There is still a trend in a lower and lower number of students sitting the GSAT over the last couple of years, because the birth rate has been falling,” Mr. Reid said.

 

He was addressing a press conference on Tuesday (March 20) at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston.

 

Meanwhile, the Minister said there are four schools that remain on shift, and the Government is working to transform them over the medium-term.

 

Students sat Mathematics and Social Studies on Thursday’s first day of GSAT and will sit Language Arts, Communication Task and Science on Friday (March 23).

 

The 2018 sitting of GSAT will be the last in Jamaica’s history. The Primary Exit Profile (PEP) will replace it as the national placement examination in the 2018/2019 academic year.

 

CAPTION: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, addresses a Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) press conference at the Ministry in Kingston on Tuesday (March 20). Seated beside him is State Minister, Hon. Floyd Green.

JIS: There is strong support for the renovated Muirton Child Care Facility in Portland from community members and other stakeholders.

 

Located in Manchioneal, the Government-run facility caters to boys aged 11 to 18 years who have learning challenges.

 

Through the ‘Friends of Muirton’, initiated by the institution’s Manager, Chances Walker, to make it a “model facility for lifting up people with special needs”, the individuals are offering help in security, fundraising and mentoring.

 

Member of the group, Maxine Palmer, who is also a former Manager of the home, says she is “pleased” with the upgrading work, and they will be working to get additional furniture and funds, “so I will be lending my services in that area”

 

Head of the Portland police, Superintendent Duane Wellington, says “we are grateful for this partnership”, and the Community Safety and Security Branch in the parish will be providing critical support to the home.

 

Jeffrey Grant, who is a lecturer at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), in the parish, says he is giving time to the facility, because “I want to see the boys uplifted and enjoy the time they spend there”.

 

Mr. Grant is inviting other persons to do the same, as the boys should be given every opportunity to contribute to society.

 

Meanwhile, the Manager describes the outreach partnership with the Friends of Muirton as a “strong alliance” with a small group of influential professionals “with tangible links to the diaspora” who are willing to assist and provide needed services.

 

She says a Facebook page will be set up as a means through which interested persons can get information on the facility. “This will also help to build awareness about some of the great things that will be happening here at Muirton,” Miss Walker tells JIS News.

 

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, who opened the renovated home recently, said the facility represents the direction of his Ministry to provide the best possible care for children with special needs.

 

“It is important that we put in the resources to ensure that our children with mild disabilities are placed in quality homes, with the right amenities, so that they will be fully functional and live up to their full potential,” the State Minister said.

 

While inviting the community to support the facility, Mr. Green said the Government is very strategic in how “we deliver quality care to the most vulnerable of our children”.

 

For her part, Chief Executive Officer of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, said the agency is encouraging communities to support children in State care.

 

“Reach out to our caregivers, and ask how you can help,” she said.

 

Director of Children and Family Programmes at the CPFSA, Audrey Budhi, said the boys will be getting transformational support to develop their social and entrepreneurial capabilities in agriculture, computer science and the arts.

 

She added that with such diverse skills and support, the boys will have a bright future.

 

“Whatever we do will mean the world to these children. Help our youngsters grow and develop and you will make a difference in their young lives. Just changing one child, one day at a time, you can make the difference,” the Director said.

 

Member of Parliament for East Portland, Dr. Lyndale Bloomfield, said the services now offered by the home make him “gratefully pleased”, and children from the community and elsewhere who require the services, are now very protected.

 

Up to 30 boys can be housed at the facility, which is geared at providing them with rounded skills and education. It is situated on 29 acres of land and has five dormitories, staff quarters, a section for counselling, a classroom, a computer laboratory and a recreational area.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green (third left), and Chief Executive Officer of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Roalee Gage-Grey (second left), cut the ribbon to officially open the renovated Portland-based Muirton Child Care Facility. Also pictured (from left) are Manager of the home, Chances Walker, and Member of Parliament for East Portland, Dr. Lyndale Bloomfield.

JIS: The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has received approximately $6 million towards the rebuilding of the Walker’s Place of Safety in Kingston, which was destroyed by fire earlier this year.

 

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the agency, Rosalee Gage-Grey, made the disclosure to JIS News on Monday (March 19), following the presentation of a cheque valued at $100,000 by the St. Catherine High School at the agency’s Duke Street office in downtown Kingston.

 

She informed that a technical team has been set up by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to oversee the rebuilding exercise.

 

“The plan is to rebuild at the same location…we are working to get the estimates, so that we can share with our partners, who have offered to give some contribution,” she said.

 

She said it is hoped that construction will be completed by the end of the year.

 

The new facility, which will house no more than 30 residents, will also have counselling rooms and a play room, among other amenities. “It will have the full gamut; state-of-the-art,” Mrs. Gage-Grey added.

 

The donation from St. Catherine High School also included 12 boxes of clothes, books and toys. The institution is the latest contributor to the rebuilding of the Walker’s Place of Safety and the welfare of the former residents.

 

Mrs. Gage-Grey said that while cash contributions will offset the rebuilding costs, all donations are welcome.

 

“Because we are focusing on the rebuilding efforts, we wouldn’t mind contributions in cash, but there is always the need for care items, non-perishable items because we also share with other facilities and families who have been affected. We have our Children and Family Care and Support Unit and we have been able to share some of what we have received with them as well, and so whatever contributions will be well received,” she said.

 

In the meantime, Mrs. Gage-Grey said the agency will shortly roll out a programme focusing on the needs of all childcare facilities.

 

She informed that further details will be provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green.

 

The donation from the St. Catherine High School falls under the Love Care Project, which was organised by the peer counsellors at the institution.

 

Ms. Gage-Grey lauded the students for giving back. “We have seen a number of schools that have come together to collect donations for the children at Walker’s and we find that very heartening to know that children see the need to give back, and we are quite appreciative of that,” she said.

 

A massive fire at the Lyndhurst Crescent location of the Walker’s Place of Safety on January 15 claimed the lives of two children and destroyed the facility.

 

The 34 wards who were displaced are now being housed at other residential facilities, and Mrs. Gage-Grey said they are adjusting to the new locations.

 

“They are going back to school. We have been having a number of sessions with them, and other persons have contributed in kind, whether it’s a movie day or going to a hotel, and that has been helping in the (healing) process,” she pointed out.

 

CAPTION: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey (right), receives a cheque valued at $100,000 from President of the St. Catherine High School Peer Counsellor Group, Jaunel Johnson (second right), towards the rebuilding of the Walker’s Place of Safety in Kingston. Sharing the moment (from left) are guidance counsellors Kemar Hayden, Olivette Douglas Halstead, and Rosie McLeggon Hinds; and peer counsellors Breanna Grant, Brianna Powell and Tevonie Pearce. The cheque and 12 boxes comprising clothes, books and toys were donated under the Love Care Project, which was organised by the peer counsellors at the school. The handover took place at the CPFSA’s downtown Kingston offices on Monday (March 19).

JIS: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has announced that the National Unattached Youth Programme will now be absorbed under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) project, targeting a total of 12,600 youth across Jamaica in the 2018/2019 fiscal year.

 

Making his contribution to the 2018/2019 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 20), Mr. Holness said the move will double the number of young people engaged.

 

“We will engage 200 per constituency, targeting a total of 12,600 young people to be now attached and contributing to the productivity of our nation,” he noted.

 

Also under HOPE, 500 young people will be placed at the Ministry of Health in the Vector Control Corps and Medical Assistant Corps and 6,000 placed across ministries, departments and agencies in the Documentation and Digitisation Corps in keeping with the policy of digitising government.

 

In addition, 1,000 interns will be placed at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries as part of the Verification and Audit Corps, to conduct surveys and registration and to ensure the accuracy of the farmer and agriculture database; and over 1,000 young people will be deployed in the Hospitality Service Corps and the Transportation Cadet Corps across various projects.

 

“All ministries are on board and budgetary allocations made accordingly to ensure that adequate funding is in place. In addition, HOPE has secured $60 million through the Development Bank of Jamaica to increase training and placement islandwide,” Mr. Holness said.

 

He noted, further, that the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) has benefited from more than $28 million from the CHASE Fund to digitise its archives, which contain video footage, photographs and audio files compiled over decades.

 

This project will employ persons from the HOPE programme, who will be trained in media archive management skills and intellectual property management.

 

“The exposure given to young people under the HOPE project allows them to build life skills and the positive attitudes of good citizens. We want to maximise the potential of all our young people and provide opportunities for them to self-actualise,” Mr. Holness said.

 

He added, “It is the intention of the Government to provide more opportunities to set our young people on the path to achieving prosperity. Now, more than ever, more unattached youth are being engaged in meaningful ways and increasing their productivity.”

 

HOPE is the flagship social intervention and support programme of the Government.

 

It focuses on targeted assistance with housing, education, training and economic opportunities, support for persons in productive activities in communities and engagement towards sustained employment.

 

A critical strategy of the HOPE programme is the engagement of unattached youth through a system of apprenticeship and national service called LEGS, which involves learning and earning while giving service and saving.

 

CAPTION: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (at podium), emphasises a point while making his contribution to the 2018 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 20). Pictured in the background, is the Prime Minister’s wife and Member of Parliament for East Rural St. Andrew, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness.

JIS: Shortwood Teachers’ College has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) for the provision of a specialist lecturer in Spanish to bolster the College’s Foreign Languages Department.

 

The lecturer, who is a native of Spain, is slated to commence duties in the 2018/19 academic year, and will be assigned to the College for three years.

 

Under the MoU’s tenets, the Government of Spain will cover the lecturer’s monthly salary and transportation costs. The College will provide accommodation and a stipend to complement the salary.

 

Proposed cultural activities to be organized by the lecturer in collaboration with the College and the Embassy of Spain in Jamaica are also part of the MoU’s provisions.

 

The undertaking aims to support the Government’s goal of encouraging more Jamaicans to learn Spanish, by boosting their exposure to the language.

 

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid; Spain’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Josep Maria Bosch Bessa; and College Principal, Dr. Christopher Clarke, signed the MoU during a ceremony at the institution’s Shortwood Road campus in St. Andrew, on March 15.

 

Senator Reid said a key objective of the MoU is strengthening educators’ capacity to teach Spanish, particularly at the early childhood level.

 

He argued that fulfilling this goal is contingent on the availability and deployment of sufficient cadre of adequately trained teachers of Spanish in the system.

 

The Minister also described the collaboration as an important first step to Jamaica becoming multi-lingual.

 

“Jamaica needs to empower our human resources so that we can become a multi-lingual nation and compete in all areas of trade internationally,” he said.

 

 Noting that several neighbouring countries, including Cuba and Hispaniola, are predominantly Spanish speaking nations, Senator Reid said the partnership will assist in reducing communication barriers with these and other territories and boosting trade, among other engagements.

 

“There are over 800 million Spanish speaking (people in) countries in the Western hemisphere that we do very little trade with. The potential (benefit of these markets for Jamaica) in terms of tourism and bi-lateral trade… is significant,” he pointed out.

 

Senator Reid said the MoU forged is another signal of the “close ties between our countries.”

 

“Spanish is the international language of business trade, commerce and industry. This initiative will benefit the Shortwood Teachers’ College and by extension, our education system immensely,” he added.

 

Meanwhile, Ambassador Bosch Bessa said Spain stands ready to assist in the development of Spanish as a second language in Jamaica.

 

Noting Jamaica’s strategic location in proximity to the main shipping lanes between the Far East, Europe and North America, as well as to trade and air routes spanning the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean, he said making Spanish one of the main languages in Jamaica will create more opportunities to expand into diverse trade markets.

 

“Your geographical position makes you a natural bridge between Latin and North America… between Spanish and English speaking countries. You have the possibility of becoming the logistics and communications hub of the Caribbean,” the Ambassador stated.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), signs the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) forged between the Shortwood Teachers College and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) for the provision of a specialist Spanish lecturer for the institution. Also signing are College Principal, Dr. Christopher Clarke (centre); and Spain’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Josep Maria Bosch Bessa (right). Looking on is Senior Lecturer in the College’s Modern Languages Department, Aracelis Duffus-Anedu. The signing ceremony was held at the College’s Shortwood Road campus in St. Andrew on March 15.

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