DIRECTOR of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), Ann Greene, has dismissed a letter in the Stabroek News, dated July 18, under the heading ‘Need to know where children have been placed,’ and declared it erroneous.

After the letter was published, Greene told the Chronicle that she had launched an investigation into the matter. Based on reports from welfare officers, it was mandatory for the children to be removed since earlier intercessions failed “to bring about the desired results for the safety of the children,” Greene stated Friday when this newspaper visited her office at Broad and Charles Streets, Charlestown, Georgetown.
She further asserted that the children were placed in the protective custody of their paternal grandmother, and the parent had full knowledge of this. She added that the grandmother lived in the same neighbourhood as the parent.
In the letter written to the Stabroek News, the parent had asserted that she was unaware of the placement of her children, and complained about being disturbed by the role of a child protection officer if she was continually kept in the dark about her children’s whereabouts. “Can someone tell me what the role of a child protection officer is? Is it to divide a home or cause children to lose respect for parents?” the parent had questioned in the letter.
“Once it is determined that a child is unsafe or well-being is threatened in the home, the CCPA has the mandate to remove the child to a safe place,” Greene said, adding that this measure is implemented under the principle of placing the child in an environment where there is minimum disruption to that child’s life.
“The ultimate goal is to have the children return to the care of the mother but there are necessary behaviour changes and adjustments to be made in the parent-child relationship for the well-being of the family,” she stated, adding that the “vulnerability that put the children at risk in the home must be eliminated for the return of the children.”
Greene stated it was the CCPA’s first choice to place the child in the care of another close relative and institutional placement is always the last resort. She said that after removal the child protection officer will supply psychological support for the parent in order for them to resume their rightful role as a caregiver for the child.
“The child protection officer is obligated to protect the child and provide support and intervention to a family that has not met their caregiving responsibilities…Child protection officers are confronted daily with some of the most painful and damaging experiences that occur in the lives of children and families and in almost all of the cases, some failure or inadequacy in the parenting role is evident,” Greene related, adding that the officers are then forced to make decisions in order to protect the safety of the child. “These decisions and actions do not always find favour with the adults in the children’s life but are necessary in the child protection process.”
She said that it is critical to preserve the family in its entirety but the most important factor in the equation is protecting children. She said that the CCPA is requesting the public’s full support as they continue to strive to protect the children of Guyana.
The Child Care and Protection Agency was created in 2009 as a new agency within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security in order to enable the effective execution of the comprehensive Child Protection Strategy initiated by the Government of Guyana.