By Shauna Jemmott

ALL facilities providing child care services throughout Guyana will now be better regulated with the launch of the Ministry of Social Protection’s Childcare and Development Services Regulations.Subject Minister Volda Lawrence said the regulations are part of a collaborative effort between the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA) to improve the care, protection and well-being of Guyana’s children.

Last year, UNICEF organised a seminar which focused on sensitising East Coast Demerara (ECD) providers to the need for minimum standards in centres, and the roles of Registration and License Officers.

That seminar was a prelude to the launch of the regulations under which child care facilities will be managed.

“… our children deserve the best practices (in) the services that our home care, play group, day care or night care sponsors or care-givers provide and so I would like to applaud the initiative of the CPA and UNICEF for making this possible through the provision of these regulations,” Lawrence said.

She also said that all stakeholders have a great opportunity to participate in the standardisation process, where guidelines have been outlined for the effective operation of their respective facilities, in all aspects of their operations.

“For too long, our child care services have been ineffectively monitored… some facilities have been operating under conditions where our children have been at risk – safety and security measures compromised, health provisions neglected, non-provision of a comprehensive educational and developmental plan for the children, improper documentation among others.”

She said the new regulations communicate the responsibilities vis-à-vis the standard facility requirements to present and potential sponsors and care givers, as well as the fire prevention and health care measures, establishing clearly the criteria for eligibility to providing child care services.
“You will agree with me that in this era of globalisation and sustainability, we cannot continue to have our East Coast Demerara (ECD) centres operate in a haphazard way, we cannot allow our home care providers to provide a service that is below par,” Lawrence said.

She added: “In regularising our child care services, we envision not only the enhancement of our ECD centres and improvement in the quality of our home care service, but the optimisation of our output and outcome – that professionalism of the highest caliber will prevail, that the well-being of our children will be assured, that safety and security issues will be effectively managed and that parents will have no reserve in their choice of child care service as all facilities will function with the same level of efficiency.”

The Minister noted that the regulations will be pivotal in solidifying the process of “respecting the rights of the child and raising the bar of child care in our country”.

“… Government through Ministry of Social Protection is committed to the care, protection and nurture of our children. I am convinced that the experience with the regulations in place will be a rewarding one for all our stakeholders. Let us all strive for excellence and quality and in so doing provide an enriching environment for our young, curious minds,” Minister Lawrence said.