–new unit which includes trained childcare, protection officers to be launched by mid-April

WITH reports of child abuse continuing to reach the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security at all hours, a new after-hours Rapid Response Team is being developed to take calls and tackle cases even outside regular working hours.

Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency, Levine Gouveia, told the Guyana Chronicle, the project is well underway and is set to be launched by mid-April.

Gouveia, revealed that in 2024, the ministry received 4,038 reports of child abuse, with 1,202 cases being child sexual abuse. So far, in 2025, an additional 275 cases have already been reported.
During a press conference at the National Communications Network (NCN) at Homestretch Avenue on Saturday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, said that the initiative will be piloted in Region Four to address the current challenge of responding to reports that come in at night when officers might not be readily available.

Described as a collaborative effort, the new team will feature trained childcare and protection officers who will address cases reported during late hours.
The ministry has already made significant strides in developing the programme, Minister Persaud said.

“We have taken a number of steps in developing the rapid response team. We have identified a vehicle, and we are now in the process of identifying designated officers, and this is after-hours response. So, if cases come in in the night, whether through the police, through 914, somebody might message me, and we don’t necessarily have an officer at that time, we’d have to pull officers out of their home. But the intention now is to create this team that works after hours,” Dr. Persaud said.

According to the minister, the need for such a team has become more pressing, as a wide range of reports continue to reach the ministry. While sexual abuse remains a significant concern, cases of neglect, emotional abuse, and physical harm are also prevalent.

“We do have reports of cases of abuse, and as you know, abuse is not only limited to sexual abuse. There are various aspects of abuse, and that includes neglect, physical, emotional—a number of those. Right at the top of that, neglect is right there,” Dr. Persaud said.

She further highlighted that the Rapid Response Team will be vital in assessing cases of abuse immediately.
Dr. Persaud, however, acknowledged that while the Ministry is committed to ensuring nationwide coverage, human resource constraints remain a major challenge.
“Our challenge is, as I mentioned, is human resource. We want to get more persons on board so that we can actually have these things work across the country. So that’s the real challenge,” she said.

Minister Persaud highlighted that while officers are currently stationed in all regions, the ministry continues to face limitations in the hinterland. To address this, the ministry is introducing a para-professional programme in collaboration with the University of Guyana.

“We are looking at how we can have members of the hinterland communities, our indigenous populations, while they work with us, they are a part of this para-professional training programme, to equip them with the essentials of social work, with the understanding that they will move on to degrees and subspecialties in social work,” she related.

Beyond staffing efforts, the ministry has been implementing several programmes to support children and families. One such initiative is a parenting programme designed to equip parents with skills to better care for their children.

“Over time, we would have delivered a number of programmes, and a few of those programmes involve our parenting programme. This was a new initiative that was developed. A trainer of trainers manual was developed, a workbook for parents, and this programme is in the early stages where we work with parents on parenting techniques and skills when it comes to raising children and dealing with the various dimensions of child care,” Dr. Persaud said.

In addition, the ministry has been working closely with UNICEF to finalise an Early Childhood Development Policy, which will soon be launched.
“Today, we have an Early Childhood Development Policy, which we would have worked on with UNICEF, which would be launched very soon, and this focuses on children between the ages of zero to three years, nine months,” Dr. Persaud said.

To further support early childhood development, the government has allocated funds in the national budget to construct two day-night care facilities.

The Minister said: “To this end, the Government of Guyana expended in its budget, sums of money to construct two day-night care early childhood facilities, which will be opened this year. These will work as the model centers and also have the functional capacity of providing day-night care and early childhood development services. It’s a brand-new model. In fact, it’s the only model of its kind in the region.”