CPFSA official urges J’cans to know and use all channels

Warren Thompson, director of children and family programmes at the Child Protection and Family Services (CPFSA), is imploring Jamaicans to use the various avenues available to report all forms of child abuse to the agency.

Thompson, in an interview with Our Today, said that it is important for the adult population to know how to report child abuse.

“All well-thinking Jamaicans I think should know how to report child abuse and I’m saying this because I’ve recently seen in the media where a child was being abused and somebody posted it to say CDA [Child Development Agency] needs to do something about this-some people still call us CDA, but the person saying CDA needs to handle this situation did not report it to us. That person did not reach out to us to say this is some information that I have you guys need to know all they did was post it on social media. so what we want is for our well-thinking Jamaicans to know that if there’s a child at risk or a child in need of care and protection then you need to report it to us,”

Warren Thompson, Director of Children and Family Programmes at the Child Protection and Family Services

He noted that persons with information relating to child abuse can report to CPFSA through its 24-hour 2-1-1 hotline, send an email to [email protected] or visit one of the CPFSA’s offices in each parish.

Persons may also reach out to the CPFSA via its social media platforms or WhatsApp contact at 876-878 2822.

“There are people who sometimes reach out to us using our social media platforms but, of course, it’s not always convenient to communicate that way. But, if that is the only option that an individual has, they can reach out to us using social media as well. The aim is to get the information to us so that we can respond, once you delay getting the information to us, then that is a child who does not get the assistance in the quickest possible time right,” Thompson said.

Thompson further stated that there is a greater need for children to become engaged in community and social groups.

“There was a time when children were more engaged in communities and that community engagement served as a kind of a protective factor. Children were part of youth groups, youth fellowships, boys scout,
and girls brigade and they formed a protective environment for children but a lot of children today do not have those opportunities. They’re alone, they have their tablets sometimes without supervision and they don’t learn the kind of resilience that some of us have learned growing up and I think we need to get back to that time when the community was involved in the upbringing and served as a buffer for the child,” he shared.

While noting that there is a need for children’s involvement in community groups, he said that it is equally important to implement the proper protective measures to safeguard children.

“We have to find a way to still have our children engaged while putting all the protective you know security measures in place so that the children are not victimized while benefiting from those kinds of engagements. I think we need to have more citizens in supporting families and children in those kind of ways,” Thompson said.

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