MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION AND CONSUMER AFFAIRSAND CONSUMER AFFAIRS

CITIZENSCITIZENS’’ WELFARE DIVISIONWELFARE DIVISION

REDCLIFFE STREET & CORN ALLEYREDCLIFFE STREET & CORN ALLEY

ST. JOHNST. JOHN’’S, ANTIGUAS, ANTIGUA

CHILD CARE AND CHILD CARE AND

PROTECTION/FOSTER CAREPROTECTION/FOSTER CARE

ANTIGUA & BARBUDAANTIGUA & BARBUDA

General InformationGeneral Information

• Antigua and Barbuda is a twin island state

comprising of 108 square miles

• Estimated population is 87,000 persons

• It is estimated that non-nationals comprise

of approximately 1/3 of the population

• Citizens’ Welfare Division is the

government agency responsible for Foster

Care and Child Protection

BackgroundBackground

• Citizens’ Welfare Division was established

in 1987

• Initially the Division catered to destitute

persons

• Currently there are three core units – Child

Protection and Family Services, Probation,

and GRACE Program (Government Residential Assistance and Care for the Elderly and Eligible)

Mission Mission

StatementStatement

• To promote the social and psychological

well-being of the Citizens’ of Antigua and

Barbuda through empowerment oriented

services of Social Work, Probation, and

Elderly Care support.

Child Care and Protection/Foster Child Care and Protection/Foster

Care UnitCare Unit• Staff Compliment of 17 (10 of whom are frontline workers)

• In 2008 there were 286 new cases requiring Social Service intervention on Child protection and family issues

• Presently there are approximately 88 children placed in Foster Care (Not including children placed in residential care)

• 42% Foster Children are Kin Foster Care(placed with family members)

• 54% are Female and 46% are Male

• Government support – monthly stipend, counseling, annual summer camp and Christmas party and gift giving

Challenges/BarriersChallenges/Barriers

• Limited Human and Financial resources

• Inadequate legislation/lack of Policy

• Effective monitoring

• Insufficient support services to biological parent

• Difficulty placing male and special needs children

• Lack of continuous training and support of staff, foster parent and biological parents.

The Way ForwardThe Way Forward

• Attending regional workshops (such as this) to build network and learn best practices in working with such a volatile population.

• The Division is currently in the process of developing a National Child Protection Policy with the assistance of the UNICEF. The outlined goal is to enhance legislation, policy and social service delivery in the Child Protection sector

• Develop a prevention strategy to reduce the number of children placed in foster care