Crisis project for traumatised children under way
Published:Sunday | April 3, 2011 | 12:00 AM
REALISING THE traumatic impact emergencies, disasters and violence have on children and the fact that nothing is being done to address their psychosocial well-being, the Child Development Agency (CDA) commissioned a 'Child Crisis Research Project' study, which they presented in a workshop last week at the Alhambra Inn, Kingston.
The idea is to have a collaborative, long-term approach to provide psychosocial support for children in emergencies.
Conducted by consultant Ruel Cooke, the study detailed findings on the effect the incursion in west Kingston in May last year had on the children, and the response of the various child-protection agencies following the incident.
Need for specialist care
It revealed that one in five children from the directly affected communities - Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town - were found to be victims of post-traumatic stress disorder. And they identified 422 children suffering from acute trauma that were in need of specialist treatment.
What was also discovered was that various agencies actually saw the need for intervention and were carrying out various programmes on their own, however, with very little results, mainly due to limited resources.
The need for an effective collaborative approach led to the formation of 'The Critical Incident Management Alliance'. The members include the CDA, UNICEF, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, the Planning Institute of Jamaica, Office of the Children's Advocate, Peace Management Initiative, Jamaica Red Cross, Early Childhood Commission, Bellevue Hospital, Victim Support Unit, various child psychiatrists and psychologists, among other agencies.
The alliance will now go through the recommendations of the extensive report with the view to strategise and implement.
"It is important that we have a framework in place that child-protection agencies can use so that next time we are called upon there will be a well structured, coordinated response," said UNICEF's child protection specialist, Janet Cupidon Quallo.
"Children are fragile and vulnerable and west Kingston was a warning signal of the need to provide support for children in crisis and the effect disasters and traumatic circumstances have on them," said Carla Francis-Edie, chief executive officer of the CDA.