A brother and sister, who were placed in the care of their paternal grandmother, after the younger sibling turned up at school with what appeared to be a cut across his right cheek, are said to be doing fine.
Contacted, Head of the Child Care and Protection Agency Ann Greene confirmed yesterday that the six-year-old girl and her four-year-old brother were temporarily removed from their mother’s care after they were found to be dwelling in inhumane conditions.
Teachers at the school the children attend had earlier this month called in social workers after they observed that the younger child had an injury to his face, the case worker told this newspaper yesterday.
It was related to this newspaper that after the school contacted the agency, the assigned case worker made contact with the children’s paternal grandmother. Together, the case worker and the grandmother visited the home where the children lived and met their mother.
The conditions which the social worker observed on that visit caused her to deem the home unfit and the grandmother was then asked to care for the children temporarily, which she agreed to do, this newspaper was told.
Greene said placing children in foster care is never permanent, always temporary. The first step, she reiterated, is always to place children in the care of extended family, while social workers work with their parents to make them aware of what they are doing and how they are harming their children. The children’s vulnerability is examined and parents are assisted in improving their parenting skills and how as parents they can create and put structure in their children’s lives.
Green further elaborated that it is only in extreme or in severe cases that children are taken away from their parents. The threat to a child’s safety, severe physical abuse and sexual abuse are some of the most serious instances, she said.
