Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 18, 2021 (SKNIS): Acting Director in the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services, Gerald Connor, said that the unit serves dual purposes and has an important role to play in ensuring that children and young people are kept safe from harm.
Our department operates two-fold. You have the child protection and that unit deals with children who are vulnerable, are being abused and are disenfranchised in a way that would cause whatever type of abuse, be it mental or physical,” said Acting Director in the Department of Probation and Child Protection Service, Gerald Connor, on Working for You on June 16. “Then you have the Probation Department that deals with children who are in conflict with the law and also children who we will deem might head down the wrong road – vulnerable in that aspect of committing an offense, getting into trouble, or following the wrong company.”
Mr. Connor said that when children are involved, the department remains “at the tip of the spear to ensure that all situations that deal with children are carried out in the best interest of every child within the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
A child is defined as anyone under the age of 18, however, Mr. Connor noted that there are different stages of child development.
“You have a young child, adolescents, pre-teens and then you have persons who are going into adulthood such as persons who are 17 and 18 making that transition into being responsible for their lives and decisions,” said the acting director.
He said that even though the focus of the department is on persons 18 years and under it recognizes that people within a different age range can even be “more vulnerable as they progress through their stages of life.”
The mission statement of the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services is to ensure that each child enjoys the right to grow as a child, protected from all forms of abuse and neglect, and provided with every opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.
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