Establishment of the Cayman Islands Child Safeguarding Board
A Child Safeguarding Board has been established in the Cayman Islands. This multidisciplinary Board will enable entities to work collaboratively in the interest of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in the Cayman Islands. Membership of the Board is comprised of relevant government agencies and persons representing non-governmental bodies.
Work to establish the Child Safeguarding Board has been progressing throughout the year and the Board was established on 23rd May 2016. The purpose of the Board is to improve the safeguarding of children in the Cayman Islands through effective information sharing and coordinated policy and procedural development. The Board will function primarily as a scrutiny and decision making body. The Board’s objectives include:
- To undertake strategic planning of services relevant to the safeguarding of children
- To hold all partner agencies to account for their safeguarding practice
- To ensure services are co-ordinated
The Board will be accountable to the Deputy Governor and Cabinet and is comprised of the following membership:
The Department for Children and Family Services
Royal Cayman Islands Police Service
The Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth and Sports
The Department of Education
The Health Services Authority
The Department of Counselling Services
Solicitor General’s Office
The CAYS Foundation
Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service
The Department of Community Rehabilitation
The Deputy Governor’s Office
NGO representation
Independent lay members.
Her Excellency the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick said: “I am pleased to announce the creation of the Cayman Islands Child Safeguarding Board, which will provide an effective mechanism to coordinate child protection matters and safeguard the children of the Cayman Islands from all forms of abuse. The Board is based on a best practice model and I look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months.”
Deputy Governor, Hon. Franz Manderson said: “To have a Child Safeguarding Board in the Cayman Islands really shows that we are stepping up and enhancing our child protection structure, to protect our most vulnerable citizens. The Child Safeguarding Board will ensure that social workers, police and other professionals are communicating at the highest level to ensure that everything that can be done is being done to protect our children. I cannot endorse these new measures enough and I look forward to hearing more about the work of the Board as we go forward.”
Minister for Community Affairs, Youth and Sports, Hon. Osbourne Bodden said: “I welcome the creation of the Cayman Islands Child Safeguarding Board, which oversees child protection matters, ensuring these are coordinated at the highest strategic level. The Board has a responsibility to hold us all to account and make sure that the highest standards are applied to our child protection systems. Ensuring that our children are able to grow up safe and free from abuse must be our top priority and I am pleased to support the work of the Board as an essential body to help us achieve this.”
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