September marks Adoption and Foster Care Month, and the Children's Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is highlighting the importance of protecting children's rights and supporting a wholesome childhood.
General Manager of Child and Family Reintegration Services, Alaina Boochoon, joins us to explain how the system works and the role the Authority plays in ensuring every child finds a safe and nurturing environment.
00:00General Manager of Child and Family Reintegration Services at the Children's Authority, Elena Buchun, explains that adoption is permanent while foster care is temporary.
00:14She says adoption transfers all parental rights and responsibilities to the new family, providing a stable environment for the child's growth and development.
00:24However, Buchun emphasizes that the authority maintains strict safeguards to ensure the safety and security of every child in its care.
00:35So we do want to ensure that we do a thorough screening to ensure persons are suitable because they're taking on the full responsibility of caring for this child.
00:44So it entails interviews, like I mentioned, with our case management officer, there are psychological assessments that are done, there are security background checks,
00:54because we want to ensure that we're not putting children in a worse off circumstance to be abandoned and abused or neglected or exploited by the person who's claiming to want to care for them.
01:05She says the authority's objective is to utilize child-friendly and progressive solutions to address children's issues and rehabilitate them so that their full potential is realized.
01:17A child thrives best in a family environment, and that's what foster care can offer a child.
01:23Okay, albeit temporary, but still, placing a child within a family setting is certainly better than institutional care.
01:32Okay, now we recognize our institutions are very important and they fill a huge gap, but really and truly, as far as possible, where we can place a child in a family environment, we do endeavor to do that.
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