There are several Non- Government Organizations (NGOs) dedicated to the delivery of services to families and children with disabilities. Those that have contributed to the development of this proposal include - 3 D’s Project, Jamaica Association on Mental Retardation (JAMR) and the McCam Child Development Center. Other Agencies include The Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, The Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf for the Deaf among others.
The intention of this project is to contribute to the development of services for the disability sector in keeping with international standards as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (March 2007). The provision of services must consider the unique needs and practices of families within the Jamaican context where there are real issues related to the violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect of children including those with disabilities.
Challenge:
Parents are not aware of their children’s right to health and education services. Many are not even aware of the services that exist. This has become apparent as agencies within the disability sector interact with these families. However there is no data to support this statement or how their needs differ per Parish.
The issue of social services for children with disabilities has not been
explored with any serious intent Children with moderate to severe
disabilities are likely to be physically abused, abandoned, exploited, and made to do medial jobs instead of being sent to school.
Evidence of this type of abuse often goes unreported except where the situation is extreme and neighbors become concerned and bring
the attention of the Child Development Agency or the Police.
Families are not accessing the services needed to care appropriately for
children living with disabilities or are not considering thechildren in their care living with disabilities. For example a child living with cerebral palsy may need all or some of the following –
therapeutic intervention, early stimulation, specially trained caregiver, specialist medical attention, medication (not always necessary),
special education, aids and adaptation to facilitate mobility and access to facilities (e.g. bathroom) within and outside of the home.
There is no centralized system for providing information to parents
which will allow them to better access services which are availableto them when their children present with developmental, behavioral or learning disabilities.
There are no standards and referral protocols which guide families and
providers of services in accessing and providing a comprehensiveservice for children with disabilities.
There are shortcomings in a number of programmes being offered through
the public sector, for example, the lack of spaces available forchildren in early intervention programmes and special school is often debated. Families without the financial means to seek intervention
for their children privately are forced to accept the minimum or the fact that there are no services for their children with special needs.
Lesson learnt:
Target population of families and children in need of services remains
unknown; the % of families in need of assistance remains unknown;the needs of families and children remains unknown and the effectiveness and reach of services of various types offered to families with
children living with disabilities is also unknown.
Parents and families are not aware of the potential of their children
living with disabilities if adequate services were accessed to helpthem live as normal a life as possible. The gaps in meeting the needs of the child are significant.