IT WAS NOTHING short of an indictment on the Child Care Board when it declared earlier this week that it did not properly handle the case of young Shemar Weekes.
It was a sad revelation and one that should resonate with every Barbadian.
To hear this declaration from a state agency that is responsible for the care, welfare and protection of our young people is unacceptable.
Shemar Weekes died on May 14 last year in a suspected hanging at Fryers Well, Checker Hall, St Lucy.
Following his death there was concern expressed by many Barbadians as to what occurred and what could have led to this young boy’s death in such circumstances.
The matter is now engaging the attention of Coroner Manila Renee in an inquest in which evidence was heard from relatives of the young boy, including his mother.
It was, however, the startling admission from director of the Child Care Board Joan Crawford and child care officer Sherry-ann Blackman that has created some shock waves.
The two officials admitted that the boy’s case fell through the cracks after it was revealed that the investigation stalled after three months in 2013.
While we appreciate the volume of cases handled by the board every year, there can be no excuse for not investigating, nor following through on any case brought to its attention.
After all, young lives are at stake and depend on the thorough probing of child care officers.
It was disclosed by the director that the agency had more than 1 000 cases reported annually while the child care officer attributed the lapse to the volume of work at the board.
While we note that Crawford has accepted responsibility, clearly there is a need for a restructuring at the child protection agency.
No agency with the mandate of taking care of society’s youth and has the power to investigate all matters as they relate to their welfare, should be so inundated with cases that it cannot properly execute its duties.
The Ministry of Social Care, under which the board falls, must look with urgency to reexamine the roles and workloads of each officer. For example, there must be a clear quota of cases assigned to each officer that is reasonable and fair.
This society can ill afford another Shemar Weekes case.
There must be something positive taken away from the inquest into this young boy’s death.
It must be that every case of reported child abuse is seen as urgent and important by the agency that has full responsibility for doing the necessary checks and taking the appropriate action.
We are heartened to read that steps have already been taken to reorganise the way things are done at the agency vis-a-vis such cases and we hope these measures will yield the expected results and will serve to better protect our children.
