Dated merger plan drives family services shake-up

MINISTER with responsibility for youth Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon says the current leadership shake-up at the island’s two primary State family services agencies results from the activation of a dated Cabinet decision to merge the two entities. The Jamaica Observer on Wednesday reported that the ministry had cut ties with the heads of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) and the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) to undertake a major shift in their operations. Consequently, the contract of CPFSA Chief Executive Officer Laurette Adams-Thomas — who took the helm of the agency in October 2023 — has not been renewed. She demits office next month. Similarly the Observer has confirmed that the contract of NPSC head Kaysia Kerr — who took the reins of the agency in 2017 — had also not been renewed and she is no longer with the entity. Responding to questions from the Observer following the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, Morris Dixon said the planned merger is in keeping with the ongoing rationalisation of the public sector which has been placed in the hands of the Transformation Implementation Unit. “So many years ago, long before my time, there would have been efforts to look at how we can rationalise the public sector, and there were certain entities that were flagged for merger, and these two entities were flagged for merger many years ago, and so the ministry is implementing that plan. “The permanent secretary is doing the day-to-day work and working with the Ministry of Finance on that merger in keeping with the rationalisation of the public sector,” Morris Dixon explained. She said, as a consequence, the posts of the two agency heads were impacted.

ADAMS-THOMAS... to demit office next month

“In terms of both cases, they have contracts that came to an end and, in terms of the CPFSA, we will be going to market momentarily to advertise that post through the Public Services Commission. In terms of the National Parenting Support Commission, that was also a contract that came to an end and there was already a Cabinet decision to say both agencies should merge,” Morris Dixon said. She pointed out that since the Cabinet decision the youth ministry has been working with the Ministry of Finance in terms of how to merge the two entities. The CPFSA, an executive agency, is already an amalgamation having been formed from the merger of the Child Development Agency and the Office of Children’s Registry in 2017. At the time then minister with responsibility for youth Fayval Williams indicated that, “There is still another step to go in terms of merging the CPFSA and the NPSC for a more holistic and coordinated approach to all the services that our children who are in State care will need.” Williams said it was intended that an islandwide audit of children’s homes and places of safety, which was under way at the time, would identify the needs of the institutions. “While we are going through that reform, we also started an audit of all our children’s homes to set a beginning point for the homes to identify what are the gaps and to give us a holistic view of what is on the ground, so we can make those reforms that are necessary,” Williams said then. The audit was conducted within State-run and private facilities. There are more than 40 childcare facilities across Jamaica.