Press conference on the Government Industrial School – March 20, 2021. (PMO) VIEW IT HERE …..
PICTURED ABOVE — Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams
The Government Industrial School (GIS) is set to start a new chapter under a new Board of Management which will be tasked with reforming how the institution is run.
The new Board will be led by Reverend Dr. Lucille Baird, as Chairman; Dr. Carl Ward as Deputy Chairman; while Stephanie Chase, Reverend Lennox Boyce, Cheryl Moore, and Kwame Bradshaw are board members. The statutory appointments are the Superintendent of Prisons or his nominee, and a sitting magistrate.
In addition, the Board will also call on the experience of Dr. Adrian Cummins as Legal Advisor, UNICEF for policy guidance and best practices, and Child Rights Advocate, Mrs. Faith Marshall-Harris as a special resource person.
These changes were announced during a virtual press conference this afternoon by Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams. He was joined by acting Principal of the GIS, Ronald Brathwaite, and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Brian MacLachlan.
Making reference to child protection legislation and the Child Justice Bill, he added that the new Board would be responsible for developing policies and programmes that reflect the philosophy that “children have rights and are a source to be nurtured”.
The Minister also disclosed that he would be meeting with the new Board next week to “impress upon them the need to work with UNICEF in reformatting…the emphasis and priorities of that institution”.
He hinted that a possible name change for the institution was also under consideration, along with a de-emphasising of institutional care.
“These are among the recommendations I would like to see emanating from the new Board under the chairmanship of Reverend Baird, and in consultation with UNICEF and Mrs. Faith Marshall-Harris,” Mr. Abrahams outlined.
However, the Minister stressed that while there would always be a need for a secure facility to cater to children with challenges, it should cater to their emotional, psychological, academic, and recreational needs.
He added that the Ministry of Education had also pledged its support to work with the Board and its advisors to tailor the curriculum to make it relevant to the current generation of children, and give them the best chance possible on completing the residential programme.
“I spoke to every single member of the new Board. I advised them that there is a lot that plagues the institution, and for us to move forward, we have to clear all of that. We have to regain the trust of Barbados which has been shaken by this incident,” he stated, noting that the intention was to “strip the institution and rebuild it properly”.
JULIA RAWLINS-BENTHAM – BGIS
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All Outstanding Complaints At GIS To Be Addressed
As early as next week, the Minister of Home Affairs will meet with the newly-appointed Government Industrial School (GIS) Board to investigate all outstanding complaints, and to review all case files of those currently at the school.
Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams, during a press conference today reported that the new Board at the GIS has ‘carte blanche’ to review and investigate all outstanding complaints at the institution.
Minister Abrahams noted that the review would not be an overnight process. “The difficulty here is that we need to consider each circumstance separately. There are some people who are calling for the shutdown of the Government Industrial School, that’s not practical, that’s not practical, but we can review each child’s circumstance.
“If the professional advice having regard to what they were sent there for in the first place, what the court ordered, what the Child Care Board ordered [and] what the Probation Department saw as necessary; if the reason for them being there has been satisfied, that they have reached or obtained the maximum benefit that they can obtain from there, and it’s in my discretion, then I will take the action that I need to take,” Minister Abrahams explained.
However, he noted that in cases where a ward of the GIS is there on remand, the circumstance would be different.
“For the persons who are on remand that’s a bit more difficult because they’re not serving a sentence. My discretion to do things where somebody is serving a sentence doesn’t necessarily extend to when somebody is there on remand from the court. The court has placed them with us for a period and asked us please to return them on a certain date.”
The Home Affairs Minister suggested that the public might perceive the reviewing of cases as being done in response to a recent incident, but pointed out that the institution was already “systematically going through a process” of reviewing case files.
He reported that two weeks ago, the case files of a number of boys were reviewed and those who were determined to have “paid their debt to society” were released, and the “exact same exercise for the girls” would take place.
In fact, he stressed that the process would be accelerated. “I plan to have the consultation with the Board and to fast track so that anybody who does not have to be there is not there. But for those who the professional advice advises me that they need to be in a secure facility and I’ll be harming them rather than helping them by tampering with the situation, then I’m going to heed that professional advice because I am not a psychologist, I’m not a psychiatrist, I am not trained in this, I am a lawyer and I’m trying to help the kids and do what is right,” Mr. Abrahams stated.
The Minister gave the assurance that “every single case” would be reviewed.
SHEENA FORDE-CRAIG – BGIS
