1. Presented by Mr. Greig Smith Registrar-OCR

3.  The OCR was established as a provision of the Child Care and Protection Act 2004 (CCPA)  Started operating on January 1, 2007  Statutory body under the Ministry of Youth & Culture  Has 4 registration centres-Kingston (Head office), St. Ann, Manchester & Westmoreland

4. The OCR receives, records, assesses and refers reports of a child who has been, is being or is likely to be:  Trafficked or engaged in child labour  Neglected or abandoned  Physically, sexually, emotionally ill-treated Reports are also collected for children who:  Are in need of care and protection  Exhibit behavioural problems  Missing The reports received by the OCR are investigated by t he Child Development Agency and/or the Office of the Children’s Advocate

5.  Any act, or failure to act, on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation.  Any act, or failure to act, on the part of a parent or caretaker, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

6. Types of Child Abuse

7.  Child Labour  Child Trafficking  Neglect  Physical Abuse  Sexual Abuse  Emotional Abuse

8. Child Labour – any work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling

9. ◦ It is an offence to employ a child under 13 ◦ Children 13-15 years old may be employed but only for light work ◦ Children 15 & over must not be employed in night work or in any industrial or hazardous work ◦ It is an offence for a child to be used for indecent or immoral purposes

10.  Child Trafficking – “is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child by means of threat or use of force, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power …”

11.  Child may be seen frequently on the streets begging, selling, working, etc.  Child may be missing from school, home, etc  Child may not get to live out their childhood, ‘forced’ into adulthood

12.  Neglect - any serious disregard for a child's supervision, care, or discipline.

13.  Child may be abandoned by parent  Child may have unattended medical needs  Child may not be supervised  Child may be mostly hungry, improperly dressed, has poor hygiene  Child may be pale, lacks energy, begs or steals food, frequently absent from school

14.  Physical Abuse – actions towards a child that result in or could result in serious physical injury, such as: ◦ Beating, burning, cutting ◦ Harmful restraint ◦ Use of any weapon or instrument

15.  Child may get bruises, fractures, cuts on body  Child may be nervous, hyperactive, aggressive, disruptive, and destructive  Child may be overly frightened of parent or caretaker  Child may be unusually suspicious of physical contact

16.  Sexual Abuse - any sexual behaviour towards a child, which may include: ◦ Fondling the private area ◦ Oral sex ◦ Vaginal or anal penetration by a finger, penis or other object ◦ Exhibitionism (display private areas) ◦ Child pornography ◦ Suggestive behaviours

17.  Child may have detailed understanding of sexual behaviours  Child may engage in sexual activity  Child may suffer sleep disturbances/ nightmares  Child may return to bed wetting, etc.

18.  Emotional Abuse - attitudes or behaviours expressed towards a child that create serious emotional or psychological damage.

19.  Child may have very low self-esteem  Child may become ◦ Antisocial or destructive ◦ Depressed and/or suicidal ◦ Very delinquent (wrong-doer)

20. AbusePenaltyLegal Reference Cruelty to childrenFine of up to 1 million dollars or up 3 years imprisonment or both Section 9(2), CCPA, RM Court Sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years Life imprisonment (person in authority) Section 10(1), SOA, Circuit Court Attempt to have sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years 15 years imprisonmentSection 10(2), SOA, Circuit Court Grievous sexual assaultLife imprisonment or not less than fifteen years Section 6(1)(b), SOA, Circuit Court RapeMaximum 15 years (armed); 7 years (unarmed) Section 6(c), SOA, Circuit Court Child traffickingMinimum 10 years with hard labour Section 10(2), CCPA, Circuit Court

21. Total Number of Reports Received & Number of Children Reported to the OCR by Year, 2011-2012

22. Total number of reports received by the OCR by parish of residence, gender of child and type of report, January to December 2012 Gender of childType of report Parish of residenceTotalMaleFemaleUnknownPASAEANTCLBPCP Kingston & St. Andrew267610121645198259714631231059752867 St. Catherine11254886298380287242684239191417 St. James923344570918527183352111318258 St. Ann797302480151602566837109189256 Clarendon72330938628181171101476031129324 Manchester678309364517216396377115206304 St. Elizabeth48019427978812662232011154182 Westmoreland3741482206110148311741136391 St. Mary3261192061901054918801064108 Trelawny2316816304311040116035182 Hanover199641350606921111053678 Portland1334586225581064033346 St. Thomas552827017151140001219 Unknown219120767 0058 Total8741343952021002343275612844428520922033040

23.  The OCR acquired the Ananda Alert system on March 1, 2013  The Ananda Alert is a nationwide system designed to ensure a speedy and safe recovery of a child who is missing, kidnapped or abducted.  Alerts are sent through various media to inform the public of a missing child. Posts will soon be placed on video boards, social media pages, digital screens, route taxi cabs.  Police, agencies and community-based search and rescue teams try to locate the missing child

25. Scope of Mandatory Reporting  The CCPA makes it the duty of every adult to report every incident or suspicion indicating that a child has been, is being, or is likely to be ill- treated/abused, abandoned, neglected or in need of care and protection.  Section 6 (1) of the CCPA lists ‘prescribed persons’ who have a duty to identify and report suspected or known child abuse. These include professionals working in the fields of health, education, social work, etc.

26. OCR Reporting Process

27. Ananda Alert Call 119 or visit the nearest police station; contact the OCR at 1-888-PROTECT or anandaalert@ocr.gov.jmanandaalert@ocr.gov.jm Child Abuse Persons may submit child abuse reports to the OCR via: CALL:  Toll free:1-888-PROTECT (1-888-776-8328) FAX: 908-2579 | EMAIL: report@ocr.gov.jm BB: Download the Child Abuse Reporting System (C.A.R.S) Blackberry application VISIT/MAIL: the OCR registration centres (Kingston, Manchester, St. Ann) or drop off completed forms at any CDA office island wide

28. When should a report be made to the OCR?  Section 6 (7) of the CCPA says a report shall be made as soon as is reasonably possible  Care must be taken however the ensure that the information being reported is true or is believed to be true, because…  Section 6 (8) of the CCPA says “a person who knowingly makes a false statement in a report to the Children’s Registry commits an offence ”

29. Vital information to help identify and locate a child;  Name, age, sex, location (home/school) of the child  Names and addresses of parents/guardians  Details of the abuse  Details of the abuser  Any other information which can assist in the intervention and completion of the report

30.  Name, age, sex and address of child  Clothes that the child was wearing when last seen  Location that the child was last seen  Recent photo of missing child  Identification marks (scars, disabilities etc.)  Date and time the child went missing

31.  According to Section 6 (4) of the CCPA, the penalty for failure to report to the Children’s Registry, may be: A fine of $500,000 or 6 months imprisonment or both charged & imprisoned  The reporter’s identity is kept confidential and divulged only under the three circumstances outlined in Section 9&10, Children’s Registry Regulations  Reporters are not required to provide their contact information unless they wish to prove that they made a report to the OCR or request updates

32.  Breach of confidentiality by any OCR staff may result in a fine of $500,000 or 6 months imprisonment or both  You cannot be charged for making a false report, if it can be proven that you genuinely believed the abuse was happening  Not all cases reported will result in the child being taken away from the home or the parents being charged  Reporting to the OCR allows for greater accountability and monitoring of the effectiveness of child care and protection agencies

33. Questions?

34. You can make a difference… Choose to “care and protect not harm and neglect”