Safeguarding the rights and welfare of Guyana’s children

Guyana Chronicle

This article from the Guyana Chronicle describes the work of Guyana's Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) to ensure that children are properly cared for and protected and that their right to a family is honored. The Child Care and Protection Agency Act and other laws give the agency the mandate "to adequately address issues of adoption, child neglect and abuse, alternative care/foster care and ensuring that childcare facilities such as day-care centres meet the prescribed standards and requirements for the safety and proper growth and development of children."

According to the article, the Agency is opening two new small group homes, which will house no more than six children, but is also prioritizing more permanent care options such as adoption. “We wouldn’t want children to be in institutions or any alternative care for a lengthy period; it’s not necessary for that to happen and adoption is a way where children can be placed in a permanent family to be cared for because we know for children to have healthy development, one of their rights is to a family,” said Manager of the Adoption Department, Ms. Kaycina Jardine.