‘When can I come home, mommy?’

It has been more than a year since Yanique Thompson has seen her only child.

The Clarendon mother has stumbled into hurdles while trying to secure the funds required to finish building a two-bedroom home. Once the construction is done, it is believed that she will be able to reunite under the same roof with her now-seven-year-old daughter, who is in state care.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner recently, Thompson said that she felt as though she has been facing a losing battle. And with each phone call to her daughter, her heart shatters at the constant query: “When can I come home, mommy?”

The heaviness of the six-word question has frequently brought Thompson to tears, as despite her best efforts to accelerate the construction of the home, she is still unable to afford the materials and to hire the labour needed to complete it.

This, she said, has left her in a depressed state.

“I just want her back in my life. That's why mi a ask for help,” the mother said, sounding defeated.

“To be honest, sometime me feel like give up, but then again, it's my only child so me can't give up, ... but sometimes I don't know what to do,” she added.

Thompson recalled her own struggles growing up as she lived without her mother, who passed away when Thompson was 12 years old.

She consequently spent a portion of her childhood as a ward of the State.

Thompson recalled that this was also where she birthed her child.

She explained that after leaving state care, she broke up with her child's father and after he indicated a desire to see his child, her battle began.

Thompson said she did not believe in refusing a father access to his child, so she complied.

She explained that her child first ended up in state care after the father brought her to the police station under the guise that he was a stranger bringing in a lost child.

She was, however, soon reunited with her daughter.

By 2017, the child was found wandering the streets of downtown Kingston, while left in his care, she recalled.

Thompson stated that she allowed the father to keep the child for short periods of time, but one day when she tried making contact with him via telephone, he was not answering. Then she saw a Gleaner social media post that her child was found on the streets alone.

The child was removed from the home after a report of abuse and maltreatment was received by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

“Me actually start the house already, me start the foundation. Me woulda make two bedrooms and one bathroom because dem say me and har cyah deh inna the same room,” she said of the CPFSA officer who she has been in contact with.

Thompson currently has no stable income and is unemployed. She had previously worked in community bars on occasions, but this did not last very long.

SEPARATION AND REINTEGRATION

As at June 30, 2023, there were 4,281 children in state care. This is an increase of two per cent, or 88 children, compared to the number reported as of the end of May 2023.

The CPFSA explained that children become wards of the State when they are found to be in need of care and protection as defined by the Child Care and Protection Act.

Some situations that may justify removing them from their homes include being without a parent or guardian to care for them or having a parent or guardian that is unfit to care for them; being exposed to physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse; incest; victims of violence or have been neglected or abandoned; those whose parents are drug mules or children used as drug mules; those in conflict with the law; children who are being trafficked; and those who are being exploited.

The CPFSA further told The Sunday Gleaner that all matters dealing with separation are placed before the courts, which determine the best interest of the child. As circumstances in such cases differ, intervention is provided on an individual needs basis.

A court hearing into reports of mistreatment or abuse could result in children being placed with family members, a caregiver on a supervision order, or at a children's home.

According to the CPFSA, children do better when they grow up in supportive, familial environments. As a result, it promotes foster care, adoption, family reintegration, and supervision order programmes to offer children high-quality care and protection through individualised care plans.

A total of 2,793, or 65 per cent, of the children in care are living in familial environments, while 1,488, or 35 per cent, are living in children's homes and places of safety.

In 2021, some 745 children were successfully reintegrated with their families, a two per cent rise from the year before. However, last year, the overall number of reintegrations fell by 2.95 per cent, totalling 723 children.

“The reintegration of children are conducted on a bimonthly basis in keeping with our Placement Committee meetings. The decision to reintegrate a child is based on the outcome of a series of supervised short-term visits during the holiday periods with child and caregiver and parent training. It is a usual course of action for the CPFSA to reintegrate children with their families during holiday periods, which allows a caregiver to secure school placement and for the child to be settled in the environment. Children are reintegrated with their families based on the nature of the child becoming a ward of the state, namely deplorable living conditions, truancy, and behavioural issues,” the agency said.

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

Child psychologist and family therapist Dr Orlean Brown-Earle would like to see more done by both public and private organisations that assist separated families so that the adults and children can receive counselling before they are reunited.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Brown-Earle said that more focus tends to be placed on child counselling, citing a common misconception that because adults are more mature, they will better understand the situation and how to cope with it.

“We [also] need to deal with the issues of what caused the separation and the fact they are coming back together again. What's gonna be the short- or long-term plans for that? Those issues must be addressed,” she said.

Brown-Earle further indicated that children are never too young to comprehend a situation where they are separated from their parent(s), unless they are under the age of one or are not mentally healthy.

This is because they would have already formed bonds with their parent(s) before separation.

“There must be some level of 'this-is-what's-gonna-happen-to-you' honesty with the child to say you're gonna go back with your parents and whatever follow-through. It mustn't be a one-time counselling thing,” she said, adding that ideally, at least three or four sessions should be held within the first year of reintegration.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com

How you can help

Those who are willing to help Yanique Thompson can contact her via telephone at 876-562-1151.

A deposit can also be made to the savings account in the name of Yanique Thompson at the Jamaica National Bank's Market Street, Montego Bay, branch: A/C #2094673592.