Sheena Gayle, Freelance Writer

Western Bureau:

Dionne Gallimore-Rose, the family court judge for St James, Hanover and Westmoreland, is urging parents to practise proper parenting as a way of minimising the increasing rate of carnal abuse cases among children.

Speaking at a foster parent awards banquet in Savanna-la-mar on Thursday night, Gallimore-Rose said parents were not properly supervising their children, leading to the overwhelming problems that are contributing to some of the ills plaguing the nation's youth.

"Too many children are left to grow themselves. We've had parents who don't come to court in many instances and children as young as 14 years old are coming to court by themselves," said Gallimore-Rose.

She also expressed concern about a recent survey which revealed that one in every five births in Jamaica was to an under-aged mother. She said that many teenaged mothers produced between four and five children during their adolescent years.

Gallimore-Rose condemned the irresponsible actions of biological parents who have failed to honour their parental obligations. However, she congratulated the awardees at the banquet, organised by the Child Development Agency (CDA), for their stellar service and dedication to foster care.

Not real parents

"You have opted to fill the shoes of men and women who cannot and, in many cases, have chosen not to be real parents to their children," noted the judge. "But you foster parents have not only talked the talk, you have walked the walk."

Alison Anderson, chief executive officer of the CDA, who revealed that western Jamaica continues to lead the country in foster care, made an appeal for more persons to become part of the national foster care programme and, in so doing, help change the life of at least one child.

"The western region represents 40 per cent of the total number of children in the national foster care programme," Anderson said. "In this region foster parents are responsible for saving the lives of 464 children."

sheena.gayle@gleanerjm.com