The Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) is in the process of piloting a child abuser and sexual offender’s registry.
The database, for in-house viewing, will also be available for duly registered daycares.
It was disclosed that an average of 300+ cases are dealt with by the CCPA on a monthly basis and measures are necessary to ensure results by strengthening the case management and referral systems and introduce a registry.
“We believe in innovating and using the technology that we have to meet our targets,” the CCPA said in a statement, noting that this includes being able to expertly and efficiently prioritise cases, reduce bottlenecks in the system and track cases.
“The introduction of a registry will also allow us to build the evidence on the range of sexual offences, the profile of offenders and the circumstance on the case. This data will be protected and access to this data by us will inform our theory of change and evidence to prevent and respond- especially to child sexual abuse,” the CCPA said.
This was disclosed on Friday when the CCPA launched its electronic Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS) sponsored by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
According to the CCPA, the system is an electronic-based integrated set of processes for the routine collection, analysis and interpretation of data used in the planning, implementation and evaluation of child protection.
It is believed that this will “maximize operational efficiency, minimizes errors, reduce case management lead time and facilitates data mining with automated reports.”
Initially the CPIMS will focus on bolstering the Intake Department and the work of the South and North Georgetown caseworkers, the agency said.
Thus far, the agency is digitizing procedural forms, including –Intake, Risk Assessment, Admission and Referrals Forms –from which data will be mined to auto-generate live reports.
“There will also be dashboards for the automated generation of live statistical reports on intake activity and cases.”
UNICEF representative, Sylvie Fouet noted that an electronic system is important. She said, “while a paper-based system has its benefits, it can contribute to delays and inefficiencies and limited performance measure and reporting, given the need to ensure that services are integrated within Ministries and across Ministries.”
The registry for child abuse cases will also be important in terms of tracking and monitoring cases and informing research so as to both offer some prediction and prevention of violence, she noted.
