One thousand employees of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) are being trained to help with the recovery of missing children, through a partnership with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

Drivers, conductors, and dispatchers will be trained to identify signs of child abuse and categories of missing children.

The employees will also be trained in identifying children who may be at risk, such as those who are runaways, abducted, or otherwise exploited.

Speaking with Irie FM News, JUTC’s Managing Director Paul Abrahams, stresses the importance of the training, as it underscores the urgent need to protect the nation’s children.

Meantime, Chief Executive Officer of the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage-Grey, says the training, is part of efforts to embrace new strategies that aid in the safe and speedy recovery of missing children.

Mrs. Gage-Grey says, last year, 1,066 children were reported missing with 843 located.

This, she explains, is a decrease from 2019, where 1,534 children were reported missing with 1,072 located.

Mrs. Gage-Grey notes that the numbers are still a great cause for concern.