Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison has called for government to put more funding towards foster families.

This would shore up support for fostering, as opposed to institutionalization of children, especially those placed in state care.

The comment came in the wake of revelations Thursday by a Unicef/ JFJ study, about the welfare of children in homes, with reports of attempted suicide and sexual abuse.

Mrs. Gordon Harrison said the entire child care system needs to be reviewed.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Youth Floyd Green said efforts have been made to encourage more persons to become foster families.

These include an increase in the monetary stipend and a campaign launched last month.

He said a pilot programme for private foster care is being considered.

And, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency has sought to assure that it is committed to safeguarding the rights of children in care.

This in the wake of revelations about conditions and treatment of children at public and private homes in a report by Unicef, during an event hosted by Jamaicans for Justice.

Yesterday, State Minister for Youth Floyd Green stated that he has asked the responsible officials in his ministry to give him detailed information about the actions taken in regards to the cases highlighted by Unicef.

In a statement last evening, the agency said it is important to note that the research findings released at Thursdays Unicef/JFJ/CAPRI forum on safety and justice for Jamaican children, did not highlight the sanctions or actions taken by the agency, in the over one thousand 6 hundred cases of critical incidents documented over the past 10 years.

The critical incidents referred to include sexual abuse, self-harm, attempted suicide, and hospitalisation for injuries.

CEO of the agency Rosalee Gage-Grey cautioned that information on critical incidents are treated with sensitivity, and as such, was never discussed in the public domain.

She added that the agency’s robust monitoring mechanism enabled the research.

She said the agency continues to take a zero tolerance approach to reducing the number of critical incidents and to enforcing the applicable rules and regulations.

Mrs. Gage Grey said the agency does not condone any form of critical incident in child care facilities and that sanctions are imposed on perpetrators with the help of Cisoca, to which cases are referred to for criminal investigation.

As it relates to accountability, reports of children abused by a prescribed person or an adult are referred to the children’s advocate for further investigation, or for the child to be brought before a court if necessary.

She further stated that all child care facilities are required to put in place, a disciplinary log, a critical incident log, medical dental care forms, as well as the human resource to facilitate regulations.