Child Resiliency Programme reaps success

THE VIOLENCE Prevention Alliance is reporting success with its Child Resiliency Programme, which was established to rescue“at-risk children and adolescents exposed to violence or who have behavioural problems.

Dr Kim Scott, programme director, said the social intervention programme is geared at building resilient children and adolescents through a long-term developmental process that involves integration of community organisations, churches, schools and mentalhealth services.

“What we would like to say about the core basis of the programme is that the life stories of resilient youth who have now grown into adulthood, teach us that competency and confidence, resulting in the highest level of productivity, can flourish under adverse circumstances,” she pointed out.

Dr Scott, who was addressing a Peacebuilding Action workshop, held in Montego Bay, St James, recently said the programme was established in 2007 in Kingston initially, but has been expanded to the parishes of Trelawny and St James.

MORE INVOLVED PARENTS

She informed that a five-year evaluation of the programme, since it was established, showed that 98 per cent of parents were more involved in their child’s life at school; 90 per cent showed increased ability to employ discipline strategies apart from beating; and 100 per cent were able to set clear rules and boundaries for their child.

“Ninety-eight per cent of the parents stated that they saw 100 per cent improvement in their child’s enthusiasm in doing schoolwork and as a result, there was improvement in their grades,” she shared enthusiastically to some 40 persons who attended the workshop from the communities of Norwood and Mount Salem in Montego Bay.

Dr Scott explained that the Child Resiliency Programme was a holistic intervention rather than a piecemeal programme, and entailed working with children ages eight to 12 years old over a one-year period.