The Reporter
Your Source for Child Abuse and Missing Children Data
Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
OCR to launch new project: “Pon de Corna Reasoning”
The Office of the Children’s Registry
(OCR) will embark on a new project
dubbed, “pon de corna reasoning” in the
summer of 2014. This project will see
the OCR team and other stakeholders
going into communities selected based
on statistics recorded from these areas
to raise awareness about negative issues
affecting children and encourage
reporting.
OCR Vision (New)
The Office of the Children’s Registry will be among the
premier organizations worldwide performing in
Jamaica, a valuable, proactive role as part of a team
that is creating workable solutions to prevent, reduce
and/or eliminate the incidence of child abuse and
missing children. In so doing, we strive to be trusted and
respected by the children and adult populations of
Jamaica as a sensitive, professional, confidential and
effective organization that is providing world class service
in the creation of a safe and secure environment for
children to grow and reach their full potential. Building
The three major objectives of this
initiative will be to:
on our success in Jamaica, we will act as a catalyst for
the establishment of other Children’s Registries in the



Increase awareness about
negative
circumstances
affecting children
Encourage the reporting of
these issues and nullify myths
associated with the reporting
process
Provide exposure to services
available to families for
assistance with child care and
protection
“ I truly believe that
once we work together
and are devoted to the
task at hand, we will
see the kind of
transformation that is
required in Jamaica for
the safety of our
children,” Children’s
Registrar, Greig Smith
The Reporter
Caribbean.
OCR Mission (New)
The Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) provides
a professional and confidential system to encourage,
receive, record, assess and refer for timely investigation
and curative action, reports of known or suspected
instances of child abuse and other threats to
children. The OCR also manages an effective national
“The OCR team will go into communities,
identified from data we collect, to have
street corner reasoning sessions with our
parents, with a view to change the way we
treat our children during the summer and
in preparation for the new school year and
onward,” said Children’s Registrar, Greig
Smith.
He explained that the ‘Pon de Corna
Reasoning’ project came out of the
Ministry of Youth and Culture’s ‘Reset De
Ting’ project which was launched in
November 2013.
“I truly believe that once we work together
and are devoted to the task at hand, we
will see the kind of transformation that is
required in Jamaica for the safety of our
children,” Mr. Smith added.
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alert and response system for the safe return of missing
children in the shortest possible time. We place great
emphasis on the promotion of measures to prevent,
reduce and/or eliminate the phenomena of child abuse
and missing children.
In this issue:
Pon de Corna Reasoning Project
P. 1
Highlights - OCR Activities
P. 2
Statistical Highlights
P. 3
Get the Facts
P. 3-4
Parenting Tips
P. 5-6
Useful Contact Info & Fun Corner
Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
Fun Corner
P. 6
Highlights of OCR Activities May 2013 – June 2014
Nine New OCR Child Ambassadors Appointed
OCR Highlights (cont’d)
Public Education
Back row, L-R:
Elon
Parkinson
(Corporate
Communications
Manager-LIME),
Hon. Lisa Hanna
(Minister of Youth
& Culture), Greig
Smith (RegistrarOCR)
Middle and front
rows: 2014-2016
OCR
Child
Ambassadors
The Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) has selected nine children who will
serve as OCR Child Ambassadors and aid in its child abuse and missing children
public education campaign. The Child Ambassadors were appointed by the
Minister of Youth and Culture, the Honourable Lisa Hanna, MP, on Tuesday, June
10, 2014 at the Spanish Court Hotel, St. Andrew.
The nine Child Ambassadors were selected from a group of applicants for the Child
Ambassadors Programme, which was launched in May 2012. They will serve
primarily in the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Mary,
Trelawny, St. James, Westmoreland, Manchester, St. Catherine and Clarendon.
All nine Child Ambassadors will volunteer with the OCR for a period of two years
and help to promote the reporting of child abuse and missing children.
OCR signs MOU with Jamaica Library Service
The Office of the Children’s Registry
(OCR) and the Jamaica Library
Service (JLS) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding,
(MOU)
that
will
establish
cooperation and share information
on the reporting and recovery of
children who become subjects of
reports through the Ananda Alert
System.
The OCR conducted over 200
presentations, participated in over
40 expos and over 60 media
interviews and held over 30
consultations with various groups
over the period. These included
consultations with the staff and
children in Residential Child Care
Facilities, teaching professionals,
health care workers among others.
More consultations are scheduled
with other groups. We distributed
over 37 000 copies of various public
educational materials, impacting
over 25 000 persons in sections of
all parishes across the island.
Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF, Janet
Cupidon Quallo observes as students at
Norwich Primary in Portland participate in OCR
school tour
The OCR will continue to work
closely with various stakeholders to
raise awareness about child abuse
and missing children and the
importance of reporting the
negative circumstances that affect
children immediately so that the
necessary intervention can be done
to reduce the risk of further harm
being done to them.
Front Row, L-R: Greig Smith, Registrar-OCR, Honourable Lisa Hanna, MP, Minister of Youth and Culture
and Karen Barton, Acting Director General-JLS sign MOU as stakeholders, Back Row: L-R: Mark Connolly,
UNICEF Jamaica Representative, Dr. Patrece Charles Freeman, Executive Director, NPSC and Rosa-Lee
Gage Grey, Executive Director-CDA observe.
The MOU will allow for the placement of necessary equipment within libraries
operated by the Jamaica Library Service. Donated by UNICEF, the equipment will be
placed in prescribed Parish Libraries to allow for the printing and dissemination of
Ananda Alerts. After the broadcasting of an alert, specialized staff members will
perform critical functions decisively; disseminating and displaying OCR information in
all schools within their authority along with mobile and parish libraries.
The Reporter
2
OCR’s Public Relations Officer, Julia Smiley
Green quizzes student during OCR school tour
at Annotto Bay High in St. Mary
Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
Statistical Highlights– Child Abuse Reports
Total number of reports received by the OCR, and total
number of children reported, January to September 2012 &
2013
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
8527
6768
6485
Get the Facts
How to make an Ananda Alert
report
Call 119 or the nearest Police station or send
an email to [email protected] or call
1-888-PROTECT.
What happens when the OCR
receives an Ananda Alert Report?
5406

Reports of a missing child
received directly from a
prescribed person/ parent/
guardian are documented and
Number of reports
Number of children
Jan. - Sep. 2012
referred to the JCF’s Missing
Person Monitoring Unit (MPMU)
Jan. - Sep. 2013
within 30 minutes for
investigation.
 Reports of a missing child
received from the JCF’s Missing
Person Monitoring Unit and/ or
Corporate Communications Unit
(CCU) are disseminated to all
stakeholders within 30 minutes
NOTE: All reports received from the
CCU and MPMU between 5:00pm
between Monday – Thursday and
4:00pm on Fridays are addressed on
Fact:
the next business day.
Between 5-6 children go missing in Jamaica every day…some of
them never return
The Reporter
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Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
Get the Facts….Child Trafficking & Neglect
What is Child
Trafficking?
Effects of Child
Trafficking
Child Trafficking – “is the
recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring or receipt
of a child by means of threat or
use of force, abduction, fraud,
deception, abuse of power …”
 Child may be seen
frequently on the streets
begging, selling, working,
etc.
Purpose and Causes
of Trafficking
 Child may not get to live
out their childhood, ‘forced’
into adulthood
Children are trafficked for:
 Attachment difficulties
 Prostituting
What is Neglect?
 Neglect - any serious
disregard for a child's
supervision, care, or
discipline.
 Child may be missing from
school, home, etc
 Mistrust of Adults
 Becoming domestic
servants
 Being used as street
venders or used for other
forms of exploitation
 Difficulties relating to
others
PICTURE
Child Neglect & its Effects on Children
 Child may be abandoned by parent
 Child may have unattended medical needs
 Child may not be supervised
 Child may be mostly hungry, improperly
dressed, has poor hygiene
 Child may be pale, lacks energy, begs or
steals food, frequently absent from school
The Reporter
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Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
Parenting Tips: Understanding Your Child’s Behaviour
Did you know that children go through different developmental stages? If you are a parent, it helps when you know what to
expect at each stage and how to respond appropriately. In the previous issue, we looked at the expected behavioral
patterns of children aged between 6-11 years old. In this issue, we will share with you the expected behavioral patterns of
those in the pre-teen and teenage years and parenting tips for each.
A
Child’s Age
12-17 Years Old
2013 OCR Child Ambassadors, L-R:
Tasheka Nevers, Saran Wilson
Behavioural Pattern
Sudden mood changes and more
conflicts with parents.
Educate yourself about the various changes
affecting the child so both of you can cope
better as they happen
Increased attention to personal
appearance.
Ask questions and talk about changes in the
body that the child may be experiencing. Seek
help from a medical practitioner if necessarythe longer you wait to have these discussions,
the more likely it will be for your child to form
misconceptions.
Temporary alterations to their
appearance e.g. alterations to hair,
wearing make-up etc.
Pick your battles. Teens may want to shock
their parents and it’s a lot better for them to do
something temporary. Reserve objections for
things that are more dangerous and permanent
for example drugs/alcohols and permanent
changes to their bodies. Be careful however, to
discuss the reasons for the changes and the
perceptions these changes will cause.
Experimentation (may involve risky
behaviours)
Communicate with your child-don’t avoid
topics such as sex, drugs and peer pressure.
Talking about these topics with your children
before they are exposed will increase the
chances of them acting responsibly when the
time comes.
Greater need for privacy
Respect your child’s right to privacy. Let your
child know that you trust him or her but set
boundaries and remain alert and ready to act if
there is any sign of trouble.
More concern about what friends think
of him or her and always wanting to
connect with friends via phone, internet
etc.
Monitor what your child consumes from the
internet, the media and other forms of
technology. Limit access to technology after a
certain time eg. At bedtime. It is not
unreasonable to limit access to phone, internet
etc. after certain hours
2013 OCR Child Ambassadors, L-R:
Tasheka Nevers, Moesha Allen, Robyn
Boyd and Saran Wilson
The Reporter
Parent’s Response
5
Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014
WORD SCRAMBLE
HLRNCIED
Centre for the Investigation of Sexual
Offences and Child Abuse
(C.I.S.O.C.A.)
3 Ruthven Road, Kingston 10
Tel: 926-4079 or 926-7318
RGTIH
LIHCD
FUN
CORNER
Child Development Agency
48 Duke Street, Kingston
Tel: 948-2841-2 or 948-7067
UASLEX
See if you can
unscramble the
words in the left
column!
Useful Contact Info
AEIOUBHRV
ISCEUTRIN Y
NELECSDAOT
Child Guidance Clinic
Psychiatric Department
University Hospital of the West
Indies, Mona, Kingston 7
Tel: 927-2492
Family Court
79 Duke Street, Kingston
Tel: 922-0001 or 922-4821
DULTA
Office of the Children’s Advocate
72 Harbour Street, Kingston
Tel: 967-5890 or 967-3325
See if you can unscramble these sentences!
1. Unscramble the theme for OCR’s 7th Anniversary.
“PROTECT BE SPEAK OUR CHANGE; OUT; CHILDREN THE”
2. Unscramble the OCR Tag Line.
“NEGLECT NOT AND PROTECT AND HARM CARE”
3. Unscramble the plea of a Child to an Abuser.
“CHILD; US OUR HELP AM A I INNOCENCE PROTECT TO
A boy and a girl twin 3 years old, Paris and Jordan
were asked at school by their teacher with whom do they live.
Teacher: Who do you live with Jordan?
Office of the Children’s Registry
12 Carlton Crescent, Kingston 10
(Head Office)
- For reports call 1-888-PROTECT
(776-8328)/ 908-2132
- For other matters call 908-1690
National Parenting Support
Commission
Caenwood Complex, 37 Arnold Road,
Kingston 4
Tel: 967-7977
Victim Support Unit
47e Old Hope Road, Kingston 5
Tel: 946-0663 or 946-9287 or
978-8071
Jordan: I live with grandmother, father and mother.
OCR E-ZINE TEAM
Teacher: Who do you live with Paris?
Julia Smiley Green
Paris: I live with my grandmother and my parents live at work
Frankseco Yorke
Andrae Dixon
For more information about the OCR, visit:
Natalie Thompson
www.ocr.gov.jm
Barbara Gardner
Cassetta Green
Children’s Registry
The Reporter
OCRJA
© OCR 2014
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Volume 3 Issue 1 July 2014