Orphaned youth a
Central Govt issue
~ Deadlock stalls signing of care contract ~
PHILIPSBURG--A deadlock over an increase in funding between Justice Minister David Dick and homes that cater to orphaned and neglected youth in St. Maarten is one of the factors stalling the signing of care contracts regulating payment to these institutions in St. Maarten, Commissioner Maria Buncamper-Molanus said Wednesday.
The care contracts will stipulate the amount the Central Government will pay per foster child and set standards to bring about some sort of regulation to the sector.
Buncamper-Molanus told reporters during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing that care for orphaned and neglected youths fell under the Central Government and directly under Justice Minister Dick.
The Commissioner also alluded to government’s support of these homes with the allocation of NAf. 800,000 to Crystal Children’s Home through the harbour shares buyback programme.
She said it was “very unfortunate” that the care contracts never had been finalised. This has to do with a request from homes in St. Maarten for an increase in the amount they should receive from the Central Government. The Commissioner said the amount should be increased simply because the cost of living on the island had increased.
“In fact it has been increased all over the world. A request to increase the amount has been discussed over and over again. This seems to be an obstacle that they could not agree on and at the end of the day all the work that went into (finalising) care contracts between the homes and the Minister was futile and there is a deadlock.
“The Minister came (to St. Maarten) on more than one occasion with the intention of signing the contracts with these homes, but because there could be no agreement on the amount (this was not done),” she said.
The issue of the care contracts was raised after Wednesday’s article about the eviction notice served on Multi-Purpose Organisation (MPO), which is responsible for Crystal Children’s Home.
Some 16 orphaned teens and an eight-year-old are among the residents of the home, who may very well end up on the streets if a speedy solution is not found for their housing situation by Tuesday, January 15. The home, which is financed primarily by community sponsorship, is three months in arrears with its US $3,500 per month rent, a total of US $10,500.
MPO officials have been hunting for alternative accommodation since they received the eviction notice in June last year. MPO is hoping to purchase an eight-bedroom home that is up for sale in the St. John’s area, a stone’s throw from the home’s current location, but this property costs US $850,000, some US $405,556 more than the funds allocated for the home under the harbour shares buyback programme.
Buncamper-Molanus said that when the eviction issue had been brought to her attention, the Justice Minister had been asked to “take immediate action” to remedy the situation. She said too that the issue of the foster care system on the island had been one of the issues raised during a recent Island Council debate.
“The children’s home has always been something I have dealt with as a Member of Parliament and as an individual. The Minister has a budget to deal with children’s homes, because most of the children there are placed by the Court of Guardianship,” she said.
