Boost in funds aims to address abuse in families
A government service that provides a lifeline for families and children impacted by abuse or neglect has been allocated a significant increase in funds in the Budget.
Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, said Family Preservation Services received a 121 per cent boost to $3.84 million, which she said was related “to the enhancement and expansion of social services” provided for high-risk families.
During a presentation about the Budget for her ministry on Wednesday, Ms Furbert pointed to a number of concerning upward trends in the areas of neglect and abuse.
She said that from January to December 2024, the family preservation team served 147 families and 257 children, which represented an 8 per cent increase in families and a 7 per cent increase in children over the previous year.
“During 2024, 44 new families, which included 77 children, were referred to family preservation,” Ms Furbert told MPs.
“The reason for referrals were neglect, childhood exposure to domestic violence, emotional abuse and physical abuse.
“A total of 29 families had their cases closed. All closed cases were void of child safety or child protection issues at closure.
“Of the cases closed, 15, or 52 per cent, achieved the service plan goal — no child protection issues — a 10 per cent performance increase from the previous year.
“At closure, six families declined services.
“Three families relocated overseas, four transferred to foster care and one was sentenced to corrective training.”
Ms Furbert said family preservation staff attended 113 Family Court or Supreme Court hearings in 2024, which was a 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
The court appearances were for care order applications, reviews or discharges, supervision order applications, reviews or discharges, protective intervention order applications, juvenile court matters, and custody access matters.
Ms Furbert said needs assessments completed in 2024 on children in care identified the top three challenges affecting them as emotional and behavioural challenges, educational concerns and family relationship challenges.
“The department constantly assesses outcomes to determine if intervention is effective and when adjustments to service delivery needed to occur,” she said.
“In 2024, the Department of Child and Family Services continued its commitment to increase the skills for its frontline family preservation workers.”
Family preservation is part of the Residential Treatment Services package provided by the department.
The department received an operational budget of $21.13 million, representing an increase of 7 per cent.
Ms Furbert said the ultimate goal was to reduce or eliminate abuse within the family unit and that the department “continues to focus on developing an integrated service to ensure children and families receive services that are appropriate and co-ordinated”.
She said circumstances experienced by clients included uninvolved parenting and challenges with social and life skills, housing, employment, substances, antisocial behaviour, cognitive disability, education, mental health conditions and anger management.
The psychoeducational programme under the Department of Child and Family Services was allocated $2.12 million, representing an increase of less than 1 per cent on last year.
It was developed to clinically address children who cannot be effectively treated in Bermuda, or those who have exhausted all available local therapeutic treatment services.
Tinée Furbert said during the Budget debate on Wednesday that 14 children participated in the psycho-ed programme in 2024, four of whom took part in an overseas neuropsychological assessment.
Three of those were assessed at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and one at Harbour Point Behavioural Health Centre, both in the United States.
Ms Furbert said: “Local psychologists, psychiatrists and educational therapists have demonstrated an improved ability to diagnose various psychological, behavioural and educational problems.
“However, more Bermudian children are being identified with various psychological, social, emotional and psychiatric conditions beyond the ability of our local service providers.
“The psycho-ed programme allows the department to have an external input concerning clinical therapy, intervention and aftercare services.
“The psycho-ed programme provides children with protection care and nurturance by licensed and accredited therapeutic overseas facilities.
“The programme provides a safe support and therapeutic environment for each child, while working collaboratively towards either family reunification or alternate permanent options.”
Ms Furbert spoke on Child and Adolescent Services and the Ministry of Education’s “ongoing inability to adequately support children with severe behavioural challenges and intellectual disabilities”.
She added: “Although DCFS has a seat at the table in the high-risk intervention committee to strategise how to manage complex cases, the department is not fully equipped to meet the growing volume and complexity of referrals from both [Ministry of Education] and CAS, which includes non-acute mental health and psychiatric needs.
“This gap in service delivery highlights the urgent need for a co-ordinated response to meet the clinical needs of these children across all involved agencies.”
Residential Treatment Services also include Brangman Home, the Youth Development Centre, Observatory Cottage, the psychoeducational programme, the Youth Residential Treatment Centre and the Independent Living Programme.
Together they provide group living intervention services to at-risk children between the ages of 12 and 18 and were allocated $10.39 million, an 18 per cent increase.
All children placed in RTS had their circumstances considered by the Family Court, where it was deemed appropriate for them to be placed on a care order and become the responsibility of the director of the department.
Ms Furbert said the services faced many challenges in 2024-25.
“Some [clients] required closer observation and monitoring of the therapeutic interventions to prevent escalation,” she explained.
“Moreover, some needed to be separated from within the facility and required additional support.
“Services included crisis intervention and referrals to respond to critical incidents. Strong case management of children was essential through crisis management meetings, ongoing individual assessments and service plans …
“During the year, there was an increase in substance abuse by residents, with 42 per cent of young people in care engaged in substance use, including marijuana, tobacco and, more specifically, vapes.”
She said each RTS facility now has professional academic support, leading to increased partnership with educational psychologists, paraprofessionals and social services.
Ms Furbert said that RTS met performance targets, with 100 per cent of residents given treatment plans, service plans and individual crisis management plans.
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