Government is spending at least $1.9 million a year on overseas care for children with behavioural problems — but the true figure could run into many millions more.

The Ministry of Youth, Families, Sport and Community Development says it costs a minimum of $3,000 a month for each of the 53 youngsters currently receiving treatment abroad. Taxpayers fork out $14,000 a month in the most severe cases.

Families Minister Glenn Blakeney told The Royal Gazette that the young people, aged eight to 19, could not be treated here as each needed very specialised care.

But experts insisted yesterday that caring for the children locally would be more beneficial, with one campaigner arguing for a dedicated on-Island treatment centre.

Martha Dismont, executive director of the Family Centre, said the cost of overseas care was not sustainable and Government needed to explore other options.

"At a minimum, the cost is $159,000 a month," she said. "Over the course of a year that's $1.9 million. Say you average it to $7,000 a month per child. That's a huge amount of money.

"If the Government doesn't feel that the services [to help the children] are here on the Island, then it becomes an automatic that they are sent abroad.

"I don't know if there has been consultation with the non-profit or private sector about that. We are going to be meeting with the Minister next week to brainstorm on some of the things that can be done just by working in partnership."

She said Bermuda had an "inordinate" number of families struggling with behaviourally-challenged children and the local agencies tasked with helping them were "very stretched".

"The infrastructure of this country is not matched to meet the needs," said Ms Dismont. "We don't have the capacity."

Sheelagh Cooper, from the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said: "My dream has always been to have a therapeutic community-based treatment centre for our children here in Bermuda because a) it has to be less expensive and b) — and more importantly — it would involve the parents in the treatment process. You really can't treat a child effectively in isolation of the family."

Ms Cooper said most of the children needing care were the victims of abuse or neglect. And she claimed some of the "so-called" treatment centres abroad were unsuitable and more like harsh "boot camps".

"Children who have been abused act out and then they are deemed to be difficult. I can cite at least six cases in the last year of children who have been sent abroad who are victims."

Mr Blakeney told this newspaper that children were sent to certified treatment centres in the US, UK and Canada, which were thoroughly vetted.

He said on-Island care was often inappropriate because "in most cases it's extreme behavioural disorders — everything from sexual abuse situations to attempted suicides".

The Minister added it was sometimes better to remove the child from the small community here, where they could be stigmatised because of their problems.

"Cost is obviously important but our focus is equally on the imperative, which is effective treatment," said Mr Blakeney. "The Department of Child and Family Services remains within its allocated budget in accessing the professional care and services required for our children that need specialised intervention and care."

His acting permanent secretary Randy Rochester said: "We could spend between $5,000 to $14,000 per month per child in the worse case scenarios. The length of stay could be as short as three months, with the usual length of treatment ranging between 18 months to two years. The lowest amount would be $3,000."

He said the cost included room and board and professional services such as psychological, psychiatric and behavioural therapy, as well as special needs teachers where, for example, a child had both autism and behavioural issues.

Bermuda Democratic Alliance deputy leader Katherine Michelmore said 53 children sounded a high number for an island this size.

"The question we have to ask as a society is whether or not it's feasible to provide such care on-Island," she said. "With that number of people, it seems that there's a huge demand."

BDA MP Donte Hunt urged Government to utilise the agencies already in Bermuda. "Provide funding for them so they can do what they can to help," he said.

Shadow Families Minister Suzann Roberts Holshouser said Government was spending an "astronomical amount of money" on the overseas care but it was necessary.

The UBP senator said there were not enough children here with extreme behavioural challenges to justify a treatment centre and that those going abroad were coming back with the "tools to be part of their family and part of society".