The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) will be consulting members of the public on the Child Justice Bill,and has organised a series of town hall meetings to begin on Monday December 6, 2021.
The Ministry recognises the importance of public consultation and is taking the opportunity to gather views, evidence and data from people, businesses, online platforms, academics, civil society and all interested parties, prior to the finalisation of the Legislation. Interested parties are therefore invited to submit their views on the latest draft of the Legislation during the period December 6 to December 9, 2021.
Deputy Director of the Social Services Department, Ms. Phyllis Dyer, said: “Keeping children out of conflict with the law is a collaborative endeavor that includes children, parents and the community working together. The Child Justice Bill establishes a consistent framework for responding to children who are in conflict with the law whilst maintaining their rights. One key aim is to divert children away from formal court procedures. Previous stakeholder consultations and the current series of public consultations will provide an opportunity for enhancing awareness of the Bill and its legal provisions.”
The Town Hall sessions will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to meet face to face to review and discuss the Legislation. The Town Halls will take place at the following locations during the consultation period (6 December to 9 December 2021):
| COMMUNITY | LOCATION | DATE | TIME |
| SALEM | Salem Methodist Hall | Monday, 6th December 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| BRADES | Brades Arts & Education Centre | Tuesday, 7th December 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| DAVY HILL | Davy Hill Wesleyan Holiness Church | Wednesday, 8th December 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| LOOKOUT | Look Out Community Centre | Thursday, 9th December, 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
The Ministry is encouraging members of the public and key stakeholders to review the latest draft of the Child Justice Bill, which is available on the Social Services page on the Government website. Alternatively, the document can be accessed via the following direct link:https://www.gov.ms/government/ministries/ministry-of-health-and-social-services/social-services/
The public can access the public consultation documents, including the draft Child Justice Bill, on the Government of Montserrat’s website and the consultation portal.
Submissions may be made in the following ways:
- Visit the online consultation portal HERE and submit your feedback;
- Email your submission as an attachment (PDF or Word doc) to socserv@gov.ms with ‘Child Justice Bill Consultation Submission’ in the title; or
- Post (Submit hardcopy) your submission to ‘Child Justice Bill Consultation Submission’, Department of Social Work, E. Karney Osborne Building, Little Bay, Montserrat.
Following the public consultation, the Ministry will carefully review all input and publish the stakeholders’ submissions and a summary of the main findings on the Government of Montserrat’s (www.gov.ms) website.
To learn more about the public consultation and how to become involved, contact the Ministry of Health & Social Services at (664) 491-3895 / 495-3895 / 495-7491 or by email at socserv@gov.ms.