Tashana Barrett says her six children were taken away.
Not so! says CDA“I have been robbed, it’s like my heart has been ripped out, I don’t have any reason to live anymore…” were the pain-tinged words of a tearful 37-year-old mother, Tashana Barrett, who says her six children were taken away from her following allegations of child abuse and neglect.
She related that her six children were taken from her by the Child Development Agency (now- Child Protection and Family Services Agency) and placed with other people.
Miss Barrett, a resident of 24 King Street in Montego Bay, is mother to four girls, ages 16, 13, 11 and 2 years, and boys ages 8 and 5 years.
An emotional Miss Barrett told the Western Mirror her ordeal began to unfold in August of last year, when she scolded the elder of her two sons for smashing the television set.
“I sent him to his father to discuss it with him and to ask him to get his friend who fixes electronic devices to fix it. However, he held the boy and later took him to the family court, saying that I had physically abused him,” Barrett said.
Miss Barrett said she was called to a meeting at the Family Court and was interviewed about the matter by a Miss Wilton of the CDA, whom she said indicated that it was obvious that she loved her children and it could have been a misunderstanding.
She said, however, that the court recommended that the boy be placed at his father’s house pending investigations into the matter.
AFRAID OF HER
Things were about to get worst for Barrett as on September 11, she received a called from Miss Wilton, who advised her then that she had four of the children at the CDA office, who said they had been abused by her and were afraid of her.
“I asked her how could she say that, it is not true. Then I asked her what I should do and she said I should come to court the following day which I did. When I got there, my sister, who lives in Norwood, was there and a lady from Spanish Town, whose son I had a previous relationship with.
The court ruled that my eldest child, my daughter, should stay with my sister; third daughter was placed with the lady from Spanish Town and the boys were placed with their father,” Barrett explained.
The second child and the last child were at home, but according to Barrett, after she left court and got home, she was told that the other two children were taken by the CDA, which claimed that the children were left alone at home.
The second daughter was placed with Barrett’s sister from Norwood, while the 2-year-old was left in Barrett’s custody.
However, the 2-year-oldwas child was last Monday placed with the father. “How can they place her with the father, there is no woman in the house to take care of her, what is the CDA doing?” Barrett asked.
SEVERAL COMPLAINTS
When contacted, Marcia Wilton, Chief Investigating Officer at CDA in Montego Bay, told the Western Mirror that several reports have been received from neighbours and other persons, charging that Miss Barrett was physically and verbally abusing her children, citing that she has evidence to prove it.
She showed a photograph of Barrett’s elder son with a cut to the lower arm, busted finger and bruised and swollen eye, purportedly from the scolding which he got for damaging the television set.
“The children have pointed to instances of abuse saying they were in fact very afraid of her. What has happened is that under the Child Care and Protection Act, we have placed the children with maternal relatives, as they were considered to be in need of care and protection as their physical or mental health or emotional state was being seriously impaired, or there is a substantial risk that they will be seriously impaired,” she explained.
Miss Wilton said the other children were taken as they were members of the same household where the offence was committed as provided for under the Act.
Eunice Scott Shaw, Regional Director of the CDA, told the Western Mirror that the Agency does not award custody and therefore, the children who were taken from Miss Barrett would be under supervision for a limited time.
“She is required to do 20 hours of parenting sessions for which she would be awarded a certificate, which should be taken to the Family Court judge who would act further from that point. I must point out, however, that at no time does the Child Protection and Family Services Agency award the custody of children. The children are being remanded, which means they are placed with relatives or caregivers, generally for a period of 90 days, after which if the conditions have been changed, they will be restored to their families.
“The CPSFA seeks to assist parents to improve their families, not destroy so we are trying to help her to improve her parenting skills,” he said.
she look high as f**k
BUT MUST!
You can’t always judge a book by it’s cover, but bwoy if i’d had a mother looking like this, i’d want to be taken away.! You can clearly look & see she’s wutless. probably multi babyfathers and no ambition. smh Children better off!
Just by looking at her, I would take the kids away for their safety.
Jamaica loves to copy America so much.
Huh??? What the rass you talking about copy America? I hope you are not saying because the Kids were taken away from the abusive Reptile is follow Jamaica a follow America? Lord please help us! I feel so sorry for all the Kids who lives in Jamaica and being abused by their parents.
plz explain
Yu no see a fool. Dem explanation no worth Met serva energy.
Dem idiot yah did so stuck inna dem one room, zinc yard living that dem no know nothing bout Jamaica. Damn disgrace….absolutely.
Wha we copy?!!!!!!!!!!! Is America aline have social services?!
Yu think a today Social services fi pickney de a Jamaica!
Yu ignorant people should just read and shut unu backside!
Phuckin dunce af witch!! As if Jamaican neighbors don’t know abuse.
Hate to judge a book by its cover, but that’s a very scary cover. That is the real state of emergency in Jamaica. Lack of education and poor morals. I don’t know her, but looking at her I am assuming that is not a great role model.
Real Talk 😡
I for one am certain these agencies have ways and means of validating claims..so I doubt that her children were “maliciously” taken away. Also to note, the sister willingly stepped forward to be a caretaker for at least one of the children. I believe that if the sister thought the Agency had ill-intent, she wouldn’t have complied. The mom should follow the Agency’s recommendations to secure parental rights in the future. Also, fathers/men stepping up to be safe-havens to their children is refreshing and a very good and positive thing! What fathers do not know about nurturing, they are able to learn. The father is a parent just like a mother. An unfit mother in fact, is terrible for the well-being of a child versus a father who is learning…
I would take the children too. Look at this woman’s condition. The children need to be safe and in a healthy environment.
Based on the children own account, clearly this woman is a unfit mother. Lady you need to focus on getting help because you look very unstable, I’m not even sure it 90 days is enough for you to prove to the authorities that you can properly care for your children. What I do know is if you’re children were taken from you by the Child Protected Agency in Jamaica (which quite backwards in protecting welfare of children) that means were in fact not a suitable mother/guardian for you children. People in ja think that beating is always good a remember one time one of my parents burn mi with a iron (hot a dat) still to this day I have the scar, things like this still go on today. These extreme discipline only makes your children resent you than love you.
Drug head
Bwoy….it look like she abuse har pickney dem fi true. She look like she’s mental. It’s about time CPA step in and do the right thing.
She might not see her behavior as abuse, but she can’t manage. I know a srong woman with three pickney and a man and she stress out , how this lady manage? She probably rough them up out of frustration.
“How can they place her with the father, there is no woman in the house to take care of her,
My girl :d :d :d YOU AS WOMAN A YARD AND MOTHER SURE AS HELL NEVA DO ANY BETTER! Men are capable of taking care of children just as or better than most females…YOU’RE PROOF IF THAT.
THE INJURIES TO THAT CHILD HAND SAY YOU DID IT BECAUSE OF THE T.V.! And you said “I sent him to his father to discuss it with him and to ask him to get his friend who fixes electronic devices to fix it.”
Yu Abuse de pickney! Go deal wid you breeding issues and drug problem for the sake of those children.
you up a tap…. your first sentence was :you can’t judge a book by the cover”.. but STILL you a judge, and a ina one a di worst way….smh
This is one book that I will Judge by how it look, Can tell the bleaching take president over feeding and taking care of the kids, And to the men who breed she 6 times they need to be in jail, those poor kids.
I swear poor people have the most unprotected sex and have kids they cannot afford, how do they think they are ever going to escape poverty? And contraceptive is free at clinics and hospitals across the island. Free living and not wanting to work and sit and idle all day and this is the result, smh.
You know I was wondering if contraceptive was free down there, I don’t really have any family weh in the ghetto or rural areas, but mi glad someone finally confirmed this. But god know aren’t these people fraid of disease and them ever breed fi careless people. This goes for both man and female.
Sterilization is needed.
Always say in this modern time. All the information out there about birth control. Poor people are still having children they can’t afford to feed.. Just don’t care worthless and ignorant…
They should have taken her too!
Unnu thing Jamaica Foster care any better, is better them did stay with the mumma!