CPFSA received 136 applications for adoption in 2025

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) Logo. (Photo Contributed)

 

The Adoption Unit of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) received 136 applications for adoption of wards and non-wards in 2025.

 

This information is contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2025, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on June 30.

 

The report noted that a total of 110 children were adopted, consisting of 19 wards of the State (nine males, 10 females) and 91 non-wards (49 females, 42 males).

 

“In addition to processing adoptions, the unit also addressed 24 suspected cases of child abduction in family law cases, providing necessary welfare services for these children,” the document said.

 

It further noted that these actions remain in alignment with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which facilitates a system of international cooperation between designated Central Authorities to prevent and resolve parental child abduction.

 

Meanwhile, the CPFSA continued to coordinate the Ananda Alert system, focusing on the rapid recovery of missing children and the provision of psychosocial support upon their return.

 

During the period under review, there were 989 reports of missing children, representing a decrease of two per cent, compared with the previous corresponding period.

 

“Females accounted for the vast majority of these reports at 83 per cent (825 reports), while males accounted for 17 per cent (164 reports). Approximately 84 per cent of children (826 reports) were accounted for by the end of the period, while 161 children remained missing,” the report stated.

By Latonya Linton