It has taken me three weeks to come back to this discussion and it is painful…It is always best to strike the iron when it is very hot…But I found that I was locked out of my own schedule…I lost control of it and could not understand it. My case is that of a man, who prayed for open doors and hundreds of strategic doors are opened before him simultaneously…He must never complain…He must only ask for the divine wisdom to respond to all the doors adequately, leaving none unentered.

As, I prepare to go catch a flight out of my station for yet another open door, I decided to see the possibility of taking this discussion a bit further.

I am here concerned about CASE MANAGEMENT. How do we manage a case, with justice in mind for the child and community, where there is a case of abuse for whatever reason in our domain either as a an institution of learning or a child-focused organization.

There are many foundational issues to managing a case or cases and all of them must not be lost on anyone, who is interested in offering genuine counsel to stakeholders.

The first plague that I have seen in managing cases is the interest of the child-focused organization vs the interest of the child. In most cases many child-focused organizations put the interest of their organization first before the interest of the child. When they are operating in that mode, they become blind to the justice of the matter and begin to defend the most indefensible acts or omissions.

The truth of the matter is that a child-focused institution may not be negligent in a case of abuse, but where it is constantly positioned to act in the interest of the child, its response is always wrapped in the caring gloves of empathy and concern for the child.

The truth of the matter is that when the child-focused organisation is even absolved of all blames, it will not be a ground not to be empathetic in handling the case. The truth of the matter is that a child and a family are hurting and it goes a long way to assuage their hurts, when the child-focused organization throws in the towel of pride and self-defense, eat a fresh humble pie and adorn the pacifying toga of care, with the carefully made embroidery of empathy.

When a child-focused organization is negligent, empathy, coupled with coming clean on areas where they are wrong diffuse tension a great deal and appeases the vigilant and often impartial face of justice. The standard is that a child-focused organization does not only own up when its fault or facts of negligence are clear or obvious. It is expected to even disclose facts that are not within the public knowledge but will help in resolving the matter at hand in the best interest of the child.

Our organization has a child protection policy and it is clearly stated therein that where we are found wanting in a case of abuse of children under our care, we will promote the interest of the child over the interest of our company and if for whatever reason our company have to go down because of such exposure so be it.

Our thinking is that we exist for the children, their rights, protection and preservation of their children, it is bad enough that we cannot guarantee that these precious children are safe when they are put under our care but it is worse that we become a cover-up agents, thereby attacking the purpose for which we are set up. In the real sense of it, the day children are not safe under our care or they are abused and we cover it, is the day we stop existing.

I wish every child-focused organization, irrespective of their nomenclature will know, understand and embrace the foregoing thinking and it will provide mutual comfort for the children, the child-focused organization and the general public.

Permit me to state here that justice and the commitment of child-focused organization to its universal tenets is a proof of the cardinal principles, upon which a Child-Focused organization is built and a very strong indication that children are safe under their care.

Case management is a window to the commitment of a child-focuses organisation to the protection of children. An occurrence of a case of abuse against a child doesn’t expose the soul of a child-focused institution like its response or management to same.

I think I should rest my case here and join you next week to take this discussion to another point or conclusion point.

I invite you to Think the CHILD…Think TODAY…Think the FUTURE…
Do have an INSPIRED week.
Your IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PRECIOUS AFRICAN CHILD,
Taiwo AKINLAMI
C) 2016 by Taiwo ‘ODINAKACHUKWU’ AKINLAMI…All Rights Reserved
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