The Ministry of Youth, Social Development, and Seniors has completed a productive week of consultations to strengthen protections for Bermuda's most vulnerable children through an enhanced Litigation Guardian service. From March 3rd – 7th, the Ministry hosted strategic discussions with the Judiciary, Litigation Guardians, and Community Partners, facilitated by returning Consultant Anthony Douglas CBE with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Consultant led specialised sessions for the different stakeholder groups that included:
- Litigation Guardians who explored: how to handle complex casework management, the emerging child safeguarding trends, and best practice frameworks for structured annual programme reviews.
- Magistrates examined international best practices in child protection proceedings and discussed the impact of developmental issues in relation to the child’s timeline and court delays.
- Community partners inclusive of Parent guide, Milestones, MASC, and the Coalition for the Protection of Children were provided an overview of the critical role of Litigation Guardians in supporting vulnerable youth and discussed the need for cohesive collaboration.
Participants in the work sessions acknowledged notable progress made by the Litigation Guardians and Social Workers in amplifying children's voices in both casework and court reports.
The Ministry now aims to advance this work by fostering continued collaboration across the various stakeholder partners to maintain a culture of continuous improvement.
Consultant, Mr. Anthony Douglas, who has provided expert guidance to the Ministry for several years on developing a comprehensive Litigation Guardian service, also focused on assessing the past achievements of the litigation service and identifying priority areas for future enhancements and strengthening. During the past year, the Ministry established several foundational elements for a sustainable Litigation Guardian service, such as:
- A dedicated meeting room space for client interviews
- A policy and procedural guide for appointing litigation counsel for children when necessary
- A public information pamphlet developed to highlight the Role of Litigation Guardians
Minister Tinée Furbert expressed satisfaction with the progress made to-date: "I am heartened by the strides we have made in ensuring children and young people in Bermuda have a strong and independent voice. Our commitment is to build on the litigation guardian service with a sense of urgency, ensuring that decisions made in the best interests of children are swiftly implemented."
The Ministry has identified four key priorities for the coming year to build on the Litigation Guardian Framework:
- Finalising a comprehensive Practice Guidance for Litigation Guardians, to be launched in September
- Enhancing the role of the Practice Manager to focus more on providing training, coaching and mentorship of the Litigation Guardians
- Producing the first annual report of the Litigation Guardian Service
- Implementing robust performance management and quality assurance measures for the litigation guardian practice
The Ministry is also releasing today a first-time information pamphlet about the Role of the Litigation Guardian.
The pamphlet provides information on what is a litigation guardian, what does a litigation guardian do; the best standards of service and practice for litigation guardians; and, how a litigation guardian adds value on behalf of a child.
Copies of the information pamphlet will be distributed to the various stakeholder agencies and can also be collected from the Ministry of Youth, Social Development and Seniors Headquarters and downloaded from the Ministry’s website at https://www.gov.bm/ministry/youth-social-development-and-seniors.
The Ministry of Youth, Social Development, and Seniors remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the rights and well-being of children in Bermuda and will continue working closely with all stakeholders to strengthen the Litigation Guardian framework.