BARBADOS SEEKS ASSISTANCE WITH ITS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001339

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI ELAB PHUM BB XL
SUBJECT: BARBADOS SEEKS ASSISTANCE WITH ITS
REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS

Ref: STATE 144021


1. (u) This is an action request, see para 10.


2. (sbu) Summary: In a wide-ranging courtesy
call with the Ambassador October 17, Barbados?
Minister for Social Transformation said he was
leading an effort to establish a domestic
program for reintegrating paroled prisoners into
Barbadian society and invited the USG to provide
any appropriate assistance. Supporting such a
home-grown effort could provide an excellent
opportunity to leverage scarce USG resources
while at the same time rewarding a regional
partner for burden-sharing. End summary.


3. (sbu) The Ambassador?s October 17 courtesy
call on Barbados Social Transformation Minister
Trevor Prescod covered a wide array of topics,
from prisoner rehabilitation to housing codes to
care options for the severely disabled.
Prescod, whose ministry cross-cuts with a number
of others including Health, Internal (Home)
Affairs, and Education, is trying to corral an
array of disparate programs under one roof and
connect them to a single theme of poverty
alleviation.


4. (sbu) Within that framework, Prescod
discussed with the Ambassador the most pressing
concerns for the ministry to date ?
rehabilitation of parolees and care for the
severely disabled. He noted a recent decision
by the government to institute a pilot program
to parole lower-risk inmates as part of a new
prison reform plan that also included the
opening of a new central prison. He said this
decision, whatever its other impacts, would put
a number of parolees on the street without
adequate skills to re-integrate.


5. (sbu) To address this concern, he said his
ministry is committed to reversing the stigma
against hiring people with criminal records. He
noted that the government ? employing 40% of the
country ? is prohibited from hiring anyone with
a criminal record, and that there is a
disinclination in the private sector to hire
former inmates as well. Moreover, as potential
employees must provide a ?certificate of
character? as part of the hiring process, people
with criminal records are automatically
disadvantaged when applying for jobs. Prescod
said his ministry is researching the legal bases
for this employment discrimination with an eye
to overturning it through recommendations to the
Attorney General.


6. (sbu) Moreover, Prescod said his ministry
is working on a plan to provide counseling and
vocational training to parolees to ease their
transition back into productive society. He
said the ministry is also looking into setting
up ?halfway houses? for parolees to ease back
into society, as they often enter strained
family situations upon their release. He noted
that returnees from the U.S. would likely
benefit from the program as well, welcomed the
recently announced IOM pilot projects, and
encouraged further collaboration between
Barbados and the USG along these lines to
provide similar support for Barbadian returnees.
He also asked if the USG could provide
educational materials, in the form of DVD?s or
similar media, to help the ministry deal with
thorny rehabilitation and reintegration issues.


7. (sbu) Regarding care for the disabled,
Prescod noted the variety of facilities around
Barbados dedicated to caring for people with
varying levels of disability and illness, and
said his ministry is dedicated to improving the
quality of care and the quality of life both for
those with disabilities and those who care for
them. He noted the ministry is in the process
of establishing a respite care system to assist
those caring for severely disabled family
members.


8. (sbu) Barbados? greatest need at present,

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he added is for trained specialists in
specialized fields dedicated to long-term care.
He singled out the lack of trained and qualified
prosthetics specialists and physiotherapists as
particularly critical needs, and said he would
welcome any assistance the USG could provide to
assist in training Barbadians to fill these
niche specialties.


9. (sbu) Comment: Prescod did not hold this
meeting with his hand out. In fact, we were
surprised to learn that Barbados is taking
strong initiative to establish its own
reintegration and rehabilitation program for
parolees (and, as needed, returnees from the
U.S.). USG support for such a program would
reward Barbados for taking responsibility for
its returnees and could encourage others in the
region to do the same. It might also be a way
to stretch USG assistance money by plugging into
existing programs vice creating programs from
whole cloth.


10. (sbu) Action Requests: Understanding the
significant efforts that have gone into
launching the IOM program (reftel),we would
welcome Washington?s views on the possibility of
supporting Barbados? home-grown initiative.
Meanwhile, we would also welcome any educational
material Washington could provide or procure to
advise this program. Finally, we welcome
Washington input regarding possible training
opportunities in medical specialist programs,
whether through the State Partnership Program or
another mechanism.

OURISMAN