Provisions for better integration of children with disabilities included in new nursery system

AMMAN — The Ministry of Social Development on Wednesday announced that its new system of nurseries (No. 77 of 2018) includes provisions to further integrate children with disabilities in daycares, noting that a committee representing several institutions concerned with the matter is currently drafting the instructions of the new system.

“The new system is aimed at integrating children with disabilities into their communities, while keeping them with their families, in line with the provisions of Article 27 of the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” ministry spokesperson, Fawaz Ratrout, told The Jordan Times, stressing that "the ministry is concerned with early childhood development and has a plan for this purpose”.

In 2017, the ministry issued a new system for the licensing of centres for early intervention for children with disabilities under the age of six, Ratrout highlighted, adding that it has also recently halted the licensing of shelter centres for persons with disabilities in accordance with Article 27 of the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, aiming to “focus on alternatives to institutional social care”.

The new nursery system also includes directions on the provision of informative material in the form of a question and answer section on the ministry’s website, coupled with awareness workshops for child care providers to be held by the ministry in cooperation with the National Council of Family Affairs (NCFA). 

“We have recently opened a channel of communication with the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) to analyse the capacities of daycares in Jordan to cater for children with disabilities,” NCFA Project Manager for Nurseries Haitham Al Zoubi told The Jordan Times on Thursday, explaining that the council is currently developing a plan in cooperation with the HCD to discern the type of training caregivers in the Kingdom need.

“We have also signed an agreement with the Ministry of Social Development to establish a total of six nurseries adjoined to centres for persons with disabilities across several governorates,” Zoubi pointed out. 

In addition to the provisions concerning children with disabilities, the new nursery system will encourage both public and private institutions in remote areas to establish daycares, according to Ratrout, who stated that transparency in the licensing system of the centres will also be strengthened by the new system.

Ultimately, the new regulations will also work towards the prevention and elimination of child abuse, he concluded.