A mother of four said that when she tried to enlist help to complain about Government's Family Services, she was told that her only recourse was to go directly to the department.

The mother, with a long standing history with Child and Family Services, said: "I ran into a brick wall.'' The Island has no impartial third party to address grievances against the Family Services Department.

The woman recently told The Royal Gazette she sought help from various agencies and groups in a bid to lodge a grievance against the department, only to be referred her back to Family Services, the target of her complaint.

The woman's complaint against Family Services was regarding the health of her son, who is presently in foster care.

The mother said she contacted a medical social worker at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital but was told they could not get involved and was referred back to Family Services.

"I spoke to the Chief Medical Officer, the Police Juvenile Service, and I even spoke to social workers in Family Services,'' she said. "Its been a vicious circle.'' The mother said she obtained temporary legal aid earlier this year and sought the help of a lawyer.

"Then they (Legal Aid) cut it off,'' she recalled. "They said I had to do everything that Family Services said. They said they couldn't help me because it's a Family Services matter.'' Luelle Todd, who heads up Child and Family Services, said there were a number of avenues open to people with complaints regarding Family Services.

"If it is about a social worker or the performance of Family Services they should speak to a Family Services' supervisor,'' she advised.

"The first step is to speak to the supervisors. If they are not satisfied with that then they can call me and ask me to look into it.'' Ms Todd said the next avenue open to complainants was to speak to the Permanent Secretary.

"They can go as far as the Minister,'' she said, "but the majority of the cases do not reach that level.'' And the Chief Medical Officer echoed Ms Todd's sentiments regarding Health and Social Services' complaints procedure.

Dr. Cann said the Health Department had a standard form which anyone in the department could fill out to record a complaint.

And when the complaint was directed against several departments within the Ministry, Dr. Cann said the various departments liaison with each other to make sure a complaint is addressed.

"When a complaint is lodged, that is directed against several departments, every effort is made to communicate with each other to make sure that the complaint is addressed,'' Dr. Cann said.

And to enhance the complaints procedure Ms Todd said the idea of having advocates was being examined by Family Services.

"We are looking at different types of advocates,'' Ms Todd said. "All of these are under consideration.'' In the 1996 report, the Task Force on Child Abuse "strongly recommended'' the appointed of a child advocate who would be independent of Government or Government agencies.

"The advocate would advise the Minister on matters relating to the services rendered to children and generally to represent children receiving service under the Act,'' the report stated.

The task force suggested that Government "fully'' investigate the issue of creating a post.

Health and Social Services Minister Clarence Terceira said an ombudsman, an impartial person to look into complaints against Family Services, could be a possible solution to the issue of complaints.

"There is no ombudsman, but that would be a possibility,'' Dr. Terceira said.

"I understand that they have been quite effective in some countries. It could be an idea worth pursuing.'' Meanwhile complaints regarding Family Services should be directed to the Permanent Secretary or the Chief Medical Officer. he said.

"My job is to see that policy is carried out, not oversee individual cases,'' Dr. Terceira said. "Complaints should be lodged with the Permanent secretary or the Chief Medical Officer.'' Dr. Terceira added that when members of the public call him with personal issues involving his Ministry, he records their name and number and instructs someone within the appropriate department to look into the complaint.