Who makes up the  NCFC?

The NCFC is made up of a chairperson appointed by the Minister of Human Development and Social Transformation, a small secretariat and fourteen committee members representing the following government and non-government entities:

• Belize Council of Churches
• Belize Family Court, Attorney General's Ministry
• Belize Police Department, Ministry of National Security
• Statistical Institute of Belize, Ministry of National Development
• Ministry of Human Development
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Labour
• Attorney General's Ministry
• National Organization for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NOPCAN)
• National Women's Commission
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• Youth Enhancement Services
• Young Women's Christian Association

What is our  purpose?

National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) was launched in 1994 as the major advisory body to the government on family and children's issues. It was established in recognition of the International Year of the Family. This committee succeeded the National Coordination Committee for Children, which was established in 1992. In 1999, a Statutory Instrument was passed which gave the NCFC legal status and outlined its terms of reference as follows:

• Promote, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and ensure that the government meets its national and international obligations as a party to the Convention.
• Promote, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the goals reached at the World Summits on the CRC.
• Promote public awareness on national legislation affecting families and children and facilitate the effective and efficient planning and coordination of efforts among and between non-governmental organizations, service clubs, churches and other organizations involved in the provision of services for families and children. (Click here for a link to NCFC's Social Service Directory.)
• Ensure that the various institutions, communities and homes in Belize understand and apply the standards of protection and care for children contained in national legislation and in the CRC.
• Recommend and advocate at different levels of Belizean society for policies for the care, protection and maintenance of families and children in Belize.