According to Green, a number of children are on the street with parental consent, and they take money home. They do not live but work on the streets, so they are "out of place". In her view, a street child is one who makes the street his or her home.

In a Government Information Agency (GINA) release, the chief probation officer at the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, contended that there are no more than 30 street children in the country; they are the ones who make the streets their home.

Green said the ministry is prepared to work with families in an effort to develop better parents. The child will be truly helped by extending help to parents.

She pointed out that the Drop-in-Centre managed by the ministry plays a crucial role in this dilemma. It is the goal of the centre to remove children from the street, re-integrate them with their families and get them into school.

The centre is not a home for children, Green explained, but an organisation which provides a service to youths found on the streets.

The centre allows the children to become actively involved in music, craft, educational tours, health education and environmental sanitation. They also get instructions in a number of subjects based on a curriculum developed by the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

During the day the children are also provided counselling and individual attention.

GINA said further that the children at the centre also receive a bath, a change of clothes, a meal and a bed for the night and are attended to by a caregiver.

However, some children are recommended for the New Opportunity Corps when they are not amenable to discipline and are in need of serious corrective measures, despite efforts of trained social workers, the release added.