The Probation and Welfare Officer who dealt with Lilly Wong's matter last week Wednesday "demonstrated lack of initiative and poor judgement," according to Minister within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services & Social Security, Bibi Shadick.
In a statement issued through the Government Information Agency (GINA), the minister declared that her ministry's welfare department "must take full responsibility for its failure to provide timely intervention into the situation".
The statement also said that ministry officials are assessing the situation to recommend the appropriate action to be taken against the officer.
Earlier this week the minister had launched an investigation into how the one-year-old child, whose mother had left her with a taxi driver, was returned to the stranger's home where she had been staying for a few days, even after she was taken to the ministry.
Last week Wednesday, a Sophia resident had visited Stabroek News and reported that the child had been abandoned in her husband's taxi and that she could no longer keep the child since she had five children of her own.
After attempts by this newspaper to locate the child's mother proved futile, she was taken to the ministry where a promise was made that she would be placed in a home the very afternoon.
However, the child was returned to the strangers after the officer failed to get her into the home.
The officer also instructed the Sophia resident's daughter, who was with the child at the time to return with the child the following morning. Later that same afternoon the child's mother turned up at the Sophia home and collected her child.
Minister Shadick had told Stabroek News on Monday that the officer had reported that the woman's daughter had left with the child of her own free will. She had said that the ministry knew the child's mother.
According to the statement, efforts were made to contact relatives of the child's mother but these proved futile.
However, it said that a convalescent home had been identified which was willing to keep the child and efforts would also be made to ensure that the mother of the child received counselling.
The minister told Stabroek News yesterday that she had suggested that the child be placed in the home temporarily.
She said that they were attempting to convince the child's mother to leave the child in the home where she could visit her as often as she wanted until she could improve her living conditions. At present, the woman and her child are temporarily housed in the city at a friend.
In the statement, Shadick said that the mother loves her child and that is grounds for her to keep the child. However, because of the circumstances regarding the abandoning of the child, other help may be critical to ensuring both child and mother are properly cared for.
The statement said it is alleged that the mother visited the ministry on a number of occasions soliciting help, but was on some occasions given $500 as monetary assistance.
"It is the ministry's policy that no monetary gifts, no matter how small, are authorised to be hand-distributed by officials of the ministry except through the Difficult Circumstances Department."
It added that provisions would be made for crisis intervention and professional training for employees of the welfare department of the ministry.
The minister said her ministry is interested in the welfare of the nation's children and supervises orphanages and other children's homes to seriously address children's welfare.
The improved capacity of the welfare department with trained social workers is to ensure its effective functioning.
"It is unfortunate that there are still cases where children are disadvantaged for one reason or another. This however, does not mean that the ministry is not doing its work. It fulfils its mandate by providing valuable services to all Guyanese."
Minister Shadick said she is happy that matters of such nature are reported and brought to the public's attention.
However, she wishes that the good deeds the ministry does to help thousands of people are also highlighted adding that her ministry "has nothing to hide and is committed to the welfare of all those it serves".