Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez inaugurated the Justice for Childhood Project and the TEMIS Room at the Carolina Judicial Center, making Carolina the sixth judicial region to implement the project and home to the second TEMIS Room, a space adapted for minors involved in court proceedings. The project strengthens guidance and referrals to free legal representation in child abuse and neglect cases: after the Department of the Family removes a child from a home, parents and guardians receive orientation on their rights and court processes, and those who qualify are referred to Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico and the Inter American University Law School’s Community Legal Office.
It also supports protective order requests for minors and works with the Specialized Chamber for Gender Violence Cases on alleged sexual abuse. In fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, the Carolina region handled about 533 family cases, 86 abuse and neglect cases affecting 153 minors, 300 protective orders for minors and 15 criminal child abuse cases.
The TEMIS Room offers reading areas, sensory resources, age-adapted furniture, accessible spaces and equipment for closed-circuit testimony, designed with advice from Centro PITI, Casa Albizu and SER de Puerto Rico. Carolina’s region covers Carolina, Loíza, Trujillo Alto and Canóvanas; the project now operates in Bayamón, Mayagüez, Ponce, San Juan, Utuado and Carolina, advancing the Judiciary’s Strategic Plan 2030.