PRESS RELEASE
DR. MARIO MARAZZI‐SANTIAGO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS MEETS AND RESUMES PENDING WORK

The meeting took place after the San Juan Court of First Instance issued a dismissal
and desist from the Governor to stop political intervention in it

San Juan, PR, March 13, 2018 — The Board of Directors of the Institute of Statistics met today and resumed its pending work, after 7 months without being able to convene as a result of the
controversy arose as to its composition, after a series of dismissals and appointments made last July, which were declared null and void by the San Juan Court of First Instance last week.

The following issues were addressed during the meeting:

1. A series of minutes from past meetings that were pending were approved.
2. It was approved to hold an extraordinary meeting to address technical issues related to the statistics of deaths due to hurricanes Irma and María
3. Resolution No. 2018-01 was approved to interpret the scope of administrative and fiscal autonomy granted to the Institute of Statistics by its Organic Law, in the light of Law No. 8-2017, also known as the Single Employer Act.
4. Resolution No. 2018-02 was approved to interpret the scope of administrative and fiscal autonomy granted to the Institute of Statistics by its Organic Law, in the light of Law No. 2-2017, also known as the Financial Advisory Authority and Tax Agency Act.
5. It was approved as an institutional position to favor the approval of P. de la C. 1476, who proposes to amend the Statistics Institute Act to provide that no public official can be part of the Board, and to establish restrictions applicable to former officials who wish to be members of the Board. In addition, some additional technical recommendations to the project were approved.
6. Several extensions were approved that the agencies had requested for violating the Institute's Information Request Orders related to the Interagency Validation Portal Act for the Granting of Incentives for Economic Development.
7. The Institute's Implementation Plan and Operational Budget for fiscal year 2017-18 were approved.
8. It was agreed to request a meeting with the Governor of Puerto Rico in order to be able to discuss pending issues related to the future of the Institute and the best ways in which the Institute can collaborate with the management of the Government for the benefit of the public interest.

“We have been able to restart the quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions exercised by this Board of Directors in search of promoting changes to the Government's data collection and statistics systems so that they are complete, reliable and quickly and universally accessible. For example, we were able to close a complaint from last year that helped the Graduate School of Planning of the University of Puerto Rico to maintain its accreditation with the American Planning Association for non-compliance with an information request order from the Institute for Statistics of the Examination Board of Professional Planners,” said Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, executive director of the Institute.

For his part, Dr. Antonio J. Fernós Sagebién, president of the Institute's Board of Directors, said: “We have major initiatives that are essential for Puerto Rico to recover and to have reliable and accessible statistics. To lift Puerto Rico up, we need to join forces; it can't be done any other way. Therefore, we have requested a meeting with the Governor to align our work agendas, putting the benefit of the public interest first.”

The meeting was attended by Dr. Antonio J. Fernós Sagebién, Dr. Ana L. Dávila, Dr. Sonia Balet, Dr. Marta Alvarez, Lcdo. Alex López Echegaray and Mr. Arnaldo Cruz.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through https://estadisticas.pr.gov, over 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through https://data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: https://indicadores.pr.

For more information you can visit our website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Consult users of Puerto Rico's Economic Statistics

They request collaboration to complete a survey on parenting experiences

ESCAPE and the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute join efforts to develop the First Survey on the Parenting Experience in Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico — February 27, 2025. ESCAPE, Center for Family Strengthening, in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), are developing the Survey on the Parenting Experience in Puerto Rico. This initiative seeks to gather valuable information about the experiences of mothers, fathers and guardians (people who are responsible for the upbringing of children) with the objective of strengthening efforts for the prevention of child abuse and developing more effective programs to serve families according to their needs

The executive director of ESCAPE, Yadira Pizarro Quiles, requested citizen collaboration by completing and sharing a survey and highlighted the importance of this tool for designing more precise, relevant and relevant intervention strategies. “Every family in Puerto Rico faces unique challenges, and with this survey we will be able to better understand their realities. The data collected will allow us to evaluate existing programs and develop more effective initiatives to support parents and caregivers in parenting, thus strengthening efforts to prevent child abuse,” said Pizarro.

Participation in the Puerto Rico Parenting Experience Survey is completely voluntary and is intended for those who are responsible for raising one or more children under 18 years of age in Puerto Rico. The questionnaire, which lasts approximately 20 to 30 minutes, guarantees the confidentiality of the answers, which will be anonymous and securely stored by the Institute.

The questionnaire is structured in seven sections: Sociodemographic data of the child, Experiences and Expectations, Discipline and Communication, Technology and Quality Time, Support Needs and Future, Socio-Demographic Data on the Respondent and a Closure and Feedback.

The executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, highlighted the value of data and statistics in the formulation of prevention strategies. “Access to up-to-date and reliable information is key to making informed decisions. With this survey, we will be able to generate data that will not only help us better understand the dynamics of parenting in Puerto Rico, but also serve as a basis for the creation of public policies that reinforce the protection and well-being of children. That's why it's important to have the support of all sectors helping to share and complete this survey,” he said.

The survey can be accessed at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/crianzamenores

To coordinate collaborative efforts, you can contact Mrs. Lourdes Burgos at 787-562-2932.

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Contact: Lourdes Burgos, R-27 - Cell. 787-562-2932

About ESCAPE:

ESCAPE, Family Strengthening Center, was the first non-profit organization created on the Island (1983) with the mission of preventing child abuse. The organization is dedicated to supporting and educating families, parents and the community in general about healthy and positive ways to relate, communicate and above all to raise, care for and protect children and adolescents from violence and abuse.

About the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

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