Chairman of the Children's Authority Stephanie Daly says there is just one piece of legislation which was keeping back the authority from being fully up and running.
In a brief telephone interview on Wednesday she said the organisation was waiting on the Adoption of Children Amendment Bill, which she said was expected to be laid in Parliament this week.
She assured, however, that in the meantime staff at the authority had undergone continuous training.
Daly said there were about 100 staff members and as the work of the authority increased she expected the staff also to increase.
Daly's response came in wake of criticisms from Diego Martin Central MP Dr Amery Browne, who blasted the People's Partnership Government for failing to have the Children's Authority up and running during its four-and-a-half years in office.
Browne made the statement in Parliament on Wednesday during the debate of the motion to approve Children-Related Regulations.
"Back in 2009 the Member of Siparia and her colleague complained when we only partially proclaimed the Children's Authority Act. As of today many sections of that act remain unclaimed after four-and-a-half years.
"Only about 50 per cent of the authority's staff is in place at this time. So there is still a lot of work to be done in that regard," Browne said.
He also criticised the fact that T&T's family planning services remained in a state of limbo and urged that much more was need to combat violence against children.
"It is a reality that the infant mortality rate has been on the rise in T&T and our efforts need to address that.
"It is a reality that violence against children in our homes, on our streets and even in our health care institutions has been a cause of serious concern and we still have no outcome for many of these cases," Browne said.
While acknowledging that some work has been done regarding the authority Browne said it was not quite ready to take full control and command and to co-ordinate the response to the concerns of children.
Gender, Youth and Child Development Minister Clifton De Coteau, who made an earlier presentation, assured that measures were already implemented in the authority to ensure it ran smoothly, including proper training of managers.
De Coteau also outlined some regulations regarding accommodation and the general governance of children's homes.
But Browne said more specific answers were need adding: "I am really wondering where these regulations were subject to sufficient scrutiny.
"These regulations lack detail and they are very vague. The Children's Authority regulations are not quite at the level they need to be at," Browne added.