Pre-emancipation periods note the implementation of legislature and different mechanisms to protect the poor and vulnerable. Having moved away from colonial policies, new social policies were instituted. The latest policies were consolidated in Jamaica's Social Protection Strategy, published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). It takes a comprehensive approach in addressing the challenges faced by vulnerable groups. However, is this social protection strategy and institutional infrastructure adequate to meet the needs of Jamaica’s large vulnerable population? Considering the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, are these policies still effective? This report aims to address these questions by firstly, identifying those attributes that serve to marginalize those sections of the population that would be considered vulnerable, and whose needs are not well served by the current social safety net, and secondly, by understanding the dynamics surrounding these attributes, with a view to mitigating or eradicating them. In addition to examining theoretical and practical aspects of other jurisdictions' social policies and programmes, these steps are to ultimately present a viable model of a revised social protection architecture for the Jamaican state, with accompanying practical policy recommendations.