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Children need a safe and nurturing
environment for optimum growth and development. As far as possible,
children should stay with their families in a stable and conducive
environment. When families become dysfunctional or unsafe for their
members, intervention is needed to ensure that the children are put
in a safe and secure place for their well-being.
MCYS is the lead agency against
Child abuse. Through effective detection, incisive
investigations, and swift punishment of perpetrators, MCYS seeks to
protect children from child abuse. Victims are also placed under a
care programme to help them through the trauma of their experience.
In some cases, this involves placing children into Children's Homes or foster care.
MCYS co-ordinates the investigation
among all professionals in cases reported for child abuse. Case
conferences are convened to facilitate sharing of knowledge and
opinions on cases and the decisions on follow-up action. MCYS also
monitors the implementation of the protection and welfare plans
for the child.
In 2002, MCYS developed a set
of standards for child protection work in Singapore. The National Standards for Protection of Children sets out the service standards
and service delivery framework for partners in child protection.
The book is also available from Family and Child Welfare Branch,
Rehabilitation and Protection Division, MCYS.
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Child Abuse
Child abuse is defined as any act of commission or commission
by a parent or guardian which would endanger or impair the child's
physical or emotional well-being or that are judged by a mixture
of community values and professionals to be inappropriate.
Child abuse includes:
- Physical Abuse
- Neglect
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional
and Psychological Abuse
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The Children and Young Persons Act provides the legal basis
for the protection and intervention by relevant authorities
if a child (below the age of 14) or young person (from 14 years
to below 16 years of age) is found to be abused or neglected.
Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse
Reporting of suspected child abuse is the first positive
step in helping to prevent or stop the abuse. Appropriate investigation
and intervention will be conducted to prevent further harm to
the child. At the same time, professional assistance will also
be provided to the abused child and the family. For further
information or for reporting of child abuse, please contact:
Child Protection and Welfare Helpline: 1800-258 6378
(Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5pm and Saturday, 8.30am-1pm)
Child Protection and Welfare Services
10th Storey MCYS Building
512 Thomson Road
Singapore 298136
or
the Police Divisional HQ or the nearest Neighbourhood Police
Post
The
booklet,
"Love Our Children - Prevent Child Abuse"
provides more information on child abuse and its prevention. |
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Children who are registered with MCYS' Fostering Scheme are usually children whose parents / guardians are in ill-health and unable to look
after them, or children who have been abandoned, neglected or ill-treated by their parents / guardians.
The Fostering Scheme
serves as an alternative care arrangement for children in need
of a conducive home environment. It is usually a short-term
arrangement to meet the emergency care needs of a child. In
some cases, it may become a long-term care arrangement if the
parents / guardians are unable to work out suitable care arrangements
for their children.
| Criteria
to be foster mother |
- An applicant
should preferably be:
- between
30 and 60 years old;
- female;
- married;
and
- a full-time
housewife
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Foster parents must also not be recipients of the Public Assistance
Scheme and the family must not be dependent on the fostering
allowance as a main source of income. Widows, single women and
couples without children who are interested in becoming foster
parents may also be considered on a case-by-case basis.
For
Application / More Information
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| Interested
applicants for The Fostering Scheme or those who would
like more information can: |
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MCYS provides on-going
support and monitoring of children who have been abused or neglected
by their families. Besides looking into the needs of the children,
MCYS also works with their families to help them manage their problems
at home.
The Enable A Family (EAF) Volunteer Scheme aims to recruit volunteers
to befriend these families as an additional support to improve their
day-to-day functions.
The goals of the EAF Volunteer Scheme are:
- To ensure
the safety of children in their families;
- To enable
the children to live with their families, instead of being placed
with alternative care;
- To encourage
and improve the workings of the family so that they are better
able to cope with crises; and
- To enrich
families by linking them to the available resources in the community.
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Want to know more about the "Enable A Family Volunteer Scheme"?
Please refer to our latest publication Protecting Children in Singapore (2005) for an overview of the state of child protection in Singapore. It also includes a description of services, programmes and trends in child protection cases from 2000 to 2004.
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