Minister launches Child Development Dept to address abuse, neglect

The government has officially launched the Child Development Department under the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry.

Its minister Nancy Shukri said the department was set up to expand delivery systems at community and institutional levels, as well as address child safety and welfare concerns, particularly abuse and neglect.

“With increasing challenges, there is a growing need for specialisation in the delivery of these services. With specialisation, we can enhance the roles and responsibilities within these positions

“As we can observe, cases involving children are becoming increasingly complex every day,” she told a press conference at Putrajaya today.

Nancy (above) said the department will have its own enforcement officers tasked with handling specific cases involving children.

She said this is to address the overload of cases currently handled by the Welfare Department which has resulted in a backlog.

“While there is a limited degree of enforcement authority, it is currently insufficient. Therefore, we need to establish a specialised unit to handle child cases.

“Our current system, operating under the purview of the Welfare Department, grants us broad powers, but these are not specific enough to address the unique needs of child cases,” she added.

Citing Welfare Department statistics, she said the number of children requiring care and protection rose sharply with 8,041 cases in 2023 compared to 6,770 in 2022 and 6,144 in 2021.

At the launch ceremony, Nancy said the new department was actually established on Sept 1, 2023, replacing the Children’s Division under the Welfare Department.

She said it was a direct response to the prime minister’s call in the 2023 Budget to address child safety and well-being issues.

She added that the Welfare Department is also undertaking a comprehensive review and amendment of the Child Act 2001 (Act 611) and the Child Care Centre Act 1984 (Act 308).

“A Special Project Team (SPT) has been formed to ensure the amendments are effective and consider the expertise and views of relevant stakeholders,” she said.

At the launch ceremony, the minister witnessed the appointment of the SPT members involved in drafting the amendments to the acts.

The team comprises representatives from government agencies, academia, NGOs, and industry experts with experience in child-related fields.

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