SINGAPORE – If a child who had been abused by his loved ones has not been seen in the community for some time and social workers are worried about his safety, there are now clear protocols on what to do to trace his whereabouts.

Community agencies, such as family service centres, schools and childcare centres, should call the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

The MSF will check with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to see if the child has travelled abroad or alert the police to find the child, said its senior principal social worker, Ms Yogeswari Munisamy, at the MSF’s Child Protective Service (CPS).

This procedure has been put in place since November 2020 to strengthen the child protection system.

Ms Yogeswari said there is no prescribed length of time for the child to have not been seen in public before agencies should alert the MSF.

Rather, she said, cases where social workers fail to see and interact with a child despite multiple attempts to do so will be flagged. The new procedure also means that agencies are quicker to act if they suspect something might be amiss.

In the past, the protocols were not as clear.

“Sometimes the family service centre is very concerned that the child is missing for long, and they might decide to contact the CPS. Sometimes they may decide to go to the police; sometimes they may not. They may just wait,” said Ms Yogeswari.

The issue of child protection came up in Parliament on Oct 3 when Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong asked for updates on safeguards for children in foster care who have returned home to their parents and for the length of time that MSF continues to check on their well-being.

His question came after a 35-year-old man was sentenced in September to 21½ years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane for causing the death of his two-year-old daughter, Umaisyah.

To cover up the crime, he and his wife burned Umaisyah’s body in a metal pot and hid it in a box under the stove in their home.

Umaisyah had been placed in foster care since she was three to four months old as her father was in a drug rehabilitation centre, while his wife was assessed to be unable to take care of the girl.

She was returned to them about two years later, but the father abused her until she died in 2014.

The couple spun various lies to hide her death, including to an Education Ministry officer who contacted them to find out why she was not registered for Primary 1.

The crime was uncovered only five years later when Umaisyah’s uncle found the pot and showed it to his friends, who reported the discovery to the police.

In response to Mr Yong’s question, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said that since November 2020, MSF has “further strengthened” protocols on information-sharing and coordination with various agencies to look out for vulnerable children under the state’s care to ensure their well-being.

Ms Yogeswari said these include more detailed plans to keep a child safe, including making more effort to engage the child himself and members of his family to come up with the safety plan.

This is so that everyone knows what to do in various situations, and can play their part to keep the child safe, she said.

“The child has a voice in the safety planning (process) and the child is also coached to raise issues,” she said, adding that there are now children who call the CPS to report abuse.

Community agencies now also give more regular updates to the CPS.

With the strengthened protocols, community agencies such as child protection specialist centres and family service centres will support and monitor the family for at least one year after the child returns home, depending on the family’s needs.

Mr Mohamed Fareez Mohamed Fahmy, divisional director of AMKFSC Community Services, said families are generally more willing to cooperate with social workers from community agencies once they know that the CPS is keeping tabs on them.

This is because the CPS has statutory powers to take various forms of action, he said, unlike community agencies.

Ms Yogeswari said child protection work often involves multiple partners, and there can be more than 10 agencies working with one family on a myriad of problems, ranging from health and money to marital woes.

Mr Fareez cited as an example a woman who became depressed because of marital problems and took her anger out on her husband’s son from his previous marriage. This was to spite her husband.

She caned the eight-year-old boy 10 to 20 times when he misbehaved, or made him stand in a corner for between three and six hours. The boy was eventually placed in foster care for a period of time over abuse concerns, he said.

Mr Fareez said social workers have to work with various groups to help the woman cope with her mental health condition and other issues, while seeing to the child’s needs and keeping him safe after he goes home.

For most cases, there is no further incidence of abuse after the child returns home, Ms Yogeswari said. 

She added that a lot of work is needed to prepare the parents and the child before the child is allowed to return home from alternative care.

For example, parents may have to attend courses to build up their parenting skills, and also learn how to deal with their stresses and problems. 

“The parent’s motivation and commitment to change is an important aspect of assessment when it comes to reunification,” she said. “For us, safety is very critical. If there is no sense of psychological and physical safety for the child, we will not proceed with reunification for sure.”

She said that research has shown that children who are reunited with their family have better long-term stability and well-being than those who remain in long-term alternative care, such as foster care or a children’s home.

Ms Yogeswari said many of the children say they want to go home as they miss it.

She added: “It’s not like 100 per cent of the time the parents are abusive, and they do have many positive memories in the family.”