Ministry of Health and Welfare: Draft amendment to Child and Youth Welfare Act to be announced by end of April following Kai-Kai case

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) In response to the Kai-Kai child abuse death case, where the Taipei District Court sentenced Child Welfare League Foundation social worker Chen Shang-chieh to two years in prison for negligent homicide on April 16, the National Education Action Alliance today called for immediate initiation of amendments to the "Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act" and other related laws. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) stated that the draft amendment is expected to be announced by the end of April.

The National Education Action Alliance issued a press release pointing out that the Kai-Kai case not only involves individual criminal responsibility. The court's ruling in this case recognized that social workers have a guardian's duty to protect children under their care, forming a precedent-setting individual judgment. Subsequent discussions should be held publicly by the Legislative Yuan to incorporate this into explicit legal provisions.

Wang Han-yang, chairman of the National Education Action Alliance, stated that if the state expects social workers to bear legal responsibility for ensuring children are no longer harmed, it should simultaneously clarify responsibility divisions, standards of due diligence, crisis escalation mechanisms, and institutional responsibilities. Otherwise, the child protection field will fall into the most dangerous situation: legal responsibilities are heightened, but institutional standards remain vague; individuals may be held accountable, but how the entire system can prevent the next tragedy is not clearly explained.

The National Education Action Alliance called for prompt initiation of amendments to the "Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act" (兒少權法) to elevate responsibility divisions in child protection cases, standards for handling high-risk cases, inter-agency collaboration and information sharing, and major incident review mechanisms to the legal level.

At the same time, amendments to the "Social Worker Act" should also be made to establish clearer standards of due diligence, professional responsibility segregation, and pre-prosecution professional review mechanisms when social workers' child protection duties involve criminal risks, to avoid long-term confusion between institutional and individual responsibilities.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare responded that, in view of the impact of diversified family structures and widespread use of digital technology on children's growth, it has initiated a comprehensive review of the "Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act." It hopes to refine the system, promote a child and youth rights protection network, align with family needs, strengthen cross-ministerial resource connections, implement child and youth rights protection and timely intervention, and create an environment conducive to children's safe growth and physical and mental development.

Regarding the progress of the amendments, MOHW stated that the draft is expected to be announced by the end of April, and regional public hearings will be held in May.

Regarding public concerns about the professional judgment, responsibility boundaries, and related risks faced by social workers, MOHW stated that it will continue to collect opinions from all sectors, and work with relevant agencies to conduct an overall review of the institutional and practical aspects. While balancing professional support, clear systems, and the best interests of individual cases, it will continue to strengthen relevant mechanisms to ensure that frontline personnel can perform their duties in a reasonable and predictable institutional environment. (Editors: Chen Chih-chung, Tseng Yi-ning, Kuan Chung-wei) 1140417