KUALA LUMPUR: The Welfare Department (JKM) has handled over 5,000 cases of abuse and neglect involving children as of August this year, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said these include 1,240 cases of physical abuse; 1,603 cases of sexual abuse; 73 cases of emotional abuse; 1,530 neglect cases; 156 cases of abandonment or parentless children, and 614 cases of various factors.
"Some of these rescued children are still in JKM institutions, some are placed with foster parents, while others have returned to their families after an assessment deemed that their families no longer pose a risk to the children involved," she said.
She was responding to a supplementary question by Willliam Leong Jee Keen (Pakatan Harapan-Selayang) who had asked for statistics of children being abused and who required protection.
Meanwhile, Nancy said court-appointed guardians or individuals would conduct quarterly monitoring of children placed under foster parents or qualified and suitable persons (QSP) to ensure their welfare and safety.
She said this was part of the post-placement standard operating procedures, which had also been included in the guidelines for managing the placement of children under foster care or QSP.
She added that after the placement of children with foster parents or QSP, a court-appointed guardian, whether a member of the child protection team, or an individual deemed suitable by the court, would oversee both the children and QSP.
"This is conducted every three months as directed by the court," she said, in a reply to a supplementary question by Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (Perikatan Nasional-Langkawi).
Mohd Suhaimi had asked about the ministry's measures to ensure that children under foster care did not face the risk of abuse.
Nancy also said the JKM-appointed guardian or individual would schedule meetings with foster parents or QSP at JKM offices or at home.
The discussions with children and foster parents would also be conducted either separately or together, and would address the issues faced, children's needs, the family's role, as well as strategies and plans to meet these needs.
"In addition, the guardian can also visit schools and workplaces (of the guardian) and have discussions with teachers or employers about the issues faced by the children and their solutions, financial needs, and assess the progress of the children," she added.