MCYS MEDIA RELEASE NO: 18/2008

DATE OF ISSUE: 05/03/2008

5 March 2008

MEDIA RELEASE

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS ACT TO BE AMENDED TO PROVIDE FOR

HIGHER STANDARD OF CARE, PROTECTION AND REHABILITATION

CHILDREN & YOUNG PERSONS HOMES

TO BE LICENSED

1 The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports is currently

reviewing the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA). Some of the proposed
amendments to the Act will provide for the following to be carried out in order to
raise the standard of care, protection and rehabilitation of children and young
persons:

A To require all non-gazetted Homes for children and young persons

operated by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to be licensed.

There are currently 24 Homes run by VWOs for children and young
persons. Eleven of these Homes hold gazette status, which requires them to
admit cases ordered by the Juvenile Court (please refer to Annex A). The
new licensing requirement will apply to the remaining 13 Homes which do
not hold any gazette status.

B To require all Homes, both gazetted and licensed, to conduct regular

review of the progress of all children and young persons under their care.

This will be an enhancement to the present regulations under the Act which
require only certain case types to be reviewed. The review of all cases in
the Homes will enable closer tracking of progress, and better assistance
and support for these children and young persons.

C To require all Homes, both gazetted and licensed, to be subject to

mandatory inspections by MCYS.

These inspections will ensure that the specified standards are observed.
They will be in addition to the inspections conducted at least once in two
months by an independent Board of Visitors appointed by the Minister.

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 D To give the Director of Social Welfare and the Protector, appointed
under the CYPA, the authority to stop the VWOs from operating the Homes
by revoking or suspending the license in instances of mismanagement of
the Homes or the residents.

Under such circumstances, the Director of Social Welfare will also have the
authority to transfer the residents to other Homes and/or to appoint a
suitable body to take over the management the Homes.

2 The review of the CYPA is currently on-going. Besides the proposed

amendments described above, other changes to the Act are also being looked into
to enhance the care, protection and rehabilitation of children and young persons.
All proposed amendments to the CYPA will be put up for public consultation in mid-
2008.

3 First enacted in 1949, the CYPA is the main legislation in Singapore that
provides for the care, protection and rehabilitation of children and young persons.
Please refer to Annex B for details on the CYPA.

4 The Act was last amended in 2001 to widen the scope of child protection
and include more options in the rehabilitation process. The 2001 amendments also
placed greater emphasis on parental involvement in the rehabilitation of youth
offenders and the care and protection of children and young persons. Please refer
to Annex C for the main amendments to the CYPA in 2001.

ISSUED BY

MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH AND SPORTS

Annexes

Annex A: List of voluntary-run CYP Homes in Singapore

Annex B: Key Provisions currently in the CYPA
Annex C: Main amendments to the CYPA in 2001

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 ANNEX A

LIST OF VWOs-RUN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS HOMES

No. Name of Home Remarks

Gazetted Homes
1 Bukit Batok Boys’ Hostel • Approved Institution under the Probation
of Offenders Act

2 Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s • Place of Safety and Approved Home

Home under CYPA

3 Gracehaven Salvation Army • Approved School, Approved Home, and

Place of Safety under CYPA
• Approved Institution under the Probation
of Offenders Act

4 Haven Salvation Army • Approved Home and Place of Safety

under CYPA

5 Kids United Home • Approved Home and Place of Safety

under CYPA

6 Muhammadiyah Welfare Home • Approved School, Approved Home and

Place of Safety under CYPA

7 Pertapis Children’s Home • Approved Home and Place of Safety

under CYPA

8 Pertapis Centre for Women and • Approved School, Approved Home, and
Girls Place of Safety under CYPA
• Approved Institution under the Probation
of Offenders Act
• Place of Safety under Women’s Charter

9 Sunbeam Place • Place of Safety under CYPA

10 The TENT (Teenagers Experience • Place of Safety under CYPA

New Truth) • Place of Safety under the Women’s
Charter

11 Marymount Centre, Ahuva Good • Place of Safety under CYPA

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No. Name of Home Remarks

Shepherd • Place of Safety under the Women’s

Charter

Non-gazetted Homes to be licensed

12 Andrew and Grace Home -

13 Boys’ Town -

14 Cannosaville Children’s Home -

15 Children’s Aid Society Melrose -

Home

16 Community Beyond -

17 Darul Ihsan Boys -

18 Darul Ihsan Lilbanat -

19 Infant Jesus Centre, Clementi -

20 Jamiyah Children’s Home -

21 Ramakrishnan Mission Boys’ -

Home

22 MINDSville@Napiri Children’s Home for the Disabled which also admit

Home children and young persons

23 Moral Home for Disabled Home for the Disabled which also admit
children and young persons

24 Red Cross Home for Disabled Home for the Disabled which also admit
children and young persons

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 ANNEX B

KEY PROVISIONS IN THE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS ACT

Protection of Children and Young Persons (Part II)

(i) Sections 4 - 27 set out when a child or young person is in need of care and
protection; what constitutes ill-treatment of a child or young person; powers
to remove a child or young person to a place of safety; restrictions on
children and young persons taking part in public entertainment; trafficking in
children; and interventions in situations of abuse and / or exploitation.

Juvenile Court (Part III)

(ii) Sections 28 - 52 set out the considerations of the Juvenile Court; the
procedures in the Juvenile Court; Orders for children and young persons
guilty of an offence; and powers of the Juvenile Court in respect of children
and young persons in need of care and protection.

Remand Homes (Part IV)

(iii) Sections 53 - 54 establish the guidelines by which a child or young person

may be remanded or committed to custody in a remand home.

Place of Detention (Part V)

(iv) Section 55 establishes the provision of places of detention.

Approved Schools and Approved Homes (Part VI)

(v) Sections 56 - 67 cover the appointment of approved schools and approved

homes; discharge and transfer of juveniles; and the role of the Board of
Visitors

Provisions Applicable to Persons Being Detained in Approved Schools, Approved

Homes, Remand Homes and Places of Detention (Part VII)

(vi) Sections 68 – 82 cover the duties and powers of managers of institutions;

review of cases of detained persons; and medical treatment of children and
young persons in need.

Expenses and Contributions (Part VIII)

(vii) Sections 83 – 84 establish the guidelines for contributions by parents and

guardians in respect of the maintenance of the child or young person.

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Miscellanous (Part IX)

(viii) Sections 85 – 89 set out the powers of Juvenile Court conferred on other
courts; protection from personal liability; information relating to children and
young persons in need of care and protection; regulations and rules of
court.

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 ANNEX C

MAIN AMENDMENTS TO THE

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS ACT IN 2001

The main amendments of the Act in 2001 encompass the areas of Child
Protection, Rehabilitation of Juvenile Offenders and the Administration of Approved
Schools and Approved Homes:

(i) Widening the scope of child abuse to include emotional and psychological
abuse.

(ii) Empowering the Director, Protector or Police Officer to remove and send to
a place of safety a child who is in need of care and protection.. In addition,
the Court may order the child or young person and his parents to undergo
counselling, psychotherapy, assessments and other programmes.

(iii) Protecting the identity of the child or young person through prohibiting the
print and broadcast media from disclosing any picture or particulars of the
child or young person who is involved in any court proceedings, unless it is
in the interest of justice to do so. This is to protect the child or young person
from negative media coverage which may affect his self-esteem and his re-
integration into society.

(iv) Authorising the Protector to require the assistance of parents and any
significant person to provide information pertinent to the circumstances of
abuse in order to ensure thoroughness and accuracy in the investigation of
child abuse.

(v) Protecting MCYS welfare officers and police officers from civil and criminal
liability in the professional assessment of child abuse and investigations, if
they act in good faith. In addition, the Act protects a person whom, on
suspicion of child abuse, informs the relevant authorities in good faith, from
personal liability. The person’s identity is also being protected under the Act.

(vi) Granting the Court wider options in ordering the rehabilitation of juvenile
offenders. These options are: Community Service Order (Stand-alone),
Family Conference, Probation with Detention and Weekend Detention
(Stand-alone or with Probation). These options give the Court greater
flexibility to manage juvenile offenders. As the Probation Officer is able to
tailor the options to suit the offenders individually, the success of
rehabilitation will be greatly enhanced.

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(vii) Giving the Court additional powers to send the juvenile offender and/or his
parents for counselling, psychological assessment and to attend
programmes aimed to improve parent-child relationship. The court may also
require the parents to enter into a bond to comply with the given orders.
Moreover, parents are now required to attend all court proceedings that their
child is involved in unless it is not in the interest of the child to do so.

(viii) Trying a child or young person who has committed a serious offence that is
triable in the High Court in a Juvenile Court, subject to certain conditions.
With the closure of the Young Offenders Section in prisons, the Act now
permits the Court to order the offender (both male and female), age 14 to
less than 16 years to be admitted to the Reformative Training Centre (RTC),
provided the offender has committed a previous offence and was sent to a
MCYS Approved School. Furthermore, the offender must be of so unruly a
character that he is beyond the rehabilitative means of the juvenile justice
system and his presence in the Approved School would prove disruptive for
the rehabilitation of other juveniles.

(ix) Reinforcing the administration of approved schools and approved homes.

The conveying of prohibited articles by visitors and parents to the residents
is now made illegal. In addition, a resident who escapes from the home can
now be arrested without warrant and brought back to the home.