Mitigation Actions Taken to Protect At-risk Children from Abusive Situations against Potential System Lapses

Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) when will the Domestic Violence Awareness Training be reviewed and refreshed; and (b) whether the Ministry will be expanding or mandating the training to other sectors beyond professionals from childcare centres and schools in order to promote learning amongst practitioners, and increase public awareness of how to spot and report signs of child abuse.

Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the guideline on the maximum number of cases handled by each social worker annually; (b) what percentage of social workers are handling cases beyond the maximum number; and (c) how will the Ministry enhance the well-being of social workers to prevent burnout and lapses, enabling them to serve their clients to the best of their abilities.

Ms Mariam Jaafar asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the report to strengthen the child protection ecosystem, whether the Government will explore data integration or predictive risk tools to identify children at risk of harm based on multi-agency records such as (i) repeated school absenteeism, (ii) prior police reports or (iii) hospital visits and prioritise interventions.

Ms Diana Pang Li Yen asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider introducing legislation to (i) impose a duty on relevant persons such as parents, caregivers or teachers to notify the Ministry or SPF of a material breach of a child's care and protection order and (ii) empower the Ministry's officers to issue immediate protective directions or orders to keep the affected child safe.

Mr Vikram Nair asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the Report on the Review Panel's Findings and Recommendations to Strengthen the Child Protection Ecosystem published on 23 October 2025 (a) what steps will be taken to educate social service agencies and the public on making police reports for abused children; and (b) what actions the police are expected to take when such a report is made.

This question has been answered as part of the Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration's oral reply to Parliamentary Questions at the Sitting on 5 November 2025.