Evaluation Criteria Determining Safety of Child Returned to Families Post-placement in Place of Safety

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for safety checks conducted on children returned to their families after being placed in a place of safety or foster home (a) what are the areas evaluated to determine the safety of the child; (b) what measures are taken by case officers to ensure that their evaluation is based on accurate and complete information; and (c) what are the possible outcomes of these safety checks.

A child in alternative care will be returned to their family only after safety and risk concerns have been addressed. Case officers consider factors, such as parents' ability to continue providing safe care for the child; the stability of the family circumstances and living environment; the involvement of the family’s support network; and the progress of both parents and child in the course of the case intervention.

After the child is returned to the family, case officers conduct home visits where parents and child are engaged both together and separately. They look for whether any of the protective factors that supported the decision to reunite the child and family have changed. They also assess the living environment for any signs of concern. Updated assessments from professionals working with the family and updated interviews from the family's support network and trusted adults are also reviewed. In other words, case officers look for corroborative evidence and do not rely on bare assertions or assurances.

If no safety concerns are identified, case officers work with community agencies to continue monitoring and supporting the family. However, if safety concerns are identified, case officers will take other courses of action. These could involve stepping up safety measures by involving trusted adults or exercising statutory powers to remove the child from the family.