MCYS Conducts Counselling, training for parents reunited with children

MCYS Conducts Counselling, training for parents reunited with children

Singapore- Parents who are reunited with their children after the latter have been placed in foster care may receive parent-ing skills training, counselling and other services deemed necessary, according to Ministry of Commuity Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) spokesperson. The recent case of a Malaysian boy who was send back to Malaysia after being in foster care in Singapore has brought fostering in the spotlight. The MCYS had said earlier that the Malaysian Social Welfare Department would work with the boy's mother on the care arriange-ments. The MCYS had also explained that, since the mother is a Malaysian and the child was born out of wedlock, the child is not a Singapore citizen by birth. His citizenship status follows that of his mother. For Singaporeans, the MCYS Child Protection Service (CPS) works with natural parents as well as the children to prepare them for the eventual reintegra-tion ''Where possible'', the min-istry's spokesperson said in re-sponse to MediaCorp's queries. Before being reunited with their child, and show progress in the care plan. ''After being reunited, the family will be supported through ongoing monitoring by the CPS or through linking up the families with community agencies,'' the MCYS spokesperson added. ''In a small number of in-stances where the natural par-ents and children have to return to another country together, the MCYS makes contact with our overseas counterparts so that they can priovide similar assistance to support transition.'' As a general pratice, foster parents are informed of the estimated length of placement at the start. ''The plans are reviewed periodically, and the foaster parents are kept updated,'' said MCYS spokesperson. There are currently 345 foster children and 215 foster parents registered under the MCYS foster-ing scheme. The MCYS provides different forms of support to foster parents including a monthly allowance to cover the child's expenses, a fostering coordinator to provide necessary support and an emer-gency after-offlice hours hotline to contact their coordinator when there is an emergency. The MCYS said it will continue to review how to strengthen the support for foster parents in dif-ferent areas, including the transo-tion back to the children's natural families. Said the MCYS spokesperson: ''We understand that foster par-ents find it hard and emotionally distressing to part with a child whom they have cared for so much. ''But in managing children's cases, the MCYS also has to balance the rights of the parents to their children and not deny them the responsibility if they show their desire to care for their chil-dren and demonstrate efforts to do so.''