The central government would invest NT$6.25 billion (US$195.6 million) this year and next year to expand services for elderly people living alone, helping to ensure that they can receive timely assistance during emergencies, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
Due to Taiwan’s status as a super-aged society, as well as changing family structures and social values, an increasing number of older people are living alone, the ministry told an Executive Yuan briefing.
Responding to the demographic shift, the government would invest NT$6.25 billion from its special resilience budget so that local governments can expand support for older people living alone, it said, adding it would supervise the funding.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Starting this year, local governments would interview people in such situations to better understand their living conditions and requirements, while providing care, meals, emergency rescue assistance and other services as needed, the ministry said.
About 700,000 people would be interviewed over the next two years and about 350,000 are expected to require support, it added.
Using a digital governance model, data from home visits would be integrated with data from the National Health Insurance and other social welfare systems to monitor their health and living conditions, it said.
The ministry would develop an early warning system to provide real-time care and essential services before a crisis occurs, it said.
It would also expand subsidies for emergency rescue devices for 70,000 older people living alone, providing 24-hour protection so that they can receive immediate assistance in case of emergencies, the ministry said.
To improve community support, the ministry is also encouraging local governments to work with 5,000 community centers and grassroots organizations nationwide to provide care visits and meals, it said.
By combining technology with community support, it hopes to provide timely services to every older person in need, it added.
At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) also approved an expansion of eligibility to hire migrant domestic helpers, with employers required to pay monthly fees of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000 to fund Ministry of Labor measures aimed at mitigating potential effects on Taiwanese workers.
Under the new regulations, families with at least one child younger than 12 can apply to hire a foreign domestic helper.
Previously, families were required to have three or more children younger than six to be eligible to hire domestic helpers.
In addition to a worker’s salary, families that hire migrant domestic helpers must pay a monthly “employment stabilization” fee of NT$5,000, which would be NT$2,000 for families with special needs, including those with one child younger than six and another younger than 12; those with three children younger than 12; and those with a disabled family member and a child younger than 12.
They also include single-parent families with a child younger than 12; families with a child younger than 12 who has been diagnosed with a rare disease or a disability; and those with a child younger than six with developmental delays.
Foreign employers must have household registration in Taiwan and would be required to pay NT$10,000 per month in employment stabilization fees, the Workforce Development Agency said.
Agency official Chuang Kuo-liang (莊國良) said that the fee for foreign families with special care needs is still being determined and would be announced before applications open on April 13.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said that his ministry and the Ministry of Health and Welfare would cooperate to provide job-matching services to Taiwanese workers affected by the new rules.
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