The accreditation system for nursery schools must be changed in light of reported child abuse at such facilities, Taiwan People’s Party Taoyuan mayoral candidate Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said yesterday.
Alleged abuse by staff at the Baby Development Center in Taoyuan has resulted in the death of a child and put another in a vegetative state, despite the center receiving first-class accreditation three times, Lai said.
The Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) should be amended to ban people from donating to institutions where abuse has happened, she said.
Photo courtesy of Lai Hsiang-ling’s office
Parents of disabled children have filed petitions several times, but Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) has been busy attending campaign events for the Nov. 26 local election, she added.
Parents of the victims said the Charity Donations Act (公益勸募條例) should stipulate regulations against improper disciplinary methods by educare workers.
A victim’s relative said that for the past 10 months, he has been telling the Taoyuan City Government and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Social and Family Affairs Administration that the city has a flawed environment for disabled people.
While he has received more than 10 response letters from the city government, the abuse of disabled children has continued, he said.
Parents should be involved in the handling of controversies concerning disabled children, he said, adding that the process should be transparent and open to the public.
Cloud-based monitoring systems should be installed in institutions for disabled children to ensure their safety, put parents’ minds at ease and provide evidence when disputes occur, he added.
When asked for comment, Cheng said the Taoyuan City Department of Social Welfare had convened a meeting to resolve the issue immediately after receiving a report about the incident at the Baby Development Center, adding that three workers involved have been suspended from their duties.
When disputes arise between parents and institutions, “the government would always put itself in the parents’ shoes” to impose penalties or call for improvements, he added.
The department said that after investigating the incidents and soliciting opinions from experts, it has ordered the three workers to pay a fine of NT$60,000 each, while the institution was fined NT$240,000 and ordered to make improvements.
Additional reporting by Lee Jung-ping
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