The Cabinet has approved a Ministry of Health and Welfare proposal to expand the Social Safety Net program to bolster preventive assistance for disadvantaged households, health officials said yesterday.
The expanded program would focus on preventive measures instead of reacting to family tragedies that have already occurred, Social and Family Affairs Administration Director-General Chou Tao-chun (周道君) told reporters after he was sworn in as agency head.
The reoriented program would look to support vulnerable couples expecting children, known domestic violence cases, low-income families, families with members who have learning difficulties or related conditions, and families dependent on long-term care, he said.
Photo: CNA
The changes to the program reflect the department’s shift of policy focus from dealing with the aftermath of domestic abuse to preventing it, Chou said.
Under the proposed policy changes, the department would begin advising expectant mothers under its purview on best practices for raising children and making adjustments to their home environment in the third trimester of pregnancy, he said.
Some parents could expect help in the form of home visits by social workers, childcare workers, nurses and other professionals as soon as their children are born, Chou said.
The Social Safety Net program was originally established to integrate social welfare services and match government assistance to the requirements of individual cases, he said.
Revisions to the program emphasize ensuring that government offices involved in a case would share pertinent information with each other, Chou said.
The agency would implement “smart” and community-based long-term care solutions and propose amendments to the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) by the year’s end, he said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said that upgrading the former social and family department into a ministerial administration is part of a push to reorganize the ministry.
The ministry’s policy aim is to improve the integration of medicine and long-term care, fields in which Chou has decades of experience, Shih added.
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