Juveniles Admitted into Places of Safety under Children and Young Persons Act

31 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the past three years, how many juveniles have been referred by the Ministry or ordered by the Courts to be admitted into places of safety as defined in the Children and Young Persons Act respectively; and (b) how many of such juveniles admitted into these places of safety have at least one parent who is incarcerated or has been incarcerated before.

Mr Desmond Lee: Children and young persons (CYPs) who are in need of care and protection, such as those who have been abused or neglected, may be referred by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) or ordered by the Youth Court to reside in a place of safety, such as a licensed CYP Home.

The number of such CYPs admitted to all licensed CYP Homes in the past three years is in Table 1 below.

About one-quarter of CYPs known to MSF due to child abuse and neglect have a caregiver who had previously been arrested or incarcerated.