The Malaysian Insight

EACH child protection officer handles about 80 cases, putting a huge strain on the Welfare Department’s resources and ability to care for the country’s children, Hannah Yeoh said.

The deputy women, family and community development minister said the department wanted to increase the number of child protection officers and is in talks with the Public Service Department to raise the figure to 1,500 officers.

Currently, there are only 208 child protection officers to handle cases of abused, abandoned and neglected children.

Malaysia has about 9.4 million children.

“At the moment, one officer takes on 80 cases. The ratio of officer to child is one to every 45,142 children; this is not enough.

“We are studying ways to increase this to 1,500 officers who are qualified,” Yeoh said after the launch of the Status Report on Child Rights in Malaysia 2018 in Kuala Lumpur today.

Yeoh said the government will submit the report to the cabinet and, after approval, it will be handed to the United Nations. – December 20, 2019.