Transit homes for former welfare home inmates mulled
PUTRAJAYA: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) is conducting a study to establish a transit home to temporarily house former welfare home residents, who are aged 18 and above.
Its minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said the home was to provide a temporary shelter to all the target groups, specially those who had no family or a place to stay. She said this group had to leave the welfare home due to legal constrains under the Child Act 2001 that defined those aged 18 and above as not permitted to reside in a welfare home.
“During the semester break, they have no place to stay so they do not know where to go. The situation is extremely dangerous for those without any place to stay,” she said after the Great Eastern Life Child Care Brilliant
During the semester break, they have no place to stay so they do not know where to go. The situation is extremely dangerous for those without any place to stay. Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
Aspiration Award presentation ceremony here yesterday.
She said existing welfare homes or staff quarters nationwide, especially in the Klang valley would be upgraded to become transit homes.
Hence Rohani suggested that the ministry cooperates with the private sector to ensure the success of the transit home project, which had been implemented in several countries.
“The welfare homes can also provide temporary job opportunities to the former residents. They can work and look after their younger siblings,” she said, adding that despite being bound by the law, the ministry was concerned particularly in terms of shelters.
She said last year 1,845 children, aged 18 and above, left the welfare institutions, comprising 905 boys and 940 girls.
Earlier in her speech, Rohani said the Welfare Department child guidance programme jointly held with Great Eastern Life had made an impact in the increase of excellent students in the country by 82 per cent.
She said in 2015 a total of 197 ‘A’ were recorded among 439 students under the department compared to 133 ‘A’ from 486 students in 2014 in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah ( UPSR), Peperiksaan Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 ( PT3) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). — Bernama