TRAINING, DELAYS: Despite boasting high training session attendance, the number of invalid reports submitted to the social welfare department have risen each yearBy Chen Cheng-yu and Esme Yeh / Staff reporters請繼續往下閱讀...Nearly 20 percent of reports to Taipei’s child protection system were deemed invalid, while as of the end of August last year, 303 cases involving alleged violations of the law had passed the legal deadlines for investigation and penalties, the National Audit Office said in a report.The reports, which are processed by the Taipei Social Welfare Department’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Center, increased from 9,217 in 2023 to 12,259 last year, with more than 90 percent filed by “mandatory reporters” each year, it said.Mandatory reporters — teachers, doctors, social workers, police, childcare staff and others — are required to report possible breaches of the Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act （兒童及少年福利與權益保障法） within 24 hours.While department data show that attendance at training sessions for mandatory reporters has been high — with annual check-ins at classes from 2023 to last year ranging from 15,000 to more than 25,000 — the number of invalid reports submitted has increased each year and account for nearly 20 percent, it said.The instances of duplicate reports, out-of-date cases, cases unrelated to child protection and reports with insufficient information are concerning, it said.Reporting accuracy and mandatory reporters’ ability to identify cases had not clearly improved, despite the training, the audit said, adding that the situation could affect resource allocation and case-handling efficiency.New learning technologies should have been introduced to develop a decisionmaking support model based on big data analysis and case triage guidelines, it said, citing the second phase of the Strengthening the Social Safety Net Program.However, the department still bases its case assessments and assignments primarily on manual judgements, it said.Given the increasing caseload, frontline personnel might face too great a burden to conduct consistent and efficient case judgements, the National Audit Office said.Regarding case processing time, statutory deadlines are classified — depending on urgency and case type — as within four days, within 30 days, or within four months with a one-month extension allowed when necessary, the office said.However, the department received 2,218 reports of contraventions of the act from 2023 to the end of June last year, with 365 still pending at the end of August last year — 62 waiting on court rulings and 303 overdue for other reasons, such as delays in obtaining reports from other agencies, or delays in collecting evidence or soliciting statements, it said.As of August last year, there were six overdue cases from 2023 and 103 from 2024, showing that the department must improve its reporting quality, case assessment mechanisms and case processing speed, the office said.The department yesterday said that the center would continue to conduct training in collaboration with reporting units to improve the ability of mandatory reporters to assess and identify child-protection incidents.The department would introduce tools to help screen cases in line with the central government’s policy to boost screening efficiency and reduce the burden on frontline child protection personnel, it said.As of the end of last year, case backlogs from 2023 and 2024 were reduced to four and 52 respectively, the department said, adding that it would continue to review and track the progress.新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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