Taipei auditor slams child protection failures, 303 cases delayed

Taipei faces scrutiny over its child protection system after an audit revealed significant delays and inefficiencies. A report by the Taipei City Audit Office highlighted that 303 child welfare cases exceeded legal investigation and disposition deadlines as of August last year. The audit also found that nearly 20% of child protection reports were invalid, including duplicate reports, historical cases, or those not related to child protection.

Mayor Chiang Wan-an defended the city's handling of a case involving a 10-year-old girl who allegedly faced 240 days without placement after being reported for suspected molestation. He stated that the initial decision not to place the child was based on social workers' professional judgment, but a re-evaluation led to placement after the child exhibited self-harming behaviors. This explanation drew criticism from opposition figures, who argued that systemic issues have been known for years and the city failed to implement necessary reforms.

The audit report, referencing the second phase of the enhanced social safety net plan, recommended using big data analysis and AI to create decision-support models for case allocation. However, Taipei's Family Violence Prevention Center still relies primarily on manual judgment for screening and dispatching cases. This manual approach, coupled with an increasing number of reports, could burden frontline staff and affect the consistency and efficiency of case assessments.

The Social Affairs Department acknowledged the findings and stated its commitment to improving case identification and assessment accuracy through enhanced training for reporting personnel. They also plan to explore the introduction of AI-assisted tools for case referral, aligning with central government policies to boost efficiency and reduce the workload on frontline staff. The department aims to reduce pending cases from 2023 and 2024 to just 4 and 52, respectively, by the end of 2025.