Children and Youth Welfare Act to be Amended, Civil Groups Call for Upgrade to Ministry of Children and Families for Integration
The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced a draft amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act. The National Education Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance today called for the central competent authority to be upgraded to a "Ministry of Children and Families" to facilitate cross-ministerial integration, and to establish a budget tracking mechanism for children and youth and an independent supervision mechanism for children's and youth's rights.
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- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 12:15
- 🔍 Collected: May 12, 2026 at 12:31 (16 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 12, 2026 at 13:13 (41 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency Reporter Hsu Chih-wei, Taipei, 12th) The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced a draft amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act. The National Education Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance today called for the central competent authority to be upgraded to a "Ministry of Children and Families" to facilitate cross-ministerial integration, and to establish a budget tracking mechanism for children and youth and an independent supervision mechanism for children's and youth's rights.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced a draft amendment to the "Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act," expanding the articles to 165, which is the largest full text amendment since the implementation of the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act. The National Education Action Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance held a press conference today, believing that the amendment should not only increase responsibilities and penalties, but also fill the gap in the level of the central competent authority and the power to integrate across ministries.
Wang Hanyang, chairman of the National Education Alliance, stated that children and youth issues are national governance issues that span education, health and welfare, police, judiciary, labor, digital, culture, and local governments. Article 3 of the draft amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act only uses "should fully cooperate" as the basis for cross-ministerial integration, but does not explicitly grant the central competent authority the power to advise across ministries, the power to access data, the power to track policies, and the power to coordinate special projects.
Wang Hanyang mentioned that when legal responsibilities increase, but the competent authority remains at the "agency" level of a third-level agency, the frontline will bear more pressure. Even if a Children and Family Support Agency is established in the future, it may become "responsible without authority." The KAIKAI case reminds everyone that major children and youth incidents cannot rely solely on ex-post accountability; it is necessary to fill the responsibility chain and cross-system coordination mechanism between the central, local, outsourced agencies, and the frontline.
Huang Yaling, representative of the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance, pointed out that children and youth mental health crises involve medical, education, social administration, family support, and digital risks. The government's current "Mental Health Department" and the future "Children and Family Agency" are not explicitly granted the authority to coordinate cross-ministerial resources in their institutional design.
Huang Yaling believes that if there is no cross-ministerial integration mechanism for children and youth mental health, no matter how much budget there is, it will be fragmented. The most fundamental solution is to upgrade the competent authority to a "Ministry of Children and Families" to enable cross-ministerial integration.
The National Education Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance also put forward three demands, calling for the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act to clearly stipulate that the central competent authority should be upgraded to a second-level agency, the "Ministry of Children and Families"; to establish a budget tracking mechanism for children and youth, and to study special funds or special accounting for children and youth budgets to avoid budgets being scattered among various ministries, making them invisible and untraceable; and to establish an independent supervision mechanism for children's and youth's rights to avoid administrative agencies acting as both players and referees. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150512
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(Central News Agency Reporter Hsu Chih-wei, Taipei, 12th) The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced a draft amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act. The National Education Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance today called for the central competent authority to be upgraded to a "Ministry of Children and Families" to facilitate cross-ministerial integration, and to establish a budget tracking mechanism for children and youth and an independent supervision mechanism for children's and youth's rights.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently announced a draft amendment to the "Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act," expanding the articles to 165, which is the largest full text amendment since the implementation of the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act. The National Education Action Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance held a press conference today, believing that the amendment should not only increase responsibilities and penalties, but also fill the gap in the level of the central competent authority and the power to integrate across ministries.
Wang Hanyang, chairman of the National Education Alliance, stated that children and youth issues are national governance issues that span education, health and welfare, police, judiciary, labor, digital, culture, and local governments. Article 3 of the draft amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act only uses "should fully cooperate" as the basis for cross-ministerial integration, but does not explicitly grant the central competent authority the power to advise across ministries, the power to access data, the power to track policies, and the power to coordinate special projects.
Wang Hanyang mentioned that when legal responsibilities increase, but the competent authority remains at the "agency" level of a third-level agency, the frontline will bear more pressure. Even if a Children and Family Support Agency is established in the future, it may become "responsible without authority." The KAIKAI case reminds everyone that major children and youth incidents cannot rely solely on ex-post accountability; it is necessary to fill the responsibility chain and cross-system coordination mechanism between the central, local, outsourced agencies, and the frontline.
Huang Yaling, representative of the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance, pointed out that children and youth mental health crises involve medical, education, social administration, family support, and digital risks. The government's current "Mental Health Department" and the future "Children and Family Agency" are not explicitly granted the authority to coordinate cross-ministerial resources in their institutional design.
Huang Yaling believes that if there is no cross-ministerial integration mechanism for children and youth mental health, no matter how much budget there is, it will be fragmented. The most fundamental solution is to upgrade the competent authority to a "Ministry of Children and Families" to enable cross-ministerial integration.
The National Education Alliance and the Taiwan Mental Health Alliance also put forward three demands, calling for the Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act to clearly stipulate that the central competent authority should be upgraded to a second-level agency, the "Ministry of Children and Families"; to establish a budget tracking mechanism for children and youth, and to study special funds or special accounting for children and youth budgets to avoid budgets being scattered among various ministries, making them invisible and untraceable; and to establish an independent supervision mechanism for children's and youth's rights to avoid administrative agencies acting as both players and referees. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150512
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.