Legislator Urges Swift Action on Bylaws for Indigenous Community Childcare

(CNA, Taipei, May 20, by reporter Wang Shu-fen) With the "Child and Youth Care Services Act" passing its third reading in April this year, DPP Legislator Su Chi-hui, concerned about childcare in indigenous communities, said today that with a legal basis now in place for tribal mutual childcare institutions, the Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) should promptly discuss and propose subsidiary laws with the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) to get tribal mutual childcare up and running soon. The Legislative Yuan's Internal Administration Committee today scheduled a briefing and interpellation session with the Council of Indigenous Peoples, the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation, and the Foundation for Research and Development of Indigenous Languages. Su expressed concern over childcare in indigenous areas, stating that childcare for children aged 2 to 6 is currently dominated by kindergartens, supplemented by tribal mutual edupreschool centers. For ages 0 to 2, public childcare is the primary option, but some indigenous areas, such as Wulai in New Taipei, lack public childcare centers, making it very difficult for parents there. Su noted that the Ministry of Health and Welfare began a pilot program for tribal mutual childcare institutions in May 2024, providing a breakthrough for places where establishing public childcare centers is difficult. However, this program is set to end this year. The "Child and Youth Care Services Act" passed in April allows the establishment of these institutions to move beyond the trial phase. She urged the CIP to quickly discuss the matter with the MOHW and draft relevant subsidiary laws for early implementation. According to MOHW data, the "Child and Youth Care Services Act" is specifically designed to create an integrated regulatory framework for childcare for infants and toddlers aged 0 to 2. This includes elevating the legal status and professional qualifications for home-based childcare, enhancing the transparency and management of childcare institutions, strengthening mechanisms for handling cases of improper treatment (care), providing diverse childcare models to meet parental needs, and accelerating the rollout of public childcare facilities to meet parents' expectations. CIP Minister Ljaucu‧Zingrur promised to immediately discuss and deliberate on relevant subsidiary laws for tribal mutual childcare institutions with the MOHW. Su also inquired about subsidies for establishing these institutions, including professional allowances, personnel costs, operating expenses, and rent. Ljaucu‧Zingrur stated that subsidies for setting up tribal mutual childcare institutions would be handled in line with those for tribal mutual edupreschool centers.