Olivia (not her real name), a social worker from a child protection case management agency who has been in the sector for nearly four years, stressed that child protection is not the sole responsibility of social workers, but also requires the collective effort of the wider community to be vigilant.
“We need to think about what else we can do so that everyone is equipped with the knowledge to look after children within the community.”
“It will also help us ensure everyone has basic knowledge on how to look out for a child’s safety and work with the necessary partners to ensure safety,” she said.
Having more SOPs is not necessarily the solution, people need to operationalise them, said executive director of Kampong Kapor Community Services Lee Yean Wun.
“People need the skills, space and support to deliver the SOPs the way it is intended to,” she added.
Not all protective workers are social work trained, said Ms Lee, stressing that more experienced workers are needed to handle reports that have been escalated to protective specialist services.
The department or team handling these reports need enough time and resources to sufficiently assess the risk, which is a complex matter that requires information and professional judgment, she added.
