‘House calls on addicts’ kids vital’
PAYA NAHU TODDLER’S DEATH: This will ensure their wellbeing is protected, says Kedah official
THE Kedah Welfare Department has been instructed to conduct house calls on children of drug addict parents who are living with relatives, to ensure their wellbeing are protected.
State Women, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Community Welfare Committee chairman Datuk Suraya Yaacob said the order came following the Paya Nahu Flats tragedy last Thursday, which saw a boy, 2, dead and his sister, 4, injured while under the care of their drugaddict mother and her boyfriend.
Suraya said the Welfare Department had been providing a RM400 monthly allowance for the children through their maternal grandmother. However, she added that a house call was necessary to ensure that they were not taken away from their legal guardian.
“They were previously placed under the care of their maternal grandmother, who has been getting RM400 monthly to care for them since last August.
“The children’s 26-year-old mother had earlier stayed with her mother but fled home three months ago, taking the children with her, following a misunderstanding.”
To make matters worse, she said, the grandmother failed to alert the Welfare Department on what had happened, until her grandson’s decomposing body was found in a cooler box last Thursday.
“Following the incident, it is crucial for the department to conduct house calls on risky cases so that they can identify problems and act accordingly.”
She said the department would provide monthly aid between RM100 and RM450 to guardians who cared for children of drug addict parents or those serving jail sentences for criminal offences.
“The aid is given to children who are below 18 so that they are taken care of while their parents are serving time.”
She added that the department would take custody of such children only if no one was available to care for them or if their next of kin were deemed unsuitable to care for them.
State Welfare Department director Mohd Noor Chik said the department would use its discretion to advise biological parents to hand over the children to legal guardians as instructed by the court.
“We may engage with the children’s case officer and counsellors to advise their biological parents to return the children to the relatives appointed by the court.”
Noor said taking legal action against biological parents who took their children from the appointed relatives would be the last resort.
Experts had called on the authorities to boost intervention mechanisms concerning children of drug addicts, in response to the Paya Nahu Flats incident.
They called for stricter measures, including revoking the custodial rights of drug addict parents and conduct mandatory house calls on relatives entrusted to care for the children.