Chapter 3 Welfare Measures:
Article 23
Special municipal or county (city) governments shall establish the integrated services mechanisms and implement or encourage, guide and entrust the private sector to take the following welfare measures for children and youth:
1. Establish a notification system for premature babies, and provide follow-up visits and care services.
2. Establish an early notification system for children with delayed development, and provide an early intervention service.
3. Administer childcare services.
4. Provide consulting services for children and youth and their families.
5. Provide parental education for children and youth and their parents.
6. Domestic support or provide medical care for anyone who is incapable of bringing up his/her children or wards aged under twelve as needed.
7. Support youth who are incapable of making a living or are at school; do not have those obligated to care for them, or have those obligated to care for them who are incapable of bringing them up at home, by providing life support, schooling or medical subsidies and cultivate their ability to earn their living independently.
8. Provide subsidies for those obligated for care who are incapable of paying medical expenses for premature babies, children with rare diseases, seriously ill children and youth as well as developmentally-delayed children.
9. Offer proper placement to runaways or children and youth who are not suitable for upbringing in a family setting.
10. Offer proper placement to helpless children and youth.
11. Offer proper placement, living assistance, medical subsidies, daycare subsidies, and other necessary assistance to children and youth who encounter difficulties due to pregnancy or childbirth and their children.
12. Offer after-school care services to children.
13. Provide proper assistance for youth who are unable to return home after placement to live independently.
14. Provide the prevention, education, information, and training on safety and accident injuries for children and youth.
15. Provide other welfare services for children and youth and their families.
The central and special municipal authorized agencies shall enact the regulations governing the qualifications, conditions, procedures, amounts, and other relevant affairs for daycare, living assistance, and medical subsidies specified in Subparagraphs 6 to 8 and 11 of the preceding paragraphs.
The central authorized agency shall enact the regulations governing the reporting, search, placement, requirements, and tracing of helpless children and youth specified in Subparagraph 10, Paragraph 1.
Article 23-1
The Central Regulatory Health Authority shall establish shortage notifications and processing systems for applicable medicines and medical devices needed to maintain the lives of premature babies, seriously ill children, and children in life-threatening conditions with medical requirements.
Article 24
Authorized agencies in charge of culture, education, and sports shall organize or encourage and guide the private sector to organize proper leisure, recreational, and cultural activities for children and youth with proper activity spaces, and shall protect the equal right of children and youth to participate in these activities.
The competent authorities shall reward and commend the agencies or private sector for their performance of the activities mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Article 25
Special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies shall be in charge of the management, supervision, and guidance of family childcare services.
The family childcare services referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be stipulated as paid childcare services provided at home by anyone other than a relative within the third degree of kinship.
The heads of special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies shall act as conveners to invite scholars or experts, representatives of family childcare givers, representatives of welfare institutes for children and youth, representatives of parent groups, representatives of women groups, and representatives of labour groups to coordinate, study, examine, and consult for the family childcare services, charges/refunds, payroll, supervision, and appraisals; they shall also establish or entrust the relevant professional institutes or groups to establish the operations management mechanism.
Article 26
Family childcare service providers shall apply for registration to special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies.
A family childcare service provider shall be an adult and have one of the following qualifications:
1. Obtain the certificate as a childcare giver.
2. Graduate from relevant courses, divisions, departments, and institutes of infant and child care at senior high schools or above.
3. Complete required professional training courses for childcare givers with a certificate of
completion.
Special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies shall implement or entrust relevant professional institutes and groups to implement the registration, management, guidance, supervision and examination of family childcare service providers.
Family childcare service providers shall not avoid, intervene or refuse the management, guidance, supervision and examination specified in the preceding paragraph, and shall provide necessary assistance.
The central authorized agency shall enact the regulations governing the number of attendees, registration, guidance, management, cancellation and abolishment of registration, charges/refunds of family childcare service providers specified in Paragraph 1 and other regulations that shall be observed.
Article 26-1
Family childcare services agencies shall be displaced if one of the following conditions exists:
1. People who have committed offenses against Paragraph 1 of Article 2 of Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, Article 25 of Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, Child and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act, Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act and have been punished with deferred prosecution or found guilty. However, people aged below 18 and breaking Article 227 of the Criminal Code are not restricted by the Article.
2. People who have violated the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act and have been punished with deferred prosecution or found guilty.
3. People who have one of the acts described in each subparagraph of Article 49, which has been verified by relevant authorized agencies.
4. People who break the law or behave improperly, which results in a significant influence on the interests of childcare services and it has been verified by relevant authorities.
5. People who may hurt children judged from physical fact, and have been stopped from running business by authorized municipal agencies and county (city) government.
6. People who are still under statutory guardianship or assistantship announcement which has not yet been revoked.
7. People who have committed domestic violence and have been punished with deferred prosecution or have been committed within five years from the date of prosecution.
The determination of the fifth subparagraph of the preceding paragraph shall be initiated by the municipal, county (city) competent authorities to invite relevant specialist physicians, child and youth welfare and other relevant scholars and experts to form a group.
After the cause described in Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1 is eliminated, people may still apply to serve as family childcare services agencies in accordance with regulations of the Act.
If family childcare services agencies have one of the affairs described in each subparagraph of Paragraph 1, authorized municipal agencies and county (city) government shall order them to stop the services and forcibly transfer the children under their childcare services. Those who have registered successfully shall have their registration abolished.
Article 26-2
When people live with family childcare services agencies and have one of the following issues, family childcare services agencies shall only provide childcare services at the children’s home:
1. People who have one of the conditions described in Subparagraph 1, 2, or 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 26-1.
2. People who may hurt children judged from physical fact, and confirmed by a group which is initiated by the municipal, county (city) competent authorities to invite relevant specialist physicians, child and youth welfare and other relevant scholars and experts.
After verification by authorized municipal agencies and county (city) government in Subparagraph 2 that conditions of the previously mentioned paragraph are eliminated, family childcare services agencies may still provide family childcare services in accordance with regulations of the Act.
Article 27
The government shall plan and implement medical care measures for children and youth; if necessary, the government may provide subsidies for related medical expenses depending on the economic conditions of the families.
The central authorized agency shall enact the regulations governing the objects, items, amounts, and procedures regarding the subsidies for the expenses mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Article 28
The central authorized agencies and competent agencies shall regularly convene coordinative meetings for the prevention of accidents and injuries suffered by children and youth to coordinate, study, examine, consult, supervise, appraise, and handle the following tasks:
1. Data recordings of accidents and injuries suffered by children and youth.
2. Establishment, examination and promotion of safety training materials for children and youth.
3. Standardization, inspection and management of games and recreational facilities, toys, supplies, and transportation instruments.
4. Establishment and promotion of other preventive mechanisms.
The meetings referred to in the preceding paragraph shall engage scholars, experts, and representatives of the private sector and relevant institutes for consultation.
The number of scholars, experts, and representatives of the private sector shall not be less than half of the total members.
Article 29
The following transportation instruments used for children and youth shall be guided and managed to maintain transportation safety:
1. Special vehicles for toddlers.
2. School buses for public/private school.
3. Shuttle buses for short-term tutorial centers or after-school care services classes and centers for children.
When transportation instruments referred to in the preceding paragraph carry preschool children or elementary school students, their age shall not exceed ten years; when transportation instruments carry junior high or senior high school students, their age shall not exceed fifteen years.
The central education authority shall, together with the transportation competent authorities,enact the application procedures, guidance measures, and management of transportation instruments referred to in Paragraph 1, as well as the supervision of attendants on board and other regulations that shall be abided by.
Article 30
Parents or guardians of children and youth who are suspected to be developmentally-delayed or are developmentally-delayed or disabled may apply to the authorized agencies in charge of the police for collecting fingerprint data.
The data referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not be used for any purposes other than searching for missing children and youth.
The central authorized agency in charge of police shall enact the regulations governing the registration, cancellation, and management of fingerprint data referred to in Paragraph 1.
Article 31
The government shall establish an assessment mechanism for the development of children aged below six and offer special care for early intervention, medical treatment, schooling, and family support to developmentally delayed children as needed.
Parents, guardians, or other people looking after developmentally delayed children and youth shall cooperate in special care offered to the developmentally delayed children by the government as stated in the preceding paragraph.
The central authorized agency together with the authorized agencies in charge of health and education shall plan and implement the bridging and coordinating mechanisms for screening, reporting, assessment, treatment, training and other services required by early intervention specified in Paragraph 1.
Article 32
If social welfare, educational and medical institutes find any children who are suspected to be developmentally delayed, they shall report to the special municipal and county (city) authorized agencies. Special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies shall incorporate the data received in file management and provide and refer proper services as needed.
The central authorized agency shall enact regulations governing the reporting procedures and file management referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Article 33
Children and pregnant women shall receive care as a priority.
The public/private sectors of transportation and medical care shall provide care measures for children and pregnant women as a priority.
The public sector, private sector of public business, and private sector of domestic public transportation, cultural and educational facilities, scenic areas and places of amusement shall provide preferential measures for children according to the age of the children, and shall provide cost-free offers for children under the specific age.
The applicable scope and specific age of the preferential measures for children mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be regulated by the competent authorities.
Article 33-1
At the following sites 2% of public parking shall be reserved for pregnant women and drivers with children aged under 6; in public parking with less than 50 parking spaces but more than 25 parking spaces, at least one parking space shall be reserved for pregnant women and drivers with children aged under 6.
1. Government agencies (institutions) and public utilities. that provide public services for citizens.
2. Train stations, airports, and MRT transfer stations.
3. Department stores and retail stores, with the total business premisesof 10,000 square meters or more in floor area.
4. Regional or central hospitals with pediatric wards or maternity wards.
5. Recreational parks.
6. Other sites announced by the transportation competent authorities at all levels.
The location, space, object and method, and other regulations of parking in the preceding paragraph shall be stipulated by the central transportation competent authority and the authorities in charge of construction, public works and fire-fighting.
Article 33-2
The following sites shall have restrooms for parents with infants, safety chairs, and diaper change tables suitable for children aged below 6 and their caregivers.
1. Government agencies (institutions) that provide public services for citizens with the total floor area of 5,000 square meters or more.
2. Public utilities with the total floor area of 5,000 square meters or more in their business premises.
3. Train stations, airports, and MRT transfer stations with the total floor area of 5,000 square meters or more in their service venues.
4. Department stores and retail stores with the total floor area of 10,000 square meters or more in their business premises.
5. Regional hospitals or above with pediatric wards.
6. Recreational parks.
For venues mentioned in the preceding paragraph not having the restrooms for parents with infants in accordance with the former part of the regulations of Paragraph 3, special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies in charge of construction shall order the owner or person in charge of the organization to improve before a certain deadline; in case of difficulty in the establishment, an alternative improvement plan may be proposed by the owner or person in charge of the organization and reported to the special municipal or county (city) authorized agencies in charge of construction for approval; a certain deadline for corrective actions shall also be approved.
Items, specifications, and other regulations regarding the restrooms for parents with infants referred to in Paragraph 1 shall be regulated by the central authorized agency in charge of construction. The establishment of related product standards shall be regulated by the central authorized agency in charge of economic affairs.
This article shall come into force two years from the date of promulgation of the amendments on November 27, 2015.
Article 33-3
Railway trains carrying passengers shall reserve a certain number of priority seats for pregnant women and families with children.
Article 34
For youth who are aged 15 or graduate from junior high schools and intend to continue education or seek employment, the authorized agencies in charge of education and labour shall guide them to continue education, receive vocational training or seek employment based on their aptitude and aspiration.
The authorized agencies in charge of education shall comply with the regulations of the preceding paragraph and supervise senior high schools and below to implement career training, labor rights and interests, and occupational safety training.
The authorized agencies in charge of labour shall provide vocational training, employment preparation, occupational experience, employment matching, supporting employment placement, and other employment service measures according to the regulations of Paragraph 1.
Article 35
Employers shall present opportunities for continuing education for youth aged 15 or youth that graduated from junior high school; the competent authority in charge of labour shall reward employers who have good performance.
Article 36
The authorized agencies in charge of labour shall integrate the authorized agencies in charge of education and social welfare to provide individualized employment service measures for youth who lack skills and educational degrees, but need employment.
Article 37
Senior high schools and below shall facilitate the signing of a written training contract between educational program institutes and students and their legal representatives to clarify the responsibilities and obligations.
For the format and contents of the written training contract referred to in the preceding paragraph, the central authorized agency in charge of education shall provide a template training contract and issues that shall be and shall not be specified in the contract.
Article 38
The government shall connect with private institutes and groups to encourage children and youth to participate in public affairs in schools and communities, and offer opportunities to protect participation rights.
Article 39
The government shall work with private institutes and groups to encourage the creation of children and youth’s literature, video/audio publications and programs and the introduction, translation and publishing of international children and youth’s video/audio publications.
Article 40
The government shall connect with and encourage private institutes and groups to reward superior children and youth’s video/audio publications, video programs, broadcast, gaming software and TV programs.
Article 41
To assure play and recreational rights to promote the mental health of children and youth, the weekly learning periods in senior high schools and lower shall conform to the curriculum guidelines stipulated by the central educational authoritiy, unless otherwise described by the law; academic courseling shall be regulated by the educational authority at all levels.
The central educational authority shall invite scholars or experts in the field of children and youth issues, representatives of private groups ,andrepresentatives of children and youth to participate in the design and planning of the curriculum guidelines..
Article 42
Parents of children and youth who are unable to attend school due to special conditions may apply for alternative education to special municipal or county (city) governments in accordance with the Primary and Junior High School Act to ensure the children and youth’s right to receive education.