Childcare centre workers to undergo police screening before employment, says Nancy

KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry will work with the police to ensure that babysitters or caregivers at nurseries and childcare centres have no criminal records, says minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

She stressed that one of the key initiatives to ensure the safety of children at childcare centres or taska was to subject potential caregivers to police screening, so that only those with a clean slate were hired.

"The daycare operators must verify that the (candidates) possess proper qualifications," she told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 27).

"We will work closely with the police to screen individuals who are interested in working at taska," she added in reply to a supplementary question from Fong Kui Lun (PH-Bukit Bintang).

Fong had asked about escalating cases of child neglect leading to fatalities, and the measures being taken by the government to prevent such incidents.

In addition to safety considerations, Nancy highlighted that registered centres must strictly adhere to guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOP) established by the ministry to ensure the children's safety.

This included installing CCTV cameras on the premises, she said.

She noted that the Social Welfare Department had put up reminders in government buildings with childcare centres to ensure the safe arrival of children.

"If a child fails to arrive, or if there is a delay of more than 30 minutes from the scheduled drop-off time, the taska must activate (measures under the SOP)," she added.

According to Nancy, there were four types of childcare centres: institutional, workplace, community and home.

"The ministry consistently supports employers' initiatives to establish childcare facilities in workplaces, aiming to enhance both quality and productivity," she added.

There were 265 workplace childcare centres nationwide as of December, with 221 under the public sector and 44 by the private sector, she said.