SINGAPORE: Following Megan Khung’s fatal abuse case, professionals in the social work sector welcomed the review panel’s recommendations but stressed that the sector still needs more support.
With more agencies who were involved in the case acknowledging their part in the lapses that occurred, those who spoke to CNA said they felt relieved that the full facts were released, and also made several suggestions that could prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Megan died in February 2020. She was abused for months by her mother Foo Li Ping and the woman's then-boyfriend Brian Wong, before the latter inflicted a fatal punch on the girl.
In April, Foo was sentenced to 19 years' jail for abusing her daughter and helping to burn her corpse. Wong was jailed for 30 years and given 17 strokes of the cane for his role in Megan’s death, along with other drug crimes.
Social work professionals told CNA they felt “a sense of relief” after the report’s release on Oct 23 that the inadequate response to Megan’s case was no longer attributed solely to community agencies, and that there was more “accountability” across the board.
“It was plain to many people in the industry that the responsibility can’t be so singular,” said Ms Cindy Tay, director of home at Children’s Aid Society.
“It’s more important that there was a response from the government body to the reactions on the ground.”
The social workers were referring to how the public reacted to the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) first statement on Apr 8 about the case after Megan Khung’s mother and her then-boyfriend were sentenced to jail.
At the time, MSF said that social work agency Beyond Social Services, which operated the preschool where Megan was enrolled, did not fully describe the severity of her injuries in its report that resulted in "inadequate interventions”.
Adam (not his real name), a social worker of more than three years, said the way Beyond Social Services was framed at the time put a damper on those working in community agencies.
“This brought up a lot of tension and discomfort in the sector. Some people were even thinking of leaving altogether because the community agencies appear to be taking on such a high level of risk and are not supported.
“And when something happens, we are independently blamed,” he added.
Findings from the review panel identified several key lapses from various agencies when it came to following up on Megan’s case after the information was made known to them.
This included shortcomings from MSF’s child protective service and the police.
Senior social worker Anne Chew, who has worked in the industry for 20 years, felt that Beyond Social Services “did do their part”.
She told CNA that she was happy that a review panel was formed to set the record straight.
“Among the social workers, we felt that it was a bit unjustifiable that a lot of the blame seemed to suggest that Beyond Social Services didn’t do enough,” Ms Chew said.
Now that the panel has published a report, Ms Chew said the outcome is “fair”.
“Finally, it’s not just about one agency not doing the work, but the rest who were supposed to also be involved, there were lapses.”
But several social workers CNA spoke to felt the report still needed to address other crucial aspects of social work that Megan’s case manifested.
This includes the need to upskill practitioners in child protection, as well as for more ways to alleviate the perennial workload concerns in the sector.
Several also cautioned against imposing more standard operating procedures (SOPs) and enforcing procedural compliance in the wake of such incidents without considering the instincts that skilled practitioners need in such child abuse cases.
Social workers told CNA that standardised and timely training for those in the sector is crucial, especially to address inconsistencies in how cases are handled.
Adam noted how the pace at which new workers can be enrolled in training courses often lags behind the growing demands of the job.
“I have come across agencies where their version of training is to train on the go, and that affects the quality of training,” he said, highlighting that different family service centres have different benchmarks and there is a need for more standardisation.
He also highlighted instances where social workers have been promoted “too quickly” and were subsequently found to be under-equipped to provide adequate supervision and guidance to their teams.
“There needs to be a relook at middle management,” said Adam. “We need to have more quality checks on supervisors and managers and ensure there is training standardisation among all the family care centres.”
Others pointed to cases where abuse detected by schools was not flagged to social service agencies quickly enough, or a general fear of reporting cases of abuse.
The review panel’s report stated that there appeared to be some fear of reporting to the authorities, as it could affect the rapport between professionals and the clients or affect the reputation of the reporting agency, especially if suspicions of child abuse turned out to be inaccurate.
Children’s Aid Society’s Ms Tay also emphasised the importance for practitioners to have a “collective reflex”.
“It’s beyond protocols and procedural compliance. It is a culture, a mindset, a collective reflex that we need to have as an industry.”
“In the case of Megan, that professional sensitivity or that collective reflex where you sense something is false or not right, was not strong enough.”
She further explained that professionals in the sector should also have the courage to respond and disagree.
It was the collective voice of professionals after MSF’s first statement on Megan that eventually led to the setting up of the review panel, she noted.
“If something doesn't sit right, we should ask more, respond more, and gently challenge when needed. If that reflex was second nature, we would instinctively act, protect, question or challenge, even if it inconveniences us,” Ms Tay said.
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.
“In a complex situation, the assessment process is not a checklist that a junior worker can complete,” she added.
“It is not about whether information presented is sufficient or not. Information is collected beyond the initial report submitted. Questions, clarifications need to be sought, and people should be interviewed.”
The social services industry has long been known for its heavy workload, with social workers saying they manage around 30 to 40 cases at any one time, often juggling urgent and complex situations simultaneously.
Those CNA spoke to also highlighted manpower shortages, high turnover rates and a lack of trained or experienced workers who could guide junior team members.
For younger social workers, such as Olivia, there is often a “big fear” that they are choosing the wrong cases to prioritise.
“With an increase in case load, we start prioritising what we deem as important and what is urgent. That is when we need to put aside the rest of the cases to ‘fight a fire’”, she said, adding that handling some cases can often take up an entire day.
Social work teams are always very shorthanded, said Ms Chew, the senior social worker. “Who will want to do this kind of work when it’s always so stressful?”
While there is “a whole range” of social work roles, not everyone is cut out for crisis intervention work, she added.
“It’s quite hard to get people to join and sustain in child protection work. Turnover is also very high,” she said.
Those who work in child protection roles may not even be trained social workers, she said, adding that she knew people with no experience who took up these roles.
Since many people do not last long in the roles, there are fewer social workers with enough experience in this area who can provide more support and supervision, said Ms Chew.
“If you already have difficulty attracting people to join this area of work and then you don’t have enough people to last longer, then do you have enough people to even supervise?”
For an agency to improve its skillset, it needs to be able to hire more people or provide more training, she added.
Ashley (not her real name), a former social worker for almost a decade, noted that cases referred from family service centres often take some time before they are attended to.
“Because of the risk levels they are dealing with, each case can be very, very intensive and they are very overworked,” she said.
“They have so much work to do that they can miss our messages for weeks because something else more urgent has happened. There’s always this juggling game,” she said.
The high turnover rate means there are “so few experienced workers”, she added.
“They're still trying to find their footing and still trying to figure out how to get things done better or faster. So how do you expect them to handle these kinds of cases?”
Ms Sharon Tay, director of anti-violence at Montfort Care, said social workers often tell her that it is not about the number of cases, but the complexities that come from each case that cause them to feel “very stretched”.
“As the case becomes more complex, the work that goes into each case has increased over the years,” she said. “They have to make very difficult decisions.”
Ms Tay also highlighted the “emotional strains” that social workers feel when they are constantly exposed to experiences of child abuse.
“It’s emotionally tough for them, and particularly so if they deal with uncooperative and demanding parents, especially when they become aggressive,” she said.
However, her experience in the industry has also shown her the positive sides of such a demanding career.
“Whenever they see that safety has increased and the risks have decreased … and there is some improvement in the family … It brings them a lot of satisfaction.”
She explained that social workers often step into a family’s life at their lowest points, carrying the weight of stories and struggles that they do not even share with their loved ones. This is a responsibility many describe as a “privilege”.
“It’s very rewarding and addictive for the workers,” Ms Tay said.
With the review panel's findings clearly stating lapses in how various agencies communicated with each other when handling Megan’s case, social workers are urging for stronger coordination and consistent and timely communication.
While teachers can help to look out for signs of abuse, they are “not really trained” on handling these cases, said Ms Chew, the senior social worker.
The government could provide funding for a social worker to be deployed in schools “instead of expecting the poor teacher to go and find students” who do not come to school, she suggested.
Social workers who reach out to Child Protection Services also get varied responses depending on who is the duty officer, she added.
“There are some workers who are a bit more proactive when we call, and there are some workers who are just not very forthcoming.”
Sometimes, an officer at another agency or organisation is already on the case, but does not respond to phone calls, messages or email updates, said Ms Chew.
Communication across agencies is important and should be strengthened. In cases like Megan’s, the police may feel that MSF should lead investigations because child protection is involved, she noted.
“Maybe they need to have a framework where once a case has been raised, there are some key partners that definitely have to be involved,” said Ms Chew.
“Now, it’s really up to the worker or up to the police who have been assigned the case to reach out to the personnel … There isn’t a very clear structure, who’s the main worker? Is it the person who reports (the case)?”
When asked how they felt about having more guidelines in place, Olivia said what is more important is ensuring the different partners in the industry have a “common language” to talk about the abuse risks.
“When we use a common language, we all understand things on the same level and can present a case knowing whether it requires more monitoring or intervention.”
“And the other party, who may not be in my profession, can see the same report and recognise where we are coming from,” she said.
Professionals in the industry also shared what they hope to see change in the child protection system moving forward.
Ms Tay highlighted that it is important for there to be a child fatality review panel that would be convened whenever a child dies from abuse.
“You cannot completely eradicate child abuse fatalities, so the next best thing to do is to legislate the establishment of a child fatality review panel, so we know that information will be looked at,” she said, adding that the panel would also be able to ensure the recommendations in reports are implemented.
“It sends a stronger signal when it is legislated,” she said.
Montfort Care’s Ms Tay noted the need for more funding for resources and training, enabling workers to better manage more complex cases.
And of course with more resources, trained social workers can also receive better salaries.
“That will reduce attrition. So it does have an effect on sustaining the workforce as well,” she said.
Continue reading...
With more agencies who were involved in the case acknowledging their part in the lapses that occurred, those who spoke to CNA said they felt relieved that the full facts were released, and also made several suggestions that could prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Megan died in February 2020. She was abused for months by her mother Foo Li Ping and the woman's then-boyfriend Brian Wong, before the latter inflicted a fatal punch on the girl.
In April, Foo was sentenced to 19 years' jail for abusing her daughter and helping to burn her corpse. Wong was jailed for 30 years and given 17 strokes of the cane for his role in Megan’s death, along with other drug crimes.
Social work professionals told CNA they felt “a sense of relief” after the report’s release on Oct 23 that the inadequate response to Megan’s case was no longer attributed solely to community agencies, and that there was more “accountability” across the board.
“It was plain to many people in the industry that the responsibility can’t be so singular,” said Ms Cindy Tay, director of home at Children’s Aid Society.
“It’s more important that there was a response from the government body to the reactions on the ground.”
The social workers were referring to how the public reacted to the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) first statement on Apr 8 about the case after Megan Khung’s mother and her then-boyfriend were sentenced to jail.
At the time, MSF said that social work agency Beyond Social Services, which operated the preschool where Megan was enrolled, did not fully describe the severity of her injuries in its report that resulted in "inadequate interventions”.
Adam (not his real name), a social worker of more than three years, said the way Beyond Social Services was framed at the time put a damper on those working in community agencies.
“This brought up a lot of tension and discomfort in the sector. Some people were even thinking of leaving altogether because the community agencies appear to be taking on such a high level of risk and are not supported.
“And when something happens, we are independently blamed,” he added.
Findings from the review panel identified several key lapses from various agencies when it came to following up on Megan’s case after the information was made known to them.
This included shortcomings from MSF’s child protective service and the police.
Senior social worker Anne Chew, who has worked in the industry for 20 years, felt that Beyond Social Services “did do their part”.
She told CNA that she was happy that a review panel was formed to set the record straight.
“Among the social workers, we felt that it was a bit unjustifiable that a lot of the blame seemed to suggest that Beyond Social Services didn’t do enough,” Ms Chew said.
Now that the panel has published a report, Ms Chew said the outcome is “fair”.
“Finally, it’s not just about one agency not doing the work, but the rest who were supposed to also be involved, there were lapses.”
But several social workers CNA spoke to felt the report still needed to address other crucial aspects of social work that Megan’s case manifested.
This includes the need to upskill practitioners in child protection, as well as for more ways to alleviate the perennial workload concerns in the sector.
Several also cautioned against imposing more standard operating procedures (SOPs) and enforcing procedural compliance in the wake of such incidents without considering the instincts that skilled practitioners need in such child abuse cases.
Related:
BEYOND PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES
Social workers told CNA that standardised and timely training for those in the sector is crucial, especially to address inconsistencies in how cases are handled.
Adam noted how the pace at which new workers can be enrolled in training courses often lags behind the growing demands of the job.
“I have come across agencies where their version of training is to train on the go, and that affects the quality of training,” he said, highlighting that different family service centres have different benchmarks and there is a need for more standardisation.
He also highlighted instances where social workers have been promoted “too quickly” and were subsequently found to be under-equipped to provide adequate supervision and guidance to their teams.
“There needs to be a relook at middle management,” said Adam. “We need to have more quality checks on supervisors and managers and ensure there is training standardisation among all the family care centres.”
Others pointed to cases where abuse detected by schools was not flagged to social service agencies quickly enough, or a general fear of reporting cases of abuse.
The review panel’s report stated that there appeared to be some fear of reporting to the authorities, as it could affect the rapport between professionals and the clients or affect the reputation of the reporting agency, especially if suspicions of child abuse turned out to be inaccurate.
Children’s Aid Society’s Ms Tay also emphasised the importance for practitioners to have a “collective reflex”.
“It’s beyond protocols and procedural compliance. It is a culture, a mindset, a collective reflex that we need to have as an industry.”
“In the case of Megan, that professional sensitivity or that collective reflex where you sense something is false or not right, was not strong enough.”
She further explained that professionals in the sector should also have the courage to respond and disagree.
It was the collective voice of professionals after MSF’s first statement on Megan that eventually led to the setting up of the review panel, she noted.
“If something doesn't sit right, we should ask more, respond more, and gently challenge when needed. If that reflex was second nature, we would instinctively act, protect, question or challenge, even if it inconveniences us,” Ms Tay said.
Related:
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.
“In a complex situation, the assessment process is not a checklist that a junior worker can complete,” she added.
“It is not about whether information presented is sufficient or not. Information is collected beyond the initial report submitted. Questions, clarifications need to be sought, and people should be interviewed.”
MORE RESOURCES NEEDED TO JUGGLE WORKLOAD
The social services industry has long been known for its heavy workload, with social workers saying they manage around 30 to 40 cases at any one time, often juggling urgent and complex situations simultaneously.
Those CNA spoke to also highlighted manpower shortages, high turnover rates and a lack of trained or experienced workers who could guide junior team members.
For younger social workers, such as Olivia, there is often a “big fear” that they are choosing the wrong cases to prioritise.
“With an increase in case load, we start prioritising what we deem as important and what is urgent. That is when we need to put aside the rest of the cases to ‘fight a fire’”, she said, adding that handling some cases can often take up an entire day.
Social work teams are always very shorthanded, said Ms Chew, the senior social worker. “Who will want to do this kind of work when it’s always so stressful?”
While there is “a whole range” of social work roles, not everyone is cut out for crisis intervention work, she added.
“It’s quite hard to get people to join and sustain in child protection work. Turnover is also very high,” she said.
Those who work in child protection roles may not even be trained social workers, she said, adding that she knew people with no experience who took up these roles.
Since many people do not last long in the roles, there are fewer social workers with enough experience in this area who can provide more support and supervision, said Ms Chew.
“If you already have difficulty attracting people to join this area of work and then you don’t have enough people to last longer, then do you have enough people to even supervise?”
For an agency to improve its skillset, it needs to be able to hire more people or provide more training, she added.
Related:
Ashley (not her real name), a former social worker for almost a decade, noted that cases referred from family service centres often take some time before they are attended to.
“Because of the risk levels they are dealing with, each case can be very, very intensive and they are very overworked,” she said.
“They have so much work to do that they can miss our messages for weeks because something else more urgent has happened. There’s always this juggling game,” she said.
The high turnover rate means there are “so few experienced workers”, she added.
“They're still trying to find their footing and still trying to figure out how to get things done better or faster. So how do you expect them to handle these kinds of cases?”
Ms Sharon Tay, director of anti-violence at Montfort Care, said social workers often tell her that it is not about the number of cases, but the complexities that come from each case that cause them to feel “very stretched”.
“As the case becomes more complex, the work that goes into each case has increased over the years,” she said. “They have to make very difficult decisions.”
Ms Tay also highlighted the “emotional strains” that social workers feel when they are constantly exposed to experiences of child abuse.
“It’s emotionally tough for them, and particularly so if they deal with uncooperative and demanding parents, especially when they become aggressive,” she said.
However, her experience in the industry has also shown her the positive sides of such a demanding career.
“Whenever they see that safety has increased and the risks have decreased … and there is some improvement in the family … It brings them a lot of satisfaction.”
She explained that social workers often step into a family’s life at their lowest points, carrying the weight of stories and struggles that they do not even share with their loved ones. This is a responsibility many describe as a “privilege”.
“It’s very rewarding and addictive for the workers,” Ms Tay said.
Related:
INTER-AGENCY COORDINATION
With the review panel's findings clearly stating lapses in how various agencies communicated with each other when handling Megan’s case, social workers are urging for stronger coordination and consistent and timely communication.
While teachers can help to look out for signs of abuse, they are “not really trained” on handling these cases, said Ms Chew, the senior social worker.
The government could provide funding for a social worker to be deployed in schools “instead of expecting the poor teacher to go and find students” who do not come to school, she suggested.
Social workers who reach out to Child Protection Services also get varied responses depending on who is the duty officer, she added.
“There are some workers who are a bit more proactive when we call, and there are some workers who are just not very forthcoming.”
Sometimes, an officer at another agency or organisation is already on the case, but does not respond to phone calls, messages or email updates, said Ms Chew.
Communication across agencies is important and should be strengthened. In cases like Megan’s, the police may feel that MSF should lead investigations because child protection is involved, she noted.
“Maybe they need to have a framework where once a case has been raised, there are some key partners that definitely have to be involved,” said Ms Chew.
“Now, it’s really up to the worker or up to the police who have been assigned the case to reach out to the personnel … There isn’t a very clear structure, who’s the main worker? Is it the person who reports (the case)?”
When asked how they felt about having more guidelines in place, Olivia said what is more important is ensuring the different partners in the industry have a “common language” to talk about the abuse risks.
“When we use a common language, we all understand things on the same level and can present a case knowing whether it requires more monitoring or intervention.”
“And the other party, who may not be in my profession, can see the same report and recognise where we are coming from,” she said.
Professionals in the industry also shared what they hope to see change in the child protection system moving forward.
Ms Tay highlighted that it is important for there to be a child fatality review panel that would be convened whenever a child dies from abuse.
“You cannot completely eradicate child abuse fatalities, so the next best thing to do is to legislate the establishment of a child fatality review panel, so we know that information will be looked at,” she said, adding that the panel would also be able to ensure the recommendations in reports are implemented.
“It sends a stronger signal when it is legislated,” she said.
Montfort Care’s Ms Tay noted the need for more funding for resources and training, enabling workers to better manage more complex cases.
And of course with more resources, trained social workers can also receive better salaries.
“That will reduce attrition. So it does have an effect on sustaining the workforce as well,” she said.
Continue reading...