Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has revised adoption matching regulations, limiting the services of child and youth placement institutions to adoption matching. Under these new rules, effective July 10, the responsibility for evaluating adoption suitability has been shifted back to local governments.
According to Focus Taiwan, institutions that fail to comply with these regulations within a specified period could face penalties, including a maximum fine of NT$150,000 (US$5,124). In severe cases, these institutions may have their operations suspended for up to a year. The MOHW’s amendments to the regulations were a response to public outrage following a child abuse case involving two nanny sisters, surnamed Liu, in Taipei. The sisters were found guilty of abusing a one-year-old boy, known as Kai Kai, leading to his death in December 2023.
Kai Kai was under the care of the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) after his mother went missing shortly after his birth in February 2022, and his father’s whereabouts remained unknown. The boy’s grandmother, who took custody, intended to put him up for adoption in June 2023, transferring the matter to CWLF. Following the controversy over Kai Kai’s death, CWLF has been temporarily barred from providing adoption and foster services.
The tragic incident has spurred a comprehensive review of Taiwan’s domestic adoption matching system. On July 10, the Social and Family Affairs Administration under the MOHW introduced revised regulations for licensing and managing adoption matching service providers. Key changes include restricting eligible organizations to social welfare institutions, excluding educational and cultural institutions from handling adoption services.
The revised regulations also reassign the authority for conducting adoption suitability evaluations from matching agencies to local governments. The agencies will now focus on processing adoption applications. The updated rules define the involvement of public authorities in adoption cases, as explained by Chou Tao-chun, acting head of the MOHW’s Social and Family Affairs Administration.
Chou stated that adoption matching agencies must refer parents seeking assistance to local governments for evaluation, or parents can directly approach the government themselves. Once a suitable adoption is determined, the agency will proceed with the matching process.
Chou further emphasized that any adoption service provider bypassing local government evaluation would be in violation of management regulations. The competent authority can issue a correction order within a specified time, and failure to comply could result in fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, with the possibility of repeat fines. In severe cases, providers may face suspension for one month to a year, with public disclosure of the individual or organization involved.