The Keelung City Government has eased regulations on foster parenting, opening it to people over 65, citing a rapidly aging population.
As of the end of last month, about 64,000 of the city’s residents, or 17.52 percent, were aged 65 or older, Keelung Department of Social Affairs data showed.
Foster families have not escaped the trend — among the 44 foster homes housing 65 minors, 13 foster parents were aged 60 to 64, and five were 65 years old, the data showed.
The number of minors in the foster-care system has been rising over the past three years, but relatively few new foster parents have signed up, department director Wu Ting-feng (吳挺鋒) said on Jan. 12.
Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) had instructed the department to review its age limit, as well as participation, expenses and other issues regarding the foster-care system, he said.
Thus, rules have been revised to ensure eligibility of parents who are 65 years or approaching that age, Wu said.
The department also revised the stipend allowance and qualifications to become a foster parent, Wu said.
People who hold a caregiver license or other certification to provide childcare, as well as those currently or formerly employed at a kindergarten, preschool or childcare center are welcome to apply, he said, adding that the new rules would widen the pool of those who can apply.
“To ensure that parents can continue providing safe and warm homes for children,” the monthly stipend for foster parents has been raised to between NT$25,000 and NT$28,000, the department said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS