MSF Launches "SAFER" to Enable More Timely Support for Children and Families
1 As part of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF)’s continuing efforts to strengthen Singapore’s child protection system, the Ministry has launched the SAFER unit - “Sensemaking Alerts for Frontline Engagement and Response”. It is a new capability that provides frontline professionals with relevant information to build a more complete understanding of family circumstances, as part of assessing whether children and families may need support earlier.
2 This follows MSF’s commitment in Parliament to set up a social services coordination centre, in response to recommendations made by the Review Panel appointed by MSF in May 2025 to look into strengthening the child protection ecosystem.
Supporting Professionals to Act Earlier
3 Protecting children and supporting families require close coordination among families, community partners and government agencies. Families may interact with different parts of the support system and relevant information may sit across these touchpoints. The SAFER unit brings together relevant information from different agencies, starting with the Singapore Police Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau, and MSF. This supports child protection practitioners to have a fuller picture of a family's situation, and provide the right level of support earlier. Access to information through SAFER is governed by existing legal and policy safeguards.
4 As a start, SAFER focuses on supporting families with children below seven years old where there are child protection concerns. Professionals assess the information surfaced through SAFER together with their professional judgement to determine if follow-up action is needed. Newly identified cases of abuse and neglect will be referred to child protection case management agencies. Families under stress may also be referred to services for early support, even if there are no established child protection concerns. For existing child protection cases, follow-up actions may include stepping up support where risks have escalated into more serious child protection concerns, or strengthening existing support and reviewing safety plans to take into account new developments within the family.
5 Developed in consultation with sector partners, SAFER's operational processes were shaped by frontline experience and sector feedback. MSF will continue to refine SAFER with partners while studying how its capabilities could support other social services in future.
Strengthening the Child Protection System
6 Since the release of the Review Panel's report in October 2025, MSF has substantially implemented the Panel’s recommendations, including the designation of Child Protection Case Management agencies, launch of the Protection Practitioners Care Fund, and establishment of the Triage Assessment Panel (see Annex A). Remaining measures requiring additional resourcing will be fully implemented in 2027.
7 Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development Mr Goh Pei Ming said, “Every case of child abuse is one case too many. The sooner concerns are identified and acted on, the better the chances of keeping our children safe and supporting families. MSF has established a unit called SAFER which comprises professionals who have child protection experience. SAFER brings together relevant information from different agencies, and strengthens our sense-making process so that we can provide timelier intervention and better-informed decision-making by frontline officers. It supports, but does not replace, the professional judgement of our social service professionals and protection officers. With SAFER, while we cannot prevent every future instance of abuse, it will certainly reinforce our ability to identify high-risk cases and provide more timely support where needed.”
8 MSF will continue working closely with sector partners and government agencies to strengthen prevention efforts and support families. While technology and systems can strengthen child protection, they cannot replace the role of professionals, people and the community. Everyone has a part to play to look out for children and families who may be struggling. If there are concerns about a child’s safety, members of the public should report suspected abuse by calling the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH) at 1800-777-0000.
Annex A - Implementation of Review Panel’s Recommendations Arising from Megan Khung’s Case