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Family Guidance Order

Topic(s): Rehabilitation

With effect from 1 July 2020, the court order for a Child or Young Person (CYP) who is labelled as "Beyond Parental Control" has been renamed the "Family Guidance Order" (FGO) to emphasise the importance of the family and support CYPs with behavioural concerns.

An FGO is issued to CYPs who are below 16 years of age and display serious behavioural challenges that parents might apply for the Youth Court's assistance.

Parents who wish to apply for an FGO must first arrange for an appointment to undergo a Pre-FGO screening with the appointed Agencies. The Agencies are Singapore Children's Society or Epworth Community Services.

Parents and the CYP will subsequently be referred to a mandatory family programme conducted by either of the appointed agencies and they must complete the programme before parents can apply for an FGO in Youth Court.

If issues between the CYP and parents are not resolved despite the mandatory family programme, parents may proceed to make an FGO application* through the agencies. The agency will assess the application and make recommendations to the Court on intervention options.

The Court may decide to mandate the family to undergo the mandatory family programme, order the CYP and their family to undergo a social investigation or dismiss the case.

As part of the FGO, the Court can also order to place the CYP under statutory supervision or admit him/her into a Home gazetted under the Children and Young Persons Act for a period not exceeding three years.

The FGO is reserved for CYPs with very serious behavioural issues. If the CYPs' behavioural concerns are assessed to be of low risk, parents may wish to reach out to the nearest Family Service Centres or youth agencies for support.

From 1 October 2021, parents can register for an appointment with either one of the pre-FGO agencies (Epworth Community Services or Singapore Children’s Society). You will need to log in using your Singpass. Alternatively you may wish to contact Singapore Children's Society or Epworth Community Services directly to register for an appointment.

* Withdrawal of an FGO application filed will require the Court's approval.