Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 6: Nursery, Remand Home, Welfare Centre, Safety Protection Centre and Development and Rehabilitation Centre

The Permanent Secretary has the power to establish a nursery, remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre throughout the Kingdom and the Provincial Governor has the power to establish a nursery, remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre within his or her respective province. Other government agencies, in additions to those duties specified under this Act, may establish and operate a nursery only by notifying the Permanent Secretary or the Provincial Governor, as the case may be, who shall advise or support such establishment and operation thereof.

Under the provisions of Article 51, any person wishing to establish a nursery, remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre shall apply for a license to the Permanent Secretary or the Provincial Governor, as the case may be.

The application for licence, issuance of licence, application for renewal of licence, granting of permission to renew licence, application for temporary licence replacing a lost, destroyed or damaged licence, granting of temporary license, and revocation of licence shall follow the criteria, guidelines and conditions stipulated in the ministerial regulations, and a fee shall be charged at the rate specified in the ministerial regulations.

The Permanent Secretary, Provincial Governor, the Committee, the Bangkok Metropolitan Child Protection Committee, and the Provincial Child Protection Committee shall supervise, promote and support the operation of a nursery, remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre in their responsible area.

A remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre shall not be operated on a profit seeking, commercialised basis and shall be supervised and administered by the guardian of safety. The operation of such places under paragraph one shall comply with the regulations prescribed by the Permanent Secretary.

The Permanent Secretary and the Provincial Governor shall have the power to appoint or remove the guardian of safety of a remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre in accordance with criteria, guidelines and conditions set forth in the ministerial regulations.

A guardian of safety of a remand home has the authority and duties as follows:

1. To take into custody a child in need of welfare assistance or safety protection for the purpose of tracing and observing the child and the child’s family, and making judgements in determining appropriate measures for providing welfare assistance or safety protection to each individual child; if necessary, the guardian may take the child under temporary guardianship for a period not exceeding 3 months;
2. To trace and observe in connection with the age, background, behaviour, intelligence, education and control, health, state of mind, habits, occupation and status of the child in need of welfare assistance and safety protection, as well as those of the child’s guardian or the person with which the child lives, including all of the circumstances and environment surrounding the child and the situation and conditions which caused the child to be in the circumstances warranting welfare assistance or safety protection, in order to report to the agencies concerned;
3. To arrange for physical and mental health examination, as well as proceeding with the treatment of the child under care and guardianship;
4. To arrange for appropriate and hygienic accommodation, sleeping place and clothing, as well as nutritious and sufficient meals for the child under care and guardianship;
5. To arrange for education, sports and recreational activities to be provided to the child under care and guardianship with due consideration to the age and condition of each individual child;
6. To send the child, who has followed the procedures under clauses 1) and 2), to a welfare centre, development and rehabilitation centre, school or any other place which has welfare assistance or protection of the child’s safety as its objective, paying due regard to the age and condition of each individual child;
7. To hand over the child to the child’s guardian, or a person consenting to, and suitable to be, the child’s guardian, and if deemed appropriate, to submit a request to the Permanent Secretary or Provincial Governor, as the case may be, for the appointment of a safety protector under Article 48;
8. To give advice, make recommendations and provide assistance to the child’s guardian, in those cases where the child is deemed in need welfare assistance or safety protection.

A guardian of safety of a remand home must first undertake to facilitate the return of the child to his or her guardian; whereas the arrangement for the transfer of the child to a welfare centre, safety protection centre or development and rehabilitation centre shall be adopted only as the last resort.

A licence holder and guardian of safety of a welfare centre and safety protection centre established in accordance with this Act or other laws shall ensure that every child in need of welfare assistance or safety protection is admitted to the centre.

A guardian of safety of a welfare centre has the authority and duties according to Article 56 (1), (2), (3) and (4) and shall have additional authority and duties as follows:

1. To arrange for appropriate education, instruction and occupational training for the children under care and guardianship in a manner suited to each individual child;
2. To provide guidance, counselling and assistance to the child’s guardian;
3. To monitor and follow up on a child who has been discharged from the welfare centre, offering the child advice, guidance and assistance, to ensure that the child will not return to the previous circumstances.

The tracing and observation under Article 56 (2) may be waived if the child has been sent from a remand home with a report indicating that such tracing and observation has already been conducted.

A guardian of safety of a safety protection centre has the authority and duties as follows:

1. To take charge of, supervise and care for a child staying at the safety protection centre;
2. To arrange for the education, instruction and occupational training of a child staying at the safety protection centre;
3. To rectify behaviour, and treat and rehabilitate the physical and mental conditions of a child staying at the safety protection centre;
4. To monitor and follow up on a child who has been discharged from the safety protection centre, offering the child advice, guidance and assistance.

A guardian of safety of a development and rehabilitation centre has the authority and duties as follows:

1. To take into custody a child who is deemed in need of physical or mental rehabilitation;
2. To trace and observe in connection with the child and the child’s family for the purpose of determining guidelines for the development and rehabilitation of each individual child;
3. To arrange for appropriate education, control, treatment, guidance and physical and mental rehabilitation in a manner suitable to each individual child under custody.

An owner, guardian of safety, and staff of a nursery, remand home, welfare centre, safety protection centre and development and rehabilitation centre shall be forbidden to assault, physically or mentally, detain, abandon or impose any other harsh measures of punishment on any child under care and guardianship, except where such acts are reasonably applied for disciplinary purposes in accordance with the regulations specified by the Minister.

In performing the duties under this Act or as assigned by the Permanent Secretary or the Provincial Governor, a guardian of safety shall be an official under the Penal Code.