New MSF unit launched to flag child abuse concerns earlier, after review into Megan Khung's death

SINGAPORE: A new unit has been launched to bring together relevant information from different government agencies to identify potential cases of child abuse earlier and help frontline professionals provide more timely support.

Called Sensemaking Alerts for Frontline Engagement and Response (SAFER), it helps these professionals build a more complete understanding of family circumstances, as part of assessing whether children and families may need support earlier, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said on Tuesday (Sep 22). 

SAFER uses a “risk algorithm” to pull together information from available datasets to assess a family’s potential needs and how they may be supported. The unit has been operational since the end of June 2026.

In its first two months, SAFER’s risk algorithm surfaced about 600 cases for further review. These led to 70 cases being flagged to MSF’s Protective Service and Child Protection Case Management (CPCM) agencies’ case managers to step up or strengthen support for the families involved.  

MSF committed in parliament to set up a social services coordination centre in response to recommendations from a review panel that looked at the child protection ecosystem after the death of Megan Khung. 

Megan was four years old when she died in February 2020. She was abused for months by her mother and the woman's then-boyfriend, before the latter threw a fatal punch.

A review into her death found multiple lapses, shortcomings and miscommunication among the agencies that handled her case. 

These included officers not following established protocols, social workers mischaracterising her injuries, and failures by police officers and child protection specialists to follow up after concerns about her case were brought to their attention.

WHO IS SAFER FOR? 

The new unit brings together relevant information from different agencies, starting with the Central Narcotics Bureau, the Singapore Police Force 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,” MSF said. 

The unit currently has a handful of full-time staff members with prior experience in MSF’s Protective Service, and will “evolve” as SAFER supports more social services beyond child protection in future, said the ministry.

For now, SAFER will focus on families with children below seven where there are child protection concerns. Professionals assess information surfaced through SAFER, alongside their professional judgment, to decide whether further action is needed. 

MSF said young children can be particularly vulnerable because they may be less able to recognise, articulate or report harm. They are also generally more dependent on their caregivers, and may have fewer opportunities to disclose concerns directly to trusted adults outside the family. 

The ministry will review how the unit’s scope can be further expanded later as it gains more experience.

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 concerns, or strengthening existing support and reviewing safety plans to take into account new developments.

The unit’s operational processes were put together based on frontline experience and sector feedback. MSF said it will continue to refine the unit with its partners while studying how it could support other social services in future.

“MSF will continue to enhance SAFER’s capabilities by obtaining data from other government agencies that can help to inform the assessment (of) the potential child protection needs of the family. Any sharing of data would be done in accordance with existing data governance protocols,” the ministry said. 

HOW WILL IT WORK? 

SAFER uses a data-driven risk algorithm to “synthesise information” from available datasets, including risk events and recent stressors, to assess a family’s potential needs and identify the support needed.

Any potential child protection concern is reviewed by trained professionals, who check against available case facts, consult existing case managers, and apply professional judgment before escalating the concern. 

MSF said it would continue to “assess relevant technologies” that can support child protection work, while ensuring appropriate governance, safeguards and human oversight. 

Not all information processed by SAFER results in an escalation, MSF told CNA.

Social service practitioners are provided only with information relevant to assess potential child safety concerns and determine whether outreach or support may be needed. 

“Sensitive data should not be shared if there is no need to.  Practitioners on the ground should also not be overwhelmed with too much data,” the ministry added.

Upon receiving an alert from SAFER, MSF’s Protective Service would conduct the necessary risk screening, information gathering and “assess right-siting of the case” within a target of three working days. 

Where there are immediate safety concerns, the Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) will be deployed promptly to provide support onsite.

If the case requires statutory investigation by the Protective Service, the case will be assigned to a protection officer.

If the data indicates that a family’s risk and stress levels have risen beyond a certain level, SAFER will review the case to assess if the Protective Service should re-triage it so that the right level of support and intervention is provided.

When asked what safeguards are in place to minimise the risk of an alert being overlooked or missed, MSF said it tracks all cases escalated for triage until a triage outcome is determined. 

“Where information is shared with existing case managers, SAFER requests updates on case outcome and feedback on the alerts to close the loop. 

“Case managers remain responsible in exercising professional judgment on any follow-up required. MSF will continue to review these arrangements,” MSF said. 

MSF also regularly monitors the number and quality of escalations in terms of whether they resulted in meaningful interventions that benefited the family and the children. 

When asked about potential false positives, MSF said these are “inherent in any such risk algorithms”.

“Even if social workers engage families when the risk is very low, there will still be benefits as families will be offered support,” added the ministry.

“Such is the nature of preventive work in general,  where early outreach and engagement to provide families with support may help address concerns before they escalate.

“SAFER itself does not make any decision on whether a case is a bona fide abuse case and the severity of abuse. It provides relevant information to the existing decision-making mechanism.”

MEGAN KHUNG’S CASE

In the fatal abuse case of Megan Khung, the SAFER unit could have identified the case for review about five months before her death, said MSF.

From Mar 19 to Apr 9, 2019, Megan’s preschool saw injuries on the child. If the SAFER unit was around, the preschool would have reported the case to NAVH, and the SAFER unit would have been made aware of the case.

When Megan stopped attending preschool in September that year and was withdrawn less than two weeks later, SAFER would have been made aware of these and would have flagged the case for review, said MSF.

Between Sep 20 and 27, 2019, Beyond Social Services (BSS) called the Child Protective Service (CPS) hotline after Megan was seen with an injury. 

If the SAFER unit had been around, BSS would have called NAVH and the Protective Service would have re-triaged the case, considering its history and the earlier alert.

On Jan 17, 2020, Megan’s grandmother made a police report. SAFER would have been aware of the report and would have flagged the case.

Megan died on Feb 22, 2020. 

Establishing this new unit was one of several measures that were implemented following the review panel’s findings.

The panel’s recommendations included the designation of Child Protection Case Management agencies, the launch of the Protection Practitioners Care Fund, and the establishment of the Triage Assessment Panel.

MSF said it has substantially implemented these recommendations, and remaining measures requiring additional resourcing will be fully implemented in 2027.

When asked for an update on the investigation into the CPS officers involved in Megan’s case, MSF said the disciplinary investigation is still ongoing. 

Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development 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.”

The SAFER unit supports but does not replace the professional judgment of social service professionals and protection officers, he added.

“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,” he said.