About 6 per cent of foster parents have been deregistered annually since 2023, said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming on Wednesday (April 8). The reasons why these foster parents decline to temporarily take in children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected include new family commitments, health and age-related factors, as well as relocation, he added.Goh was responding to a series of parliamentary questions from Nominated Member of Parliament Neo Kok Beng.Besides attrition rates, Neo, who is himself a foster parent, had asked whether the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is planning to issue guidelines for co-parenting arrangements between foster and biological parents.As of December 2024, there were 530 foster children and 633 foster families — an increase from 614 foster families in 2023. Goh replied that MSF is open to considering co-parent arrangements between foster and biological parents «where appropriate».  «Particularly to facilitate reunification of the child with the biological parents and where it is in the child’s best interests,» he added. Read more