萬國法律事務所

Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) recently amended the Registration and Management Regulations for Family Childcare Services Agencies (RMRFCSA), which amendments expressly stipulate that childcare providers shall not charge fees unreasonably by concocting various pretexts. Where there is no improvement of violations by the authority's deadline, the penalty imposed could be up to NTD 30,000.

Pursuant to The Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act, childcare providers are free to decide whether to charge fees for non-staple foods, extended childcare, holiday bonuses, and year-end bonuses in addition to the fees stipulated for childcare services after the local governments at a meeting pass a resolution. However, many local governments have found that some childcare providers charge fees for air-conditioning or bathing to raise the cost of childcare. Since the text of the regulations is not clear, disputes and appeals are frequent.

Therefore, the MHW deliberately amended the RMRFCSA so that childcare providers cannot charge fees unreasonably by concocting various pretexts for the same, in the hope of reducing disputes. In the event that childcare providers make no improvement by the authority’s deadline, they can be fined an amount of between NTD 3,000 and NTD 30,000, and the fines may be issued continually; if the offense is of a serious nature or continues to exist after the childcare providers have been punished a total of three times, the childcare providers' registrations could be terminated.

Furthermore, the MHW also added a provision for counting the number of children cared for by childcare providers. Children who are not charged will also be counted, as many disputes arise regarding the safety of the childcare, due to the fact that many childcare providers in practice take care of the children of neighbors or distant relatives without charging fees.