Taiwan Fund for Children and Families

Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF; ) is a nonprofit organization in Taiwan that provides services to vulnerable children and families, including children under 18 or college students still pursuing their education. “Livelihood Supports” and “Child Protection” are its two main target programs. Regardless of race, religion or gender, TFCF was established in 1950 and received assistance during its inception from China’s Children Fund (CCF), an NGO based in Virginia, United States. TFCF became independent in 1985. Currently, there are 24 branch offices, 11 Affiliates, 3 Non-profit Kindergartens as well as 7 overseas branch offices in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kingdom of Eswatini, Vietnam, Cambodia, Jordan, and Philippines. TFCF also engages in partnerships with organizations, including ChildFund International USA, Children Believe, ChildFund Australia, and PLAN BØRNEfonden to offer a children sponsorship program that aid more than 50,000 underprivileged children across 34 countries.

History

 * 1938 - Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke, an American Presbyterian minister, established the China’s Children Fund (CCF) in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A and set up 42 orphanages in China to save homeless children during the Sino-Japanese war.
 * 1950 – CCF established the first family-style orphanage in Taiwan named Kwang-In, mainly funded by donations from church members in USA and Canada, marking the beginning of TFCF’s child welfare efforts in Taiwan.
 * 1964 – Established the 1st field office in Taichung and 23 Family Helper Projects (now called Branch Offices) to provide children sponsorship and financial assistance for children and families in need in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (service in Matsu ceased in 1977).
 * 1981 – Initiated the family foster care service which was entrusted in the following year by the government to fully promote the service through TFCF branch offices
 * 1985 – TFCF no longer accepted foreign aid and became a self-reliant children’s welfare organization.
 * 1987 – Started international child sponsorship program and initiated child protection advocacy in the same year.
 * 2002 – Joined ChildFund International (renamed ChildFund Alliance in 2008) as a founding member to expand TFCF services for foreign children. Changed the name of the organization to Taiwan Fund for Children and Families abbreviated as “TFCF”.
 * 2004 – Mongolia Branch Office was registered as TFCF's first overseas branch office.
 * 2007 – Petitioned the government for the amendment of Enforcement Law for Part V, Succession Law of the Civil Code, and relieved the minors of the debt burden.
 * 2008 – Awarded with 2008 Best Social Welfare Foundation by Ministry of the Interior. Established TFCF hotline, '0800-078585,' to offer the public a more timely and convenient channel for assistance.
 * 2009 – Awarded with the Certificate of Appreciation by Ministry of the Interior for Helping Typhoon Morakot Relief Work.
 * 2010 – Operated 1957 Welfare Counseling Hotline entrusted by Ministry of the Interior.
 * 2013 – Designated April 28th as a Child Protection Day to raise public awareness of child protection through advocacies and awareness campaigns.
 * 2014 – Awarded with 2014 Best Social Welfare Foundation by Ministry of Health and Welfare.
 * 2015 – Terminated TFCF membership with ChildFund Alliance but continued to support and sponsor underprivileged children, families and communities in Asia, the Americas, and Africa through ChildFund Alliance.  Obtained an affiliate member of Accountable Now, an international accountability platform, and became a full member in 2017 which are the first eligible organization in Taiwan.
 * 2016 – Established TFCF Matsu Branch Office which completed the service territories all of Taiwan, including outlaying islands.
 * 2017 – Started the community sponsorship program in Lao.  Published "White Paper on Children and Youth Rights in Taiwan", the first policy proposal on children and youth rights in Taiwan.
 * 2019 – Established the 1st non-profit kindergarten "TFCF Dali Non-profit Kindergarten" commissioned by Taichung City Government. Changed the name of the Northern Taipei City Branch Office to “Taipei Youth Corner” to provide specialized services for the youth.
 * 2020 – Awarded with the Outstanding NGOs-Social Welfare Contribution by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Introduced a brand new Corporate Identity System (CIS) in the 70th anniversary event of TFCF.
 * 2022 – Received the gold award in the SDG11 'Sustainable Cities and Communities' category at the 2022 Taiwan Sustainability Action Award (TSAA), presented by Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE).
 * 2023 – Received the distinction award in the SDG4 'Quality Education' category at the 2023 Taiwan Sustainability Action Award (TSAA), presented by Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE).

Livelihood supports
(1)  Assistance for Families

In order to take care of disadvantaged children & youth and families and ensure each household meets its basic needs, TFCF has launched Family Sponsorship System to provide the resources of living and learning support which improve their lives with stable assistance for each household.

(2)  Nutrition Program

Nutrition for children and youth is becoming more diverse and comprehensive along with time and diets changing. TFCF places importance on nutritional supplement and balanced diets for children and youth. Since 2018, the in-kind supply has been changed to cash grants to respond to the different needs of children and families in a more flexible way.

(3)  Emergency Relief

We provide the most appropriate and immediate assistance for families who suffer from an acute family crisis, so that families can go back to normal as soon as possible. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the ability of vulnerable families to withstand the risks and impacts has been quite limited. TFCF has further activated services, such as emergency assistance, pandemic prevention allowances/materials and other services to stabilize their lives.

(4)  Family Supporting Program

As the social environment changes and family needs become more diverse, we provide various family support services to help households to utilize the community resources, enhance positive parent-child interaction and enrich childhood experience.

(5)  Self-reliant Family Follow-up Program

Adhering to our service concept ”accompany children towards self-reliant", we provide one-year Self-Reliant Family Follow-Up Program. We hope to alleviate the impact on families who have no financial assistance at the beginning of self-reliance through providing resources in a timely manner to assist families in responding to unforeseen events and increase stability in their self-sufficient daily lives.

(6)  Living Environment Improvement Program

Many of the families we assist live in dirty and cramped spaces. Most of them often worry about leaks in their houses which prevent them from resting quietly and some do not have access to the tap water or clean water. Winter is also a challenge for economically disadvantaged families. Some of them do not have an electric water heater, so they can only take a shower by boiling water. And, some do not have the gas stoves, hot water bottles or beds.

Living in such conditions for a long time can lead to health issues for both children and their family members, which can affect their daily lives. To improve the quality of life for these families, we have begun providing subsidies since 2022 based on their actual needs, such as house repairs, pipe maintenance, replacement of old appliances, and the purchase of necessary household items. We hope to improve their living standards and provide a stable and safe living environment for their daily lives.

Child Protection Service
(1) Family Intervention

According to the needs of families, we provide the planned services to enhance the resilience of maltreated child/youth and the parental ability of parents or key caregivers, and also improve family functions to offer a safe and secure living environment for children and youth with comprehensive care.

(2) Livelihood Support

Due to economic difficulties, some families may not be able to provide adequate care for their children. Our organization utilizes social resources and volunteers to provide economic or material subsidies, household cleaning and organization, restructuring of daily routines and order, childcare services, and family or institutional placement services.

(3) Medical Care Assistance

TFCF provides timely medical care assistance while children and youth need medical treatment due to physical abused. If the abuser or the primary caregiver of the abused child has drug and alcohol addiction or mental illness, we would also help contact or refer to medical units for further assistance.

(4) Parent Education

TFCF provides mandatory parenting education counseling, organizes visits and meeting, conducts sessions of parenting and parent-child groups / lectures / activities for those parents involved in child protection cases.

(5) Consulting Legal Assistance

TFCF provides consultation responses through phone calls, interviews, written reports, internet interactions, etc. to respond to the public about the protection of children and juveniles and relevant knowledge, information and social resources. If other legal litigation issues are involved, they would be referred to legal professionals for assistance.

(6) Child Protection Advocacy

The promotional materials of child protection advocacy are utilized through internet, broadcast communities, audio-visual, and online games. We promote the concept and knowledge of correct protection of children and youth, and jointly safeguard the safety and rights of children and youth.