{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1709828,
        "msgid": "child-social-welfare-crisis-behind-the-daycare-case-1777530546",
        "date": "2026-04-30 10:16:10",
        "title": "Child Social Welfare Crisis Behind the Daycare Case",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "The recent abuse scandal at Little Aresha daycare in Yogyakarta has exposed deep flaws in Indonesia's childcare system, where many facilities operate without proper licensing or trained staff, endangering children's safety despite government mandates like the TARA standards. This incident highlights a broader crisis in human resources, institutional oversight, and regulatory enforcement, forcing working mothers into a dilemma between economic productivity and child welfare. Addressing this requires stringent national standards, mandatory certifications for caregivers, and robust monitoring to prevent silent traumas that could have lifelong psychological impacts on children.",
        "content": "<p>Daycare has long been positioned as a modern solution and saviour for\nworking mothers to remain productive without abandoning their childcare\nroles. However, the violence case at Little Aresha daycare in Yogyakarta\nhas instead unveiled a darker reality: a space trusted as safe can turn\ninto a site of trauma for children. This is the tip of the iceberg\nphenomenon. Dozens of children have been reported as victims. This fact\nis not merely a number but a stark signal that Indonesia\u2019s service-based\nchildcare system is deeply flawed. This is no longer about \u201crogue\nelements\u201d but a failure to prioritise child protection. Ironically, this\noccurs amid the grand narrative of development: women are encouraged to\nwork, family economies must remain stable, yet the childcare support\nsystem is not built with equally robust standards. As a result, working\nmothers find themselves in a dilemma\u2014economically productive but\nshadowed by anxiety over their children\u2019s safety. Data from the Ministry\nof Women\u2019s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) shows that many\ndaycares still fail to meet standards, both in terms of licensing and\ncaregiver competence. Although the government has mandated that daycares\ncomply with \u201cChild-Friendly Daycare\u201d (TARA) standards under Ministry of\nPPPA Regulation Number 4 of 2024 on Child Rights Fulfilment Services.\nHowever, various sources report that as of April 2026, 44% of daycares\nare unlicensed, 30.7% have operational licences, and 20% lack Standard\nOperating Procedures (SOP). Minister of PPPA, Arifah Fauzi, has even\nemphasised that any form of violence against children is a serious\nviolation that cannot be tolerated. This statement should not stop as a\ncase response but serve as an alarm that our child protection system is\nnot yet solid. From the Human Service Organisation (HSO) perspective\n(Hasenfeld, 2010), daycares should be human-centred institutions\n(prioritising relationships, empathy, and protection), yet what occurred\nat \u201cLittle Aresha\u201d daycare appears to be the opposite: failed\nrelationships, absent empathy, and collapsed protection. The HSO\nperspective also stresses that daycares are services highly dependent on\nthe quality of the people within them. Thus, child safety is not\ndetermined solely by buildings or facilities but by who the caregivers\nare, how they are trained, and how closely they are supervised. When\nthese aspects are neglected, goal displacement occurs\u2014the service\u2019s\nobjectives shift from protection to mere operations, even pursuing\nprofit. At the very least, this article highlights three important\naspects related to the Little Aresha daycare case. First, the human\nresources (HR) crisis. According to HSO theory, HR is a key factor in\nrealising good and trustworthy Child Social Welfare Institutions (LKSA).\nVarious sources indicate that 66.7% of HR, both as managers and\ncaregivers, are uncertified. Moreover, the recruitment process does not\nyet meet qualification and competence standards for child caregivers.\nChild caregivers are not just workers but substitute parents for\nchildren during their time at the institution. They must be able to\nprovide a sense of security akin to what children feel at home (family).\nHere, the importance of caregiver competence is evident, including\nunderstanding child development, good communication with children, and\nmore. So that when caregivers are fatigued from working under\ninstitutional pressure, children do not become targets of violence.\nSecond, the institutional crisis. It turns out that in Indonesia, many\ndaycares operate without clear standards and even without operating\npermits. The HSO perspective asserts this as a form of goal\ndisplacement. When the primary goal of protecting children shifts to\nmerely running services or pursuing profit, children are no longer\nviewed as individuals to be protected but as lifeless work objects.\nThird, the supervision crisis. This is the gap that allows violence to\npersist. Supervision is often merely administrative (licences,\ndocuments, reports) but does not touch the reality inside daycares, in\ntheir caregiving spaces. There are no eyes truly watching what happens.\nParents entrust fully but lack sufficient access to verify. This is\nwhere violence finds its space. Herein lies the real danger. Violence in\ndaycares is often invisible. Children are not yet able to speak out,\nwhile parents fully entrust the childcare process. What emerges is what\ncan be called \u201csilent trauma\u201d\u2014wounds that are voiceless but leave scars.\nPsychologically, the impact is profound. Bowlby (1969) emphasised that\nsecure attachment is the foundation of a child\u2019s emotional development.\nWhen caregivers become sources of fear, that foundation crumbles.\nShonkoff et al.\u00a0(2012) also show that early childhood violence can\ntrigger toxic stress, directly affecting brain development and social\nabilities. Thus, the negative impact of poor daycares does not end\ntoday\u2014it can carry into adulthood. In the framework of social welfare,\nthis is a serious failure. Midgley (1995) reminds us that welfare is not\njust about economics but also safety and quality of life. If children\nare unsafe in childcare spaces, what we face is not merely a service\nissue but a social welfare crisis itself. We must stop viewing daycare\ncases as incidents and start seeing them as symptoms. Symptoms of a\nsystem not yet ready to face social changes: when families change, but\nchild protection is not strengthened accordingly. Therefore, solutions\ncannot be half-hearted. The state must step in through strict daycare\nstandardisation, mandatory certification for HR as both managers and\ncaregivers. And no less important, institutional supervision through<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/child-social-welfare-crisis-behind-the-daycare-case-1777530546",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}