The Department of Social Development and Welfare has signed an agreement with the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) to test the DNA of homeless people so that they can receive welfare from the government.
Director-General of the Department of Social Development and Welfare Phutthiphat Lertchawasit signed the agreement on Thursday with CIFS Acting Director Som Phromrot. The DNA tests are expected to help people who have been abandoned, mentally ill, are child beggars or can’t provide information about themselves. Until now, these people have not had what the government calls a “legal personality status” and have had no access to welfare benefits in terms of medical care, financial assistance and job opportunities, reported Thai News Bureau.
As for the department’s beggar regulating policy, which was introduced several months ago and was designed to get beggars off the streets, more than 4,000 beggars have entered the department’s aid programs and gone for job training. Around 1,600 of them have not received welfare benefits from the government due to a lack of legal personality status.
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