More needy Singaporeans to qualify for aid

Widening of social safety net to benefit 15,300 more people

By Ong Hwee Hwee, The Straits Times 10 Mar 2012

AS THE Government seeks to strengthen its social safety net to realise its pledge of an inclusive society, more needy Singaporeans will now qualify for aid.

For a start, the income criteria for ComCare, a key component of its help schemes, will be widened.

From next month, the household income cap for some ComCare programmes will be raised from $1,500 to $1,700.

Bigger families who bust the ceilings can still qualify if their income per capita falls below $550.

'This will enable more to receive short-term assistance to tide over difficult times, and have the hope to get back on their feet again,' said Acting Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Chan Chun Sing yesterday.

ComCare offers temporary short- to medium-term assistance to those who have lost their jobs or are unable to work for a period. Help rendered includes cash and utilities vouchers.

Speaking during his ministry's budget debate in Parliament, Mr Chan noted that as the needs of families become more complicated, the way help is dispensed also needs to change.

Hence, funds such as ComCare will need to be disbursed in a more flexible way to help those at the margins. His ministry, he said, also stands ready with a swathe of schemes to help workers affected by a downturn, if it comes.

'Society's needs have become more complex... we will have to stay ahead to help more Singaporeans in the new social-economic landscape,' he said.

As at Dec 31 last year, some 6,500 households were receiving help under ComCare. With the more generous criteria, another 3,700 households are due to benefit this year.

The needy elderly who require long-term help will also find it easier to qualify for the Public Assistance (PA) scheme.

Currently, seniors with children can qualify for PA only if their household income does not exceed $1,000. This will be raised to $1,500 from next month.

The PA scheme will also be expanded to include previously ineligible elderly who may be getting monthly but small payouts from their pension, ElderShield or the Housing Board's Lease Buyback scheme.

Outlining his ministry's priorities, Mr Chan said: 'MCYS will continue to provide the greatest help to the bottom income groups and the most vulnerable, who have the least resources.

'But we are also prepared to go beyond the bottom 20 percentile where preventive help can go a long way. This is especially where the development of children is concerned.'

Putting words into action, the ministry will take into account the per capita income of households when handing out childcare and kindergarten subsidies, which can amount to as much as $340 and $108 each month respectively.

From July 1, another scheme which grants subsidies to families who send their children to after-school care centres will have its income ceiling raised from $2,500 to $3,500.

The changes will benefit 15,300 more beneficiaries and cost $21 million more each year.

Other vulnerable groups - from the disabled to the elderly - will also receive help. The Government is set to spend more than $1 billion over the next five years to help people with disabilities.

The social service sector also received a big boost, with a 15 per cent pay rise planned this year for social workers.

The MCYS is the last ministry to have its budget scrutinised. The annual Budget debate wrapped up yesterday, after a nine-day marathon sitting.

Disabled to get over $1b in aid over next 5 years
Among the initiatives: learning support for preschool kids; subsidy boost for care services
By Jennani Durai, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

THE Government is set to spend more than $1 billion over the next five years to help people with disabilities.

The level is 20 per cent more than that seen over the past five years, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports Sam Tan, when he announced the plans in Parliament yesterday.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday adopted some of the recommendations made under the Enabling Masterplan 2012-2016 - a blueprint for disability services in Singapore that was announced two weeks ago.

Praising the plan's 'life-course approach' to ensuring appropriate care at every life stage, Mr Tan said his ministry would expand its focus on early intervention to include children in mainstream preschools with learning difficulties. Typically, these children did not receive any form of intervention, he added.

Starting with selected preschools, MCYS will offer learning support intervention and therapy intervention to children who experience learning difficulties, speech and language delays and behavioural problems.

The ministry will also increase the means-tested subsidies for all of the community-based and residential services that it funds. For a lower-income family, such subsidies could cover as much as 80 per cent of the normal cost of a service - which could be up to $1,400 a month for a residential care home, or up to $765 a month for community-based day care.

These initiatives will ease the burden on families taking care of disabled adults, including parents who worry that they might not have enough money to care for their disabled children in the future, said Mr Tan.

He also announced that an additional $120 grant will be given to severely disabled people to offset the Foreign Domestic Worker levy, on top of the current concession of $95 a month.

Mr Tan said that his ministry understood the 'added stress and strain of looking after those who are more severely disabled'.

With the new grant, eligible families will pay only $50 of the maid levy.

In reply to Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), Mr Tan also said that the Assistive Technology Fund - which provides devices such as hearing aids to those with disabilities - will double its subsidy. In addition, the fund will be extended to students in special education schools.

The subsidy will now come to $20,000 a person, and the change will take effect by July this year.

One student who will benefit is 16-year-old Sia Jin Zhu, who suffers from muscular dystrophy. The Sembawang Secondary School student said the fund had enabled her to get a new wheelchair and a laptop.

'My back often hurt when I used my old wheelchair, and I developed pressure sores on my bottom,' she said.

She added that her new wheelchair has a special reclining feature that helps to relieve the pressure on her spine when she sits up.

With the laptop, she is also less dependent on her sister Sharon, 30, to copy notes for her in class.

'My teachers are able to e-mail notes to me, so my sister needn't help me in class. She has to do it only for subjects such as mathematics, where there are a lot of symbols,' she said.

Her sister, who is unemployed, said the equipment for Jin Zhu cost more than $10,000.

'From what I can see, the equipment she has will suffer wear and tear in the future,' she said. 'The $20,000 will come in handy for replacement and maintenance.'

Plan for taxi service for wheelchair-bound
By Tay Suan Chiang, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

HELP is on the way for the wheelchair-bound who need help getting transport that can fit their machines.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday said it was studying a plan to invite taxi operators to run a service that can accommodate different types of wheelchairs.

The issue of limited transport options for the disabled made headlines last year after SMRT Taxis said it was withdrawing its fleet of 15 London cabs due to their high costs.

That triggered an outcry from wheelchair-bound commuters. After discussions with the authorities, SMRT decided to extend its London cab service to next March.

Yesterday, Mr Sam Tan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for MCYS, said that his ministry, the Land Transport Authority and the Ministry of Transport were working together to develop a longer-term solution to help the disabled.

MCYS also plans to work with suitable voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to develop dedicated transport providers for those who need to access services regularly and on an ad hoc basis.

'Over time, we will also be providing targeted transport subsidies to help cushion the costs for those in the lower-income group accessing our VWO services,' said Mr Tan.

More details will be announced later, but he added that 'we will work towards getting these vehicles on the road before the licences of London Cabs expire'.

Taxi operators said it was too early to decide on the special service.

Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxi, said it was a good idea but that the operators should get together to come up with a service to accommodate different sizes of wheelchairs. 'It is our way of making a social contribution.'

TransCab's general manager Jasmine Tan said: 'It depends on whether we want this service to be based on a business model or provide it for charity.'

Disabled People's Association vice-president Judy Wee welcomed the idea. 'This way, the public can easily book a taxi, instead of just relying on London cabs. However, the price of this service should be the same as hiring a regular taxi.'

'Don't let anyone fall through the cracks'
Help groups urged to do more for those who do not know how to get aid
By Cheryl Ong, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

EVEN as Singapore strengthens its social safety nets, there are needy families feeling helpless because they do not know how and where to seek help, MPs said yesterday.

Acknowledging their fears, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Chan Chun Sing yesterday urged groups that help the needy to do more to reach out to such families.

On its part, he said, the ministry intends to be more flexible in the way Community Development Councils (CDCs) and grassroots groups disburse ComCare, the fund that provides short- and medium-term funding to low-income Singaporeans.

'As MPs, we also know of families who warrant help even though they may not meet ComCare criteria. We will need to reach out to those who do not know where to seek help, or what the different help schemes do. So that hope can become a reality for them as well,' said Mr Chan.

Rising to speak next, the Minister of State for MCYS, Madam Halimah Yacob, added that the ministry will ramp up publicity of its programmes for the needy and tighten the links between CDCs and Family Service Centres to ensure better coordination.

Effective social service delivery must mean compassion, proper coordination, and recognising that different families have different needs, she said.

ComCare publicity materials will be updated and distributed more widely, and the information will be simplified so that people understand better the schemes available to them.

These moves should go some way, she said, towards addressing the concern Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast GRC) had about the help available as the MP had earlier described them as 'best-kept secrets' few know about.

Madam Halimah added that grassroots leaders will be roped in for training so they can look out for residents in the neighbourhood who may be in trouble. They will also get a starter kit on how to advise needy residents.

'Grassroots leaders are an important touchpoint. Very often, they are the ones who first encounter those who need help,' she said.

A social service portal will be set up online, under the domain ComCare.sg. It will present information on schemes based on the needs of the person visiting the site to help the ministry reach out to more people.

During the debate, Mr Ang Hin Kee (Ang Mo Kio) asked if there was a worry that, with the lowered threshold for social assistance, more people may abuse or claim permanently from the system.

Mr Chan replied that he believed this was a small problem that could be easily managed, adding that he was more concerned about those falling through the cracks.

He said: 'I have always told my Meet-the-People Session helpers that they are the first line of defence when someone comes to them. They are like the sinseh (doctor) feeling the pulse of the person. They have to, based on the evidence available, make the best judgment call to recommend to me whether that person really is deserving of help.'

Nee Soon East Citizens' grassroots leader Tan Meng, 55, who heads the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) ComCare Fund, said it takes experience to sieve out the needy residents from those just 'shopping' for aid.

'Experience comes from being on the ground for many years, so the training is very useful for those who are new. We learn also how to approach these residents, because some of them don't want help even though they really need it,' he said.

Senior citizens to be served by one-stop centres

By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

THE elderly can soon say goodbye to the inconvenience of having to visit separate centres to access social and medical services.

Come 2016, there will be about 40 Integrated Day Facilities (IDF) serving up to 6,000 senior citizens.

These one-stop centres will provide not only basic day care but also specialised services such as rehabilitation and dementia programmes.

Some $100 million will be pumped into this effort over the next five years.

Specific community-based care services already exist but 'more often than not, our elderly need services across these facilities', said Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Halimah Yacob in Parliament yesterday.

Two IDFs will be built this year in Tampines and the Bishan-Toa Payoh area. Six existing day-care and day rehabilitation centres will be upgraded to IDFs.

Some places are already delivering integrated care, such as all 11 centres run by St Luke's Eldercare and half of the eight centres run by NTUC Eldercare.

More than half the 1,200 clients at St Luke's Eldercare utilise two or more services.

Mr Lai Hoong Kew, 77, said he is glad he does not have to travel to separate centres. 'It's hard for me to move around after I had a fall and suffered a hip fracture,' said Mr Lai, who goes to the St Luke's Eldercare centre in Serangoon.

The IDF expansion plans were part of a slew of measures announced by MCYS in Parliament yesterday to not only promote ageing within the community, but also to ensure that holistic care is delivered at the convenience of the elderly.

While there are some who will benefit from the IDFs, there are others who prefer or need to be cared for in their homes.

The ministry will develop a home-based care arrangement in which multiple services - from personal hygiene and housekeeping to laundry - will be provided within single visits.

Under this arrangement called Ensuite Social Home-based Care, the elderly will be tended to by a single care worker trained and equipped to perform a range of services.

An estimated $80 million will be committed to this service for the next five years. It is expected to benefit up to 4,000 elderly folk - more than twice the number of users of home-based care today - by 2016.

Another group of elderly people that the ministry hopes to reach out to will be those who need social support but do not live in rental flats.

Currently, all Senior Activity Centres (SACs) are located at the void decks of selected one- and two-room rental blocks.

The centres will now also cater to those not living in rental flats. The number of SACs will also be ramped up from 41 to 58 by 2016 to cater to 39,000 elderly folk, up from the current 18,000.

Some $70 million will be set aside for the SACs over the next five years.

Social workers to get up to 15% pay rise

By Tay Suan Chiang, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2012

SOCIAL workers can expect a pay rise of up to 15 per cent this year, in a major government drive to attract fresh blood and retain staff in the profession.

The increase will bring their salaries up to the levels of their peers with similar jobs, such as those providing aftercare services, rehabilitation services to juvenile offenders and those overseeing the welfare of families and children.

A social worker fresh out of university is currently paid between $2,550 and $2,750 a month.

In addition, the Government will be offering more scholarships to those showing promise and are keen to join the social service sector, which is short of 200 social workers.

These are among the key initiatives announced by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday to meet the growing demand for social services as the Government steps up its aid to the lower income, among others.

On top of the moves, MCYS also launched a nationwide campaign to attract social workers last month.

To fund the initiatives, the ministry is pumping in an extra $10 million a year to strengthen the social service sector. Last year, the sector received $60 million.

Acting Minister for MCYS, Mr Chan Chun Sing, said during the debate on his ministry's budget that a large part of the money will go towards the salaries of social service professionals.

'Social workers can expect their salaries to be increased by up to 15 per cent later in the year. Other social service professionals will also see increases in their salaries,' he said.

MCYS also wants to boost the professionalism of social workers.

The National Council of Social Service will introduce a new Master Social Worker Scheme this year.

Madam Halimah Yacob, the ministry's Minister of State, said the mentoring scheme will have experienced social workers guiding their colleagues to advance social work practice.

Mrs Lee Yean Wun, 48, principal social worker at Kampong Kapor Family Service Centre, is a potential Master Social Worker.

Said Mrs Lee, who has 27 years of experience: 'I look forward to helping in the professional development of senior social workers.'

Senior social workers can also consult them on how to manage high-risk and complex cases and social work supervision.

To help voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) strengthen their capabilities and improve the provision of social services, the ministry will increase the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund from $53 million to $100 million in the next five years, from this year to 2016.

The fund will provide more scholarships to attract and retain manpower; support projects that innovate social services, and encourage VWOs to adopt or attain national organisational excellence certifications.

Social workers interviewed by The Straits Times welcomed the pay increase.

Mr Lee Seng Meng, 32, said: 'An increase is good. But it takes more than pay to retain a social worker. Other factors such as the work environment, and receiving support and recognition for our work are important too.'

*COS DEBATE ON MCYS BUDGET 2012