預算辯論 · 2026-03-06 · 屆國會 15
2026社會及家庭發展部供給委員會辯論：兒童AI安全與螢幕時間
社會及家庭發展部政務部長Zhulkarnain在COS辯論中回應多名議員關於兒童螢幕時間和網路安全的關切。政府的策略包括幫助兒童安全上網、負責任地使用AI，以及通過減少螢幕時間讓家長為孩子創造更多親子互動機會。討論聚焦於如何在AI時代保護未成年人，同時不阻礙他們學習和適應新技術。
關鍵要點
- • 幫助兒童安全使用AI
- • 減少螢幕時間創造親子互動
- • 在保護與學習之間尋找平衡
引導兒童安全使用AI，減少螢幕時間
兒童AI安全成為家庭政策議題
參與人員 (5)
完整譯文（中文）
Hansard 原始記錄 · 2026-05-02
[(程式文本) 第一部分（續）–（程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 複議問題辯論 [2026年3月5日]（程式文本)]
[(程式文本) “將第一部分預算總額削減100元。” – [謝耀權議員]（程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 再次提出問題。（程式文本)]
主席：社會及家庭發展部國務部長朱卡奈因·阿卜杜勒·拉希姆。
上午10時34分
社會及家庭發展部國務部長（朱卡奈因·阿卜杜勒·拉希姆）：主席，幾位議員，如謝耀權議員、楊美麟議員、瑪麗亞姆·賈法爾女士和蔡銀洲議員，提出了關於提升社會流動性的關切。這一直是社會及家庭發展部（MSF）關注的重點領域。
正如我們在財政部（MOF）上個月釋出的偶發論文中看到的，新加坡在這方面相較其他先進經濟體表現相對良好。然而，和其他先進經濟體一樣，相關壓力可能會持續甚至加劇。因此，MSF將加倍努力提升社會流動性。
MSF的目標是支援低收入家庭逐步實現“3S”成果：穩定、自立，最終實現社會流動性。我們正從社會援助轉向社會賦能，通過三方面支援我們的家庭。
首先，安全網。當家庭遇到困難時，我們通過即時支援提供安全保障。其次，穩固的扶持。MSF提供助力，幫助家庭重新站穩腳跟，邁出下一步。第三，支援的階梯。MSF為家庭提供機會，幫助他們發展自身資源。這些機會一旦被利用，家庭就能抓住下一階梯，提升自己。通過這種方式，MSF賦能家庭克服挑戰，抓住機遇，最重要的是，以尊嚴實現成功。
這就是推動ComLink+的動力。
目前，MSF支援約11,000個ComLink+家庭。我們從居住在公共租賃住房的家庭開始，逐步擴充套件到其他低收入家庭，如KidSTART專案家庭。每個ComLink+家庭都有社會服務辦公室（SSO）的家庭教練或家庭服務中心（FSC）的個案工作者。他們是家庭最堅定的支持者——瞭解家庭情況，陪伴他們朝著長期目標前進。
謝耀權議員建議應對社會流動性放緩的問題。ComLink+正是通過在收入保障、兒童發展與教育、住房、家庭功能、財務韌性和健康等關鍵領域及不同生命階段提供有針對性的支援，來實現這一目標。由於家庭需求多樣且動態，我們與每個家庭共同制定行動計劃。
正如馬薩戈斯部長所提，MSF致力於投資研究，更好地理解這些努力的影響。我們尚未掌握如何最佳支援家庭實現社會流動性的所有答案。但通過持續學習並應用這些見解，我們將能夠完善干預措施，更新支援方案。
從安全網到穩固的扶持。當家庭教練或個案工作者開始陪伴家庭時，他們首先解決家庭的即時需求。這可能包括將家庭轉介至ComCare援助及其他財務支援，提供臨時緩解。這些共同構成了我們為家庭提供的安全網。
但安全網可能不足以實現向上流動。這時，我們提供幫助，助力家庭穩步持續地前進。
因此，我們推出了ComLink+進步套餐，鼓勵家庭朝著目標邁進。過去兩年逐步推出的這些套餐，通過在學前入學及出勤、就業、債務清償和購房四個方面採取行動時提供財政補貼，助力家庭努力。
讓我介紹一下家庭教練約瑟夫，他一直與Erna女士及其丈夫蘇海米先生及其1至10歲的孩子們合作。約瑟夫記得蘇海米先生曾分享過他們搬出租賃公寓、擁有自己住房的夢想。聽到這個，約瑟夫與家庭一起制定了路線圖，並一路鼓勵他們實現夢想。按照計劃，Erna女士和蘇海米先生都在努力工作，致力於就業和孩子的教育。藉助ComLink+進步套餐的補貼，他們還能為未來儲蓄更多。
然而，正如楊美麟議員指出，一些家庭覺得條件過於複雜或難以滿足。對此，正如黃循財總理在預算演講中宣佈的，我們今年將加強ComLink+進步套餐。
首先，所有ComLink+家庭現在每季度將獲得500元的新補貼，我們稱之為“夥伴補貼”。這體現了家庭與我們合作改善狀況的承諾。家庭在同意加入ComLink+後將獲得此補貼，只要他們持續朝目標邁進，就會繼續獲得。穩定且可預期的支援讓家庭更能專注於長期目標。
其次，許多家庭努力維持就業和學前教育的規律出勤。儘管付出真誠努力，一些家庭因自身情況可能無法達到目標。因此，我們調整條件，更好地支援面臨複雜挑戰的家庭。
在就業方面，我們將考察整個家庭的努力，而非單個人的收入。例如，Erna女士的兼職工資目前單獨看不符合領取補貼的資格，但在增強後的進步套餐中，將與其丈夫的收入合計計入家庭的就業里程碑。學前教育方面，我們將引入中間裡程碑，鼓勵家庭逐步實現規律出勤。
總體而言，一個有兩個學齡前兒童的ComLink+家庭，通過維持至少2,000元的家庭收入和規律的學前出勤，每年可獲得高達10,000元的補貼。
更多補貼將以現金形式發放，以更好支援面臨日常現金流挑戰的家庭。同時，部分補貼將繼續存入家庭的中央公積金（CPF）和兒童發展賬戶（CDA），支援不僅是當下的需求，更是未來的保障。
正如蔡銀洲議員指出，一些家庭可能猶豫是否加入ComLink+。配合這些增強措施，家庭教練將加強與政府機構和社群合作伙伴的緊密合作，積極接觸家庭。
支援的階梯。一旦家庭重新站穩並開始前進，我們支援他們掌控長期進步。在MSF，我們的目標是創造家庭能夠自主抓住的機會。
就業是實現這一目標的最佳途徑之一。然而，低收入家庭常面臨就業障礙，尤其在財務資源有限的情況下難以解決。即使有穩定工作，他們可能還需具備某些學歷或技能才能獲得更高薪資。因此，我們將推出更多支援措施，彌合就業差距，首先從三方面著手：促進職位匹配、支援技能提升和照顧支援。請允許我詳細說明。
關於職位匹配，MSF正在審視如何為低收入家庭提供量身定製的就業支援，因為他們在尋找合適工作時可能面臨更多挑戰。例如，低收入求職者多在服務行業工作，該行業工作時間較難靈活調整，短時間內難以應對家庭緊急情況，如孩子生病需接送。MSF因此與就業與就業能力研究院（e2i）、AKG及TOUCH社群服務等合作伙伴合作，加強對這些家庭的就業支援，幫助他們準備工作、找到合適職位並最終在工作中表現出色。
我們還將提供更多技能提升支援。目前一些ComLink+家庭有年輕求職者，具備合適技能後可獲得更高薪資。雖然有如SkillsFuture等廣泛計劃，ComLink+家庭可能更需要針對性支援。
家庭在選擇提升技能時承擔一定成本。例如，學習期間收入可能中斷，且不確定學習後是否能獲得更高薪工作。MSF觀察到，這阻礙了一些ComLink+家庭即使有意願和機會也不願提升技能。
因此，我們於今年1月推出了ComLink+技能提升支援試點。年齡在18至39歲的ComLink+個人在接受全日制教育或職業培訓時，將獲得基本生活費用支援。每持續三個月學習，還將獲得500元激勵金。
關於照顧支援，家長知道孩子在放學後得到照顧和有意義的活動時，才能安心工作。MSF通過使課後照顧更易獲得、更負擔得起來支援這一點。
正如總理在預算演講中宣佈，MSF將把學生照顧費援助的收入門檻從4,500元提高到6,500元，並更新收入等級。這將惠及約13,000名學生。
我們還為家長提供更大保障，便於提前規劃。家長現在可在孩子入讀學生照顧中心前最多提前六個月提交申請。符合條件的家長將獲得原則性批准，保證孩子入讀合資格中心後可獲得學生照顧費援助。我們還將學生照顧費援助的最長援助期從24個月延長至36個月。
蔡銀洲議員強調，孩子應有機會在校外繼續全面發展。我們完全同意。作為家長，我自己在下班後與孩子共度時光，增進感情，探索興趣。低收入家庭常因時間和資源緊張，特別需要額外支援以有目的地陪伴孩子。
上午10時45分
作為Grow Well SG計劃的一部分，我們與Families for Life合作伙伴合作，提供低成本的無螢幕家庭親子活動。家庭可享受兒童書籍、景點折扣及社群活動。
實現3S成果對ComLink+家庭來說是漫長旅程。健康問題可能成為阻礙進步的因素。當我們身體不適時，很難履行家庭、學校或工作責任，更難追求理想。然而，許多忙於維持生計的ComLink+家庭往往將健康問題置於次要位置。時間一長，可能導致健康狀況惡化，使部分家庭陷入惡性迴圈：健康不佳難以穩定生活，生活壓力又使保持健康更難。
我們希望幫助他們打破這一迴圈。因此，正如馬薩戈斯部長所述，我們於2025年試點了一種新支援模式。我們測試家庭教練與醫療人員如何共同實現兩點：首先，設定健康目標和行動，支援家庭在兼顧多重需求時照顧健康；其次，簡化服務流程，避免家庭需與過多工作人員接觸，造成負擔。
MSF、衛生部及醫療集團正在完善該模式，今年將推廣至更多ComLink+家庭。結合馬薩戈斯部長提及的Healthier SG向更年輕ComLink+家庭延伸，我們希望家庭能被賦能，自主管理健康。
瑪麗亞姆·賈法爾女士會高興地知道，隨著我們開發更多支援家庭實現3S成果的干預措施，家庭不會面臨導航困境。相反，ComLink+一直致力於讓家庭教練與家庭共同制定行動計劃，合理安排干預順序。家庭教練還將連線資源和支援，幫助家庭實現目標。這是ComLink+為每個家庭量身打造通往社會流動性的路徑。
這些努力展示了我們如何攜手做得更好，但政府無法單獨完成。馬薩戈斯部長提出3C原則指導我們與他人合作：協作（Collaborate）、合作（Cooperate）和共創（Co-create）。因為真正的提升需要全社會共同努力。
我們感謝合作伙伴與MSF緊密合作，如星展基金會一直大力支援ComLink+學前和購房進步套餐。我們期待更多合作伙伴加入。
通過更緊密的合作，我們能織就更堅實的安全網，提供更穩固的扶持，打造更堅固的支援階梯。我們將與家庭同行，實現穩定、自立和社會流動性。主席，請用馬來語發言。
（馬來語）：[請參閱本地語演講。] 在這些充滿挑戰的時期，許多新加坡家庭面臨諸多障礙，包括生活成本上升、在快速變化的經濟中提升技能的需求，以及各種日常責任，這些都考驗著家庭的韌性和毅力。
然而，我們依然堅定不移，堅強面對這些挑戰。俗話說，“努力是通往成功的階梯”。每一個小步伐，憑藉敏銳的頭腦、決心和協作精神，都讓我們更接近夢想。
像Erna女士這樣的家庭體現了這種精神。Erna女士的丈夫是一名職員，正努力考取駕照以獲得更好的工作機會。Erna女士本人也努力工作，儘管忙於照顧孩子，仍頻繁從事兼職工作。在持續且全面的支援下，他們的努力將結出更豐碩的果實。
在改善生活質量的旅程中，像Erna女士這樣的家庭不必獨自前行。MSF致力於支援每一個需要幫助的家庭，使他們實現穩定、自立和進步。
因此，我們將加強ComLink+進步套餐，確保更多家庭獲得下一步所需的支援。通過這一增強套餐，像Erna女士的家庭能更好地管理日常開支併為未來儲蓄。MSF還將通過將學生照顧費援助的收入標準從4,500元提高到6,500元，增強課後照顧支援。超過13,000名學生及其家庭將受益。
除了政府支援，社群組織發揮著重要作用。MSF加強了與他們的合作，特別是在擴大低收入家庭的就業支援和技能發展機會方面。
我們必須支援那些需要幫助的家庭。我們重視馬來/穆斯林組織的努力，並希望更多組織攜手MSF，共建關懷和團結的社會。
通過緊密合作，我們能為每個人在生命的每個階段建設一個關懷和包容的社會。
讓我們繼續攜手努力，建設一個為每個家庭提供希望和機會，使其更強大、自立和進步的新加坡。強大的家庭是成功社會的基石。這是我們共同的責任。
（英語）：主席，真正的支援不是一次性的，而是一步步同行。像Erna女士這樣的家庭知道，他們的力量和努力會被像約瑟夫這樣的家庭教練看到。他們永遠不會孤單前行。
在MSF，我們相信政府、合作伙伴和家庭自身的共同努力，將把障礙轉化為機遇，把考驗變為勝利，把困難變為希望，幫助最需要的家庭。作為社會，我們必須確保沒有家庭被困於現狀，沒有孩子被起點定義，沒有潛能被埋沒，沒有希望遙不可及。
這不僅是社會政策，更是道德責任。作為社會，我們將賦能所有家庭釋放最大潛能，創造更光明的未來。隨著我們從援助走向賦能，這個未來不取決於我們給予家庭什麼，而在於家庭被賦予成為什麼。
主席：社會及家庭發展部高階議員蔡恩福。
社會及家庭發展部高階議員（蔡恩福）：主席，一個公平包容的社會不要求人們完美適應我們的系統，而是提出問題：我們的系統應如何演變，才能讓每個人都能茁壯成長？
在MSF，這個問題指導著我們的工作。剛才，國務部長朱卡奈因談到了提升低收入家庭。我想聚焦另一類家庭，他們肩負著巨大愛與責任，那就是有殘疾人士（PwDs）的家庭。
當我與家長和照顧者交流時，一個關切反覆出現。這不僅關乎今天，也關乎明天。他們問我，孩子從特殊教育（SPED）學校畢業後，接下來怎麼辦？社群是否存在？是否有有意義的機會？最重要的是：也許當我不在時，誰來照顧我的孩子？
先生們，這些是深刻的人性問題，在《賦能藍圖2030》下，我們正通過三種方式加以應對。
首先，通過終身學習提升能力。第二，建設殘障人士真正歸屬的社群。第三，建立終身保障，讓家庭能夠自信規劃未來。請允許我詳細說明。
對於許多家庭來說，特殊教育學校（SPED）畢業既是值得驕傲的里程碑，也是充滿不確定性的時刻。每年約有250名特殊教育畢業生在畢業後六個月內進入就業或繼續深造。每一個數據背後，都是一個勇敢邁向成年的人，以及常常焦慮地學著放手的父母。終身學習的機會對於順利過渡到學校之外的生活至關重要。
黃志明先生和潘淑儀女士會高興地知道，我們通過SG Enable培訓補助金為技能培訓提供資金支援。SG Enable在SkillsFuture Singapore的支援下，將於今年4月推出新課程，新增課程將補充現有由Enabling Academy策劃的140門活躍課程。
但僅有技能還不夠。我們需要包容性的僱主。
SG Enable正與餐飲（F&B）和衛生社會服務等行業的僱主合作，精心策劃職位角色。通過各種補助、工資補貼和國家認證框架“Enabling Mark”，組織可以穩步加強包容性招聘實踐。
包容性招聘不是慈善，而是良好的商業行為。它為職場帶來韌性、忠誠和多元視角。對於需要更多支援的畢業生，中心式服務依然至關重要。目前約有3600名殘障人士參加我們的日間活動中心（DAC）和庇護工場（SW）。【請參閱辯論後續的澄清。】
這個數字背後是現實的家庭，比如21歲的米爾扎和他的母親哈比巴女士，她只希望兒子得到最好的。
米爾扎從特殊教育學校畢業後，曾嘗試在庇護工場實習，最終定居於SUN-DAC的日間活動中心。我最近探訪了米爾扎。對他來說，日間活動中心提供了良好的結構、友誼和安全的成長空間。每週四，米爾扎都會在勿洛區散步。他買薄餅，有時買冰淇淋，學會數錢和乘公交車。這些都是獨立生活的重要課程。
對他的母親哈比巴女士來說，這個專案讓她安心。她可以安心工作，知道米爾扎安全且有意義地參與活動，且珍惜回家聽他講述一天的故事。
但我們知道，從推薦到入學的等待時間較長，平均超過半年。這對家庭壓力很大。孩子畢業時，六個月的等待彷彿漫長無盡。
我們正在加快擴充套件。我們的承諾是到2030年新增500個日間活動中心和500個庇護工場名額。事實上，2024年我們已新增100個庇護工場名額。到2027年，將陸續增加520個日間活動中心和360個庇護工場名額。
隨著容量提升，等待名單上的家庭不會被遺忘。賦能服務中心（ESH）提供活動並作為社群接觸點。對於近期畢業生，支援過渡與參與計劃（STEP）確保他們在等待安置期間，每週至少兩次通過外出和活動保持有意義的參與。
這一切都是因為過渡不應意味著孤立。
我們也聽到反饋，庇護工場和日間活動中心之間的轉換過程繁瑣。重新評估和過渡——家庭告訴我們，每次需求變化時都感覺像是從零開始。因此，去年我們推出了賦能生活技能計劃（ESLP）。
ESLP將庇護工場和日間活動中心兩種模式整合為單一連續體。更重要的是，它引入了與客戶及照顧者共同制定的個性化課程和發展計劃。這種共同制定非常重要，因為沒有人比個人本人及其家庭成員更瞭解其優勢和願望。
截至今年1月，已有近770名客戶在八個中心轉入ESLP，我們將在未來三年繼續完善服務模式。我們的目標很簡單：隨著每個人的成長，周圍的支援也隨之增長。這意味著ESLP客戶將根據其具體需求和願望，獲得更多培訓路徑。
先生，技能重要，但歸屬感同樣重要。
為此，社會及家庭發展部（MSF）正在試點兩種社群生活模式，以加強獨立生活支援。第一是賦能生活計劃（ELP）試點，已在五個地點啟動，我們與指定的社會服務機構（SSA）緊密合作開展。
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ELP在指定的公共租賃組屋內實施，允許低至中度支援需求且幾乎無家庭支援的殘障人士獨立生活。
我最近與由自閉症資源中心支援的ELP居民文浩交談，他沒有談論政策或補貼，而是談論情人節招待朋友——他準備的菜餚，與室友文森特共享的家務安排，以及在宏茂橋中心購物。這些聽起來平凡，但對文浩來說，它們代表尊嚴、獨立和友誼。
通過ELP，低至中度支援需求的殘障人士可以在公共租賃組屋中獨立生活，得到教練和社群網路的支援。居民可能不與家人同住，但絕不孤單。基層領導會探訪，鄰居建立友誼，文浩甚至在探索志願服務。這就是包容的實踐：共同生活，共同為社群貢獻。
我們還將在今年下半年推出居家支援計劃，為已獨立生活或計劃在ELP附近住所獨立生活的人士提供類似支援。
除了社群生活模式，我們還通過賦能服務中心加強鄰里支援。理念很簡單：支援應貼近家門，便於獲取。
我們在淡濱尼、榜鵝和裕廊的賦能服務中心過去兩年與300多個社群夥伴和志願者合作：從基層組織到學校和本地企業。他們開展外展活動，組織學習工作坊和社交活動，並將殘障人士及照顧者與相關服務連線起來。
對家庭來說，賦能服務中心是一個令人安心的首個接觸點：一個可以提問、尋求指導和找到支援的地方，而不會感到不知所措。更重要的是，賦能服務中心幫助社群增強信心。通過包容性工作坊和合作，鄰居們學會如何在日常環境中更好地歡迎和支援殘障人士。
因為當支援融入社群時，殘障人士不再僅僅是專案的服務物件，而是被視為同住的居民、朋友和社群貢獻者。
主席，照顧者懷有無聲的勇氣。許多人最擔心的不是自己，而是自己離開後親人的未來。我們認識到他們面臨的挑戰，必須確保他們在這條路上得到良好支援。
隨著新加坡人口老齡化，這一擔憂愈發緊迫。照顧者自身也在變老，健康問題逐漸顯現。未來規劃不能等待。正如潘建文副教授所指出，照顧者最關心的是他們去世後親人如何得到照顧。我們通過三方面支援家庭：第一，近期緩解；第二，加強儲蓄；第三，確保未來安排。
首先，為提供近期經濟緩解，去年預算案中總理宣佈將增加成人殘障服務補貼，並擴大至更多家庭。自今年1月起，輔助技術基金補貼得到提升，且擴充套件至人均收入介於2601至4800新元的家庭。通過輔助技術基金，符合條件的家庭可購買輔助技術裝置以實現獨立生活。自2026年7月起，我們將分別提高住宿和社群殘障服務補貼，最高增加15和10個百分點。補貼收入門檻也將提高，擴充套件至人均收入介於3601至4800新元的家庭。
潘淑儀女士和郭文婷女士會高興地知道，這些提升將為3600名使用我們住宿和社群殘障服務的殘障人士提供額外經濟緩解，包括參加日間活動中心者。
潘女士和郭女士也指出，我們對服務提供者的資金支援影響服務的可及性和質量。這正是我們定期審視資金模式相關性的原因。我們最近一次對日間活動中心提供者的資金增加是在2021年，對殘障住宿服務提供者的增加是在去年，即2025年，以應對通脹和對高支援需求客戶的人員配置要求。跨部門殘障家庭保障工作組將探討更多方法，保持殘障支援對家庭的可負擔性和對服務提供者的可持續性。
第二，關於加強儲蓄。從今年1月起，符合條件的新加坡殘障人士納入配對退休儲蓄計劃（MRSS）。這是人力部去年供應委員會上宣佈的。根據MRSS，我們將對符合條件者的公積金補充金額進行一比一配對，年度上限為2000新元，終身限額為20000新元。
這意味著，如果一位七歲有認證殘障身份的孩子的父母每年向孩子賬戶補充2000新元，我們將每年配對補充2000新元。假設：一、父母持續每年補充2000新元，十年達到20000新元終身限額；二、4%的複利，這個孩子到65歲時，公積金退休儲蓄至少有32萬新元。這相當於從65歲起每月終身領取至少1700新元。如果父母從孩子年幼時開始持續補充，複利效應將非常顯著，為孩子晚年提供有意義的公積金領取。這關乎他們晚年的尊嚴。
第三，關於確保未來安排。照顧者需要確保這些資金在他們不在時仍然安全。特殊需求信託公司（SNTC）可以提供幫助。
正如去年預算案宣佈的，我們將為特殊需求信託賬戶的補充提供一比一配套補助。從今年4月1日至2031年3月31日，家庭人均收入不超過3600新元的家庭可報名，獲得最高10000新元的配套補助。【請參閱辯論後續的澄清。】
父母還可以通過購買大東方關懷定期壽險計劃，為孩子的財務保障加碼。該定期壽險計劃保障父母至100歲，保額從10萬至30萬新元不等。
以25萬新元保額為例，一位健康的33歲母親，家庭人均收入低於3600新元，只需一次性向孩子的信託賬戶補充1萬新元，即可覆蓋該計劃的全部保費。若被保險父母在100歲前去世，25萬新元將支付至孩子的特殊需求信託賬戶。
由於保費隨年齡和保額增加，鼓勵照顧者儘早與SG Enable溝通。社會工作培訓的個案經理將與照顧者合作，制定個性化照護計劃，並確保在照顧者去世後，資金按照計劃發放。
這些措施為照顧者提供了實質緩解。我最近見到李女士。她是自閉症孩子的母親，起初因開設特殊需求信託賬戶所需的初始資金而猶豫。藉助社群基金會的贊助，李女士可以開始在信託賬戶儲蓄，享受政府配套補助，並用這些儲蓄購買大東方關懷定期壽險計劃。
在確保我們的舉措適用的同時，我們同意翁瑞秋女士的觀點，提高意識是確保這些舉措覆蓋面的關鍵。除了網站上的資訊，SG Enable開發了賦能指南，整合可用支援資訊。他們還將繼續與僱主和行業商會等合作伙伴接觸，提高包容性招聘和就業支援的意識。
鑑於需求多樣，我們也致力於提升舉措的可及性。針對翁瑞秋女士的提問，我們正在研究如何改善聾人服務，包括培訓更多新加坡手語翻譯。還有如SADeaf等社會服務機構，提供使用手語的個案工作和諮詢服務。主席，請允許我用普通話說幾句話。
（普通話）：【請參閱方言發言。】主席，推動更包容的新加坡是所有新加坡人的共同願望。我們希望建設一個殘障人士能夠追求自身理想和抱負的新加坡。
通過就業支援、日間活動中心和庇護工場，以及賦能生活技能計劃，我們希望幫助殘障人士建立終身學習能力，使他們更好地融入社會，過有意義的生活。
我們實施賦能生活計劃、居家支援計劃，並設立賦能服務中心，加強殘障人士在家中和社群的支援網路，使他們能夠長期獨立生活。
我們沒有忘記殘障人士的家庭成員和照顧者。現有的公積金補充配對計劃和特殊需求信託公司為特殊需求家庭提供財務保障，讓他們安心規劃未來。
我們將繼續與各界合作伙伴攜手，確保每位殘障人士都能在我國找到歸屬，過有尊嚴、有意義的生活。這是我們建設更包容、更關懷家園的承諾和決心。
（英語）：主席，邁向2030年，我們的承諾非常明確：建設一個殘障人士能夠自信追求抱負、家庭信賴支援將持續的新加坡。
我們將持續傾聽，持續完善。感謝潘淑儀女士對工作組的建議，我們將認真考慮她的意見，準備好時會分享更多。
先生，單靠政策無法創造包容。政策消除障礙，人們創造歸屬。包容發生在僱主敞開大門，鄰居伸出友誼，社群選擇先看到能力而非殘疾時。
殘障人士不以需求定義，而以他們貢獻的優勢定義：韌性、創造力、忠誠、勇氣。他們不是被動接受支持者，就像社群中的長者一樣。他們是我們共同未來的夥伴。
所以，讓我們攜手前進：不是要求人們適應狹隘定義，而是塑造一個足夠有愛心的社會，讓每位新加坡人都能歸屬。這就是我們推進包容新加坡的方式，一個人人都能真正繁榮的社會。[掌聲]
主席：社會及家庭發展部國務部長吳佩明。
社會及家庭發展部國務部長（吳佩明先生）：主席，MSF致力於建設一個支援新加坡人養育堅強家庭、讓每個孩子擁有良好開端的國家。
今天，我將闡述實現這一目標的三大戰略：起步堅實——在家庭內建立堅實基礎；起步早期——確保獲得負擔得起且優質的早期兒童教育；起步共進——作為社群共同支援我們的家庭。
堅實、早期、共進。如果取每個詞的首字母，拼成SET，體現我們共同致力於確保家庭在新加坡蓬勃發展的承諾。
我先分享我們如何支援家庭起步堅實。對許多人來說，家庭是安全港灣，是我們在最快樂和最艱難時刻依靠的地方。MSF在2023年的一項調查顯示，大多數新加坡人擁有緊密的家庭關係，並重視家庭的重要性。
我們將繼續支援家庭在家中建立堅實基礎。林家寶先生和楊文龍先生詢問了針對不同家庭型別的支援，鍾愛玲女士則詢問了加強對父母和照顧者支援的措施。
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MSF致力於加強所有家庭。我們的孩子應被重視並獲得平等的成長機會。支援其成長和發展的福利，如教育、醫療補貼和兒童發展賬戶（CDA），均給予所有公民子女，無論其父母婚姻狀況如何。
為了幫助所有家庭保持韌性，我們在生命的每個階段提供全方位支援。這些專案涵蓋經濟援助、家庭輔導和育兒工作坊。對於更脆弱的家庭，我們通過整體個案管理方法，家庭服務中心幫助他們應對多重壓力，打破代際迴圈。馬紹光部長也分享，我們將在2030年前將“強化家庭計劃”（FAM）下的家庭輔導能力翻倍。
為了更好支援照顧者，我們大幅提升了新生兒父母的假期規定，增加了強制陪產假，並引入了新的共享育兒假計劃。從2026年4月起，父母總共可享有最多30周帶薪育兒假。人力部還推出了三方靈活工作安排指引，幫助照顧者。
社會及家庭發展部（MSF）最新的調查結果顯示，超過85%的新加坡家庭報告了中等至高水平的家庭韌性分數，反映出他們在面對生活挑戰時具有良好的恢復能力。然而，資料顯示，離婚、喪偶和分居的受訪者的家庭韌性分數低於已婚受訪者。MSF將繼續跟蹤家庭的韌性，並研究是否為單親家庭提供更有針對性的支援。
我們也認識到，一些兒童可能無法與其親生父母生活在穩定的家庭環境中，可能需要被收養或寄養。林秀娟女士和廖國明博士曾詢問過這些安排。
目前，我們的收養程式中設有多層次的檢查機制，以防止兒童販賣。跨國收養安排仍面臨挑戰。新加坡已採納區域框架，以補充我們國內保護兒童的努力。我們定期進行審查，確保我們的程式、法律和國際合作在打擊不道德收養行為和兒童販賣方面有效。
在寄養安排中，我們促進兒童與其親生父母之間的定期聯絡或探視，以維持親子關係，只要安全且適當。我們也見過寄養父母主動幫助兒童與親生父母團聚的案例。MSF願意考慮促進此類安排的方法，包括共同育兒，同時也認識到每個案例都是獨特的。我也藉此機會感謝所有寄養父母，包括廖博士，為他們提供積極的家庭環境所做的努力。
最後，我們正在幫助家庭規劃晚年生活。昨天，我很高興宣佈，公民提交《持久授權書》（LPA）第一表格將免費。議會成員，包括葉漢榮先生、林秀娟女士和張健先生，都曾提出過這一話題。我們鼓勵所有新加坡人在身體健康時儘早制定LPA。
我們承認議員們關於個人需要專業受託人或代理人在某些情形下所面臨挑戰的反饋。在公眾諮詢以及與專業代理人和受託人的交流中，我們也聽到了類似的反饋。我們將在即將進行的《精神能力法》和專業代理人及受託人計劃的審查中考慮這些意見。
建設強健的家庭環境需要養成健康習慣和高質量的共處時光——這在螢幕日益主導家庭生活的今天尤為挑戰。蔡銀洲先生和王瑞秋小姐提出了關於長時間使用螢幕和接觸人工智慧的合理擔憂。
父母是我們第一道也是最重要的防線。為提供實際支援，我將引導家長訪問資訊通訊媒體發展局（IMDA）的“數字生活”入口網站和MSF的“家庭為生活”育兒網站。這些平臺提供管理兒童螢幕時間、幫助他們安全上網及負責任使用人工智慧的指導材料。通過減少螢幕時間，我們希望家長能創造機會與孩子建立聯絡，形成有意義的親子關係。
每年六月，我們都會通過為期一個月的全國家庭節（NFF）慶祝家庭。去年，超過85萬人參與了家庭嘉年華、遊戲和體驗式學習活動。藉助更廣泛的社群和企業支援，我們希望今年的NFF 2026能吸引一百萬參與者，共同創造更多家庭回憶。
通過合作伙伴關係，MSF一直將更多優質且負擔得起的家庭活動直接帶到本地社群。這些活動包括風箏製作、閱讀專案、社群撈起（lo-hei，慶祝農曆新年活動）以及商業合作伙伴提供的家庭出遊折扣。家庭可在“家庭為生活”網站上查詢即將舉行的活動和優惠。
接下來，讓我談談“從小開始”，我想分享我們將如何進一步提升早期兒童教育。
研究表明，早期階段對兒童發展至關重要，三歲起入讀學前班有助於取得積極成果。為確保學前班的可及性，過去十年我們將全日制學前班名額從約135,000個增加到現在超過220,000個。全國範圍內，三歲及以上的適齡兒童均有足夠的全日制學前班名額。我們也實現了確保80%的學前兒童能進入政府支援的學前班的承諾。為服務新興住宅區中更多有幼兒的家庭，我們計劃到2029年在“錨點運營商”學前班新增超過40,000個全日制名額。
我們的早期兒童服務將繼續保持負擔得起。自今年初起，“錨點運營商”學前班的全日制托兒費已進一步降低至最高610新元，“合作運營商”學前班為650新元，自2020年以來降幅達15%。這使得在“錨點運營商”學前班的全日制托兒自付費用與小學及課後託管費用相當。隨著總理在預算演講中宣佈的額外補貼收入門檻調整，許多家庭預計將支付更低的費用。
讓我詳細說明。從2027年1月起，我們將把托兒額外補貼和幼兒園學費援助計劃的家庭總月收入上限提高至15,000新元。我們還將調整所有較低補貼等級的收入門檻，以反映家庭收入變化。這將進一步提升超過60,000箇中低收入家庭幼兒的學前教育負擔能力。
舉例來說，一個月收入12,500新元的中位數家庭，若有兩個孩子在“錨點運營商”托兒，將看到兩名兒童的總自付費用從2026年的730新元降至2027年的470新元，降幅達35%。
張健先生建議實行可攜帶的學前補貼及為非政府支援運營商提供額外薪資支援。可攜帶補貼此前已在議會提出。我們研究後指出，這種做法可能導致意外後果，如費用上漲但無助於提升可及性或質量，或學前班過度商業化。我們見過其他國家實施此舉後幾年又撤銷。
我們採取更全面、多管齊下的策略。我們向嚴格篩選的運營商提供資金，以限制費用並維持質量。我們還向家長提供基本及按收入測試的額外補貼，確保負擔得起，低收入家庭支付更少。兒童發展賬戶（CDA）幫助家長進一步抵消補貼後的學前班費用。我們的計劃已取得良好成效，顯著提升了可及性和負擔能力。
在下一階段，MSF將更加重視學前班的質量。今天，我將分享我們對“優質學前班”的願景，讓兒童在與同齡人一起玩耍、學習和成長的環境中，全面發展，為人生奠定堅實基礎。為實現這一願景，我們將與行業攜手提升學前班能力，改進課程和專業質量，促進家長與學前班的緊密合作，並加強研究與創新。
首先，為了我們的兒童，我們將營造一個適合他們節奏的學前環境，讓他們玩耍、學習和成長。我們將通過鼓勵遊戲和提供多樣化的學習探索方式，滿足不同需求和背景兒童的需要。
在我的首次議會發言中，我強調了遊戲在兒童學習和發展中的關鍵作用。遊戲是兒童的自然語言。遊戲教會兒童分享、解決問題、適應新環境和管理情緒。我們的教育者已提供遊戲體驗。十多年前，我們在最早的課程中引入了基於遊戲的教學法。下一階段，我們將更進一步。我們將分享運營商觀察到的最佳實踐，強化遊戲在日常課程中的應用，使學習更貼合每個兒童的需求和興趣，幫助兒童享受學習和童年。
其次，我們認識到每個兒童都有其優勢和學習需求。國際研究表明，當教育者設計提供多樣學習方式的課程時，教學質量提升，兒童成果更佳。我們正加強培訓教育者，支援每個兒童的發展，助其發揮最大潛能。
對於家長，我們將促進他們與孩子教育者的緊密合作。家長在連線兒童學前教育與家庭發展中扮演關鍵角色。通過我的學前班訪問，校長們分享家長希望參與塑造孩子的發展和學習，但不確定如何與教育者合作。因此，我們將與學前班合作，通過明確角色定義和共享最佳實踐，加強教育者與家長的夥伴關係。
教育者是學前教育的核心，對兒童的全面發展至關重要。我們關心他們的福祉，並希望如楊美林先生所提，給予更多支援。吸引和留住優質教育者仍是我們的重點。到2030年，我們將增加3,500名早教工作者以滿足行業需求。我們將通過職前培訓和在職持續發展，更好裝備教育者，適應不斷變化的早教環境，推廣更多基於遊戲的學習並支援不同學習需求。
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我們也認識到學前班運營商面臨的挑戰——由於他們長時間照顧兒童，幾乎無暇處理其他任務，如課程規劃或相關技能提升。學前班不像小學或中學有假期。多年來，我們不斷提升教育者的職業吸引力，並承諾繼續加大支援力度，確保他們得到良好支援。
我們正與運營商和教育者共同審視教育者的工作條件和工作量，如更好安排非接觸時間。我們還將啟動全行業的崗位重設計專案，審查學前班的崗位職責、工作流程和支援結構，改善工作體驗。
對於運營商，我們將提供更多支援，強化日常運營並提升課程質量。
技術是關鍵推動力。正如馬沙古斯部長昨日所述，我們將與IMDA共同更新行業數字計劃2.0，加強對所有學前班數字化轉型的支援，包括非政府支援的學前班。通過新的創新種子基金和建立基礎技術要求，我們將支援學前班採用數字能力。我們希望簡化日常任務，同時促進與家長的更好溝通，增強家長與學前班的合作。
我們還希望鼓勵更多運營商申請去年推出的新版新加坡學前班認證框架2.0認證。隨著學前班獲得更高等級，反映其更優質的服務，家長可放心選擇這些提供更豐富環境、滿足兒童需求並助其茁壯成長的學前班。
最後，支撐我們下一階段質量提升的是對研究和創新的高度重視。
兒童發展局（ECDA）將牽頭並與研究夥伴合作，緊跟最新研究，評估並鼓勵採用有效的教學和學習實踐，提升我們早教領域的整體水平。
質量提升是持續的旅程。今年我們的重點是與學前班運營商、教育者和家長密切合作，進一步完善計劃，力爭在未來五年實現優質學前班的願景。MSF和ECDA將在準備好時分享更多細節。
我已談及“從強起步”和“從早開始”的重要性。最後一點是確保我們的家庭為一生做好準備——共同起步。
許多家長告訴我，養育孩子是一份全職工作，而許多家長必須繼續工作，我們常常感到力不從心，這時更廣泛的社群在支援兒童發展、讓養育孩子成為愉快經歷中發揮著關鍵作用。
通過MSF與社群夥伴建立的緊密合作，推動“家庭為生活@社群”計劃，去年我們在新加坡24個鎮區舉辦了超過670場以家庭為中心的活動。這些活動由780多名志願者支援，惠及超過50萬參與者。對此，我向所有志願者致以最深的謝意，感謝你們讓這些活動成為可能。謝謝。
這些活動為本地社群提供了聚集機會，促進友誼，建立支援，同時教導我們的孩子書本無法教會的東西——關心身邊的人和每一個人。
以11歲的卡佩拉為例，她開始參與“家庭為生活”志願服務，是為了陪伴母親。起初只是家庭時光，後來變得更深刻——卡佩拉變得更自信、更有同理心，發現了自己對志願服務和幫助他人的熱情。他們的共同服務不僅支援了其他家庭，也加深了他們的親子關係。這就是我們看到的家庭共同志願服務的連鎖反應——創造有意義的家庭時光，同時為社群帶來改變。
我們每個人都在支援新加坡家庭中扮演角色。讓我談談有殘疾人士（PwDs）的家庭。
我要感謝潘德妮絲女士和潘教授肯尼斯認可跨部門工作組，並提出工作組可考慮的建議，包括審查日間活動中心和住宿院舍的負擔能力，審查就業機會，以及支援殘疾人士及其家庭進行長期規劃。正如高階議會秘書埃裡克所述，我們將認真考慮這些建議，以及過去一週許多議員提出的支援殘疾人士的建議。我很榮幸領導該工作組，它將補充我們的《賦能藍圖2030》，並超越其建議，為他們提供更多機會和尊嚴與穩定的保障。
工作組已開始工作，關注不同需求殘疾人士的生命週期，識別他們在現行系統中遇到的痛點和缺口。我們將重新審視他們從教育到就業的過渡。我們將拓展利用其優勢的就業機會。我們將擴大日間活動中心和庇護工場的容量，為更多客戶提供穩定安全的照護環境，縮短等待時間，從而減少殘疾人士及其家庭不必要的壓力過渡。我們將審查社群路徑和醫療支援，幫助他們更長時間參與社群生活。我們將探討如何更好支援照顧者，設計以照顧者與殘疾人士為一體的系統，並保持服務對所有人負擔得起。
工作組報告將於今年晚些時候釋出。
政府準備投入更多資源支援殘疾人士及其家庭。但包容性社會也意味著重塑我們的系統和態度，接納各種能力，賦能殘疾人士追求夢想，實現潛能，作為社會不可或缺的成員參與其中。主席，接下來請允許我用普通話說幾句話。
（普通話）：【請參閱方言發言】建設包容性社會需要政府整體協調和全社會參與努力。因此，我們成立了跨部委殘疾人士家庭保障工作組，探討如何更好地為殘疾人士及其家庭提供就業、社群生活和殘疾支援服務負擔能力等方面的協助。工作組還將審視鼓勵企業和社群夥伴提供更多就業機會和社群支援，促進更大社會包容性，使他們也能追求夢想，實現潛能，並以自己的方式為社會做出貢獻。
MSF堅信家庭是社會的基石，因此我們致力於建設一個支援新加坡人組建家庭的國家。婚姻、為人父母——我們通過各種措施支援新加坡人在生命的每個重要階段。
值得一提的是我們在學前教育方面的進展。過去十年，學前班名額從13萬個增加到今天的22萬個。學費也變得更加負擔得起。如今，新加坡每個三歲以上的兒童都能接受優質且負擔得起的學前教育，在下一階段，我們將進一步提升學前教育質量，繼續為兒童的人生開好頭。
（英文原文）：主席先生，在社會及家庭發展部（MSF），家庭是我們所有工作的核心。強大的家庭需要付出努力，它們是由整個社群共同建設的。政府提供廣泛的支援，幫助家庭從一開始就堅實起步，共同奠定堅實的基礎，給予每個孩子良好的開端。
對於更脆弱的家庭，我們提供穩定的支援和扶持階梯，使他們也能按照自己的方式攀登並茁壯成長。對於有殘疾人士（PwDs）的家庭，我們致力於消除障礙，與社群合作創造促進包容和歸屬感的機會。
在過去一週，我們的議會分享了各自對“我們優先”（"we first"）社會的願景。對於MSF來說，當我們的社會服務部門、社群和企業與我們合作，為我們服務的家庭和個人創造更好成果時，這一願景便得以實現。通過共同承諾“更好的開始從我們做起”（"Better Starts with Us"），我們每個人共同創造不同。
讓我們共同努力，建設更強大的家庭、更強大的社群、更強大的新加坡。[掌聲]
主席：我們還有時間進行澄清。高階議會秘書蔡志明先生。
蔡志明先生：主席，謝謝您的寬容。我想先糾正我早前發言中的幾點，以免議員們提出澄清時產生誤解。
首先，我提到我們為3,600名使用我們住宅和社群殘疾服務的殘疾人士提供額外的財政援助。這個數字應為3,800。
第二，關於希望設立特殊需要信託賬戶（SNT Account）的家庭，我們將通過公益金（ComChest）資金提供設立SNT賬戶所需的初始5,000元資本。謝謝。
主席：謝耀權先生。
謝耀權先生：謝謝主席。僅有三組澄清問題。
第一組關於ComLink+社會健康整合試點的擴充套件。這個問題針對國務部長朱卡奈恩。MSF計劃新增多少ComLink+居民參與這項擴充套件試點？MSF計劃在哪些ComLink+鎮區擴充套件此試點？此外，家庭教練和公共衛生機構是否會共享資料，以支援客戶順利導航系統，避免導航困難，正如國務部長朱卡奈恩所提？
第二組澄清關於ComLink+技能提升支援試點。同樣針對國務部長朱卡奈恩。我想問家庭教練是否會與高等教育機構（IHLs）和課程提供者合作，引導客戶選擇特定課程，並協助他們報名參加這些課程？
第三組澄清關於支援我們行業專業人士提升自身能力，即使他們全心全意照顧客戶。這個問題針對部長。MSF是否有計劃加強對專業人士的支援，促進其專業發展和職業晉升機會？
朱卡奈恩·阿卜杜勒·拉希姆先生：謝謝主席。感謝謝耀權議員提出的所有問題和澄清。
關於社會健康整合，我們聚焦於最可能影響更廣泛社會目標的健康問題。去年進行了社會健康整合試點，約有500個家庭參與。我們目標是再增加500個家庭。試點地區包括：一、武吉巴督、武吉班讓和蔡厝港；二、三巴旺和兀蘭；三、淡濱尼、巴西立和榜鵝。關於資料共享，MSF與衛生部（MOH）及醫療叢集緊密合作，相關健康資訊，如兒童強制免疫記錄，將通過系統介面與家庭教練共享。
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第二組關於技能提升計劃的問題。家庭教練與表達參與試點意願的家庭密切合作。該試點剛於一月啟動，目標是100個家庭。我們也與高等教育機構合作，協助他們的申請。
社會及家庭發展部長（馬沙古斯·祖爾基夫裡先生）：我們與行業從業者，包括培訓提供者、教育機構、專業人士及其協會合作，制定所謂的社會服務技能框架。在該框架內，我們列出社會服務崗位所需的能力，使專業人士清楚瞭解其職業規劃所需具備的條件。這對培訓者、培訓機構、個人及協會都非常有用。
例如，個人會知道有專業發展資助下的獎學金，涵蓋全額學費。即使他們已有學位，也可以學習相關或替代領域，如心理學。
我們也希望拓展這些學習領域，可能與十年前不同，但今天相關。例如人工智慧（AI），及其如何與社會服務工作相關。
當然，也有短期補助，支援個人參加課程，提升能力和技能。這不僅提升職業發展，也幫助更好地支援客戶。
同時，社會服務機構（SSAs）應利用該框架，吸引可能沒有相關專業學位或資格的外部人才。MSF也會為這些人員及SSAs提供資助，幫助規劃職業路徑和晉升。
主席：我看到許多舉手，但截止時間是12時15分。請簡明扼要。楊益才先生。
楊益才先生（拉丁馬士選區）：謝謝主席。我有三個關於學前教育的澄清問題，針對國務部長吳佩明。第一，鑑於優質早期兒童教育對兒童發展成果的重要性，教育發展局（ECDA）如何進一步加強學前中心能力，更好地讓家長成為孩子學習和發展的積極夥伴？
第二，教育部（MOE）已推行“斷線權”政策，教師下班後無需處理工作事務。鑑於學前教育者工作負荷大，國務部長能否澄清ECDA是否有類似保障？
第三，鑑於持續專業發展對維持高教育標準至關重要，ECDA採取了哪些措施，支援學前教育者追求有意義的專業發展機會，例如提供獎學金或休假？
吳佩明先生：主席先生，我分部分回答。首先，關於如何建立更強的家長-學前中心夥伴關係，我們認為這對橋接家庭與學前中心之間兒童整體發展和學習非常重要。兩者不是獨立的，體驗應是整體的。因此，我們希望更多家長參與學前中心活動。
我最近訪問了盛港安康谷的“我的第一學校”（My First Skool），當天是健康篩查啟動日，我看到一位家長與孩子們一起講故事。她告訴我，該中心定期傳送資訊，分享遠足、講故事、遊戲、體育等活動機會，甚至日常活動。這些經歷讓家長和孩子有共同體驗，超越課堂，延伸到家庭生活中。家長甚至認識孩子的許多朋友名字，我覺得非常珍貴和有意義，我們希望有更多這樣的體驗。
這位家長當天約上午9時45分離開時告訴我，她要去上班，說明靈活工作安排已開始實施，且她的僱主對此支援良好。
ECDA希望做更多工作，如與學前中心分享最佳實踐。我們瞭解現狀有差異，各中心都有好點子，我們希望收集並推廣。同時，或許設定更明確的教育者和家長職責，也可能通過數字化能力促進夥伴關係。
第二，關於斷線權及理解MOE有類似政策。學前領域認識到此政策重要性。我們同意學前教育者工作量大、工時長，目前正努力制定相關政策，正在進行中。我們先從共同制定家長-學前中心憲章開始，正式確定後會推廣。以我個人經驗，我家有學前兒童，但我沒有老師的電話號碼，資訊通過總辦傳達給老師。
第三，關於如何讓教育者獲得有意義的專業發展機會。我們認識到支援他們成長很重要，幫助他們滿足專業和個人學習需求。我們有持續專業發展路線圖，指導和輔導教育者參加提升技能的課程，這些課程由國家早期兒童發展學院和其他培訓機構提供，為他們職業成長提供支撐。
當然，這需要時間。我們過去已安排更多保護時間，指定六個學前中心關閉日作為發展日，供個人和團隊培訓。2024年教師節和兒童節定為假日，自去年起週六停止托育和早教服務。
幾個月前，我與一群ECDA研究員會面，他們是資深校長和教育者，分享了反饋。我們正考慮提供更多短時持續發展機會，減輕工作負擔，增加非接觸時間，確保有保護時間用於專業發展、反思和個人規劃。最終，這些措施促進教育者發展，轉化為更優質的兒童發展和教學，惠及未來。
主席：鍾文傑先生。
鍾文傑先生（亞歷山大選區）：謝謝主席。我的澄清關於學前教育。第一，ECDA於2025年初將Anchor Operator資金模式由中心容量轉為按兒童人數撥款。如果按兒童人數撥款是分配Anchor Operator中心資源的正確原則，為什麼不適用於所有持牌中心？
第二，感謝國務部長吳佩明強調遊戲式學習。我提到的羅薇美女士是新加坡遊戲式學習領域的專家。請問教育部是否承認其運營資金模式使得遊戲式學習專家的學校及類似學校難以維持？對獨立運營者有何資訊？
吳佩明先生：主席，關於是否應將按兒童人數撥款擴充套件至所有中心，分兩部分。我們由容量撥款轉為按招生人數撥款，主要為更公平，確保資源有效分配。若中心未滿員，不應按容量撥款。此舉也鼓勵中心提升質量，吸引更多家長，提供更好課程。按兒童人數撥款支援此目標。但這與所有中心資源分配是不同話題。我注意到議員過去也提過應將資金分配給兒童而非中心。
這回歸到我們如何建設早期兒童教育領域的根本原則。MSF和ECDA優先確保家庭能獲得可及、負擔得起、優質的學前教育。目前80%的學前兒童能入讀政府支援的學前中心。這是我們的願景和成果。我們通過多種方式實現，包括直接補貼學前中心、對家長的需求側支援，以及通過兒童發展賬戶（CDA）給予家長一定選擇權。我們相信這些措施共同實現了平衡，激勵學前中心運營者和支援家長。
我想特別談談Anchor Operator和Partner Operator計劃。議員的問題核心是如何更好支援未獲得政府資金的運營者。Anchor和Partner Operator計劃有嚴格甄選流程，評估私營運營者是否能推進早教目標。運營者必須願意且有能力滿足嚴格要求，包括提供負擔得起的優質學前服務及致力於提升教育者專業發展。
某些運營者未參與Anchor或Partner計劃有合理原因。有些因商業考慮選擇不參與，如已定位高階市場；有些提供非常專業或小眾服務，成本較高，不符合政府資金投入標準；他們可能不認同我們通過運營計劃設定的收費上限。
部分學前中心位於永久居民和外國人較多地區，政府支援相關性較低。部分運營者未被選中可能因申請過程競爭激烈，考慮因素包括服務記錄、財務可持續性、中心可達性及當地學前兒童需求等。我們考慮這些因素，確保政府資金使用審慎。
關於遊戲式學習，我重申遊戲式課程已納入所有Anchor和Partner運營者的學前課程中，且我們計劃進一步加強。感謝議員提及羅女士，我們願意與她溝通，探討她如何助力行業發展。
主席：潘國賢教授。
中午12時
潘國賢教授（提名議員）：謝謝主席。未來照護規劃不僅涵蓋就業和財務規劃，還包括居住安排、社群參與和社交關係維護。我想問部委是否已有或計劃開發指導手冊，或設立教練或同伴支援系統，指導家庭成員參與未來照護規劃？
蔡志明先生：謝謝議員的澄清。確實，未來照護規劃，尤其以當事人及照護者為中心，是服務模式的重要組織原則。
只是想舉幾個例子，以便說明觀點。我在發言中簡要提到，賦能生活技能計劃的一個重要組成部分是個人課程和發展計劃，照顧者以及殘疾人士本人都非常密切地參與內容和里程碑的制定。
在昨天的質詢中，潘淑儀女士也談到了家庭生活導航員模式，她將其比作ComLink模式，在該模式中，不同的家庭、不同的需求範圍由類似於守護者的人士支援。我們完全認同這一使命和願景。我們需要一些時間，以便組建具備正確素質、能力和勝任力的人力隊伍來開展工作。但在願景方面，我們高度一致。
主席：彭麗燕女士。
彭麗燕女士（海洋坊-布萊德爾高地）：我想問州務部長吳佩明，增加家庭輔導能力會如何影響輔導服務的質量？是否有足夠的輔導員支援這項能力的提升？
吳佩明先生：主席，目前新加坡共有11個家庭援助中心提供家庭輔導服務。我們正與各服務提供者合作，確保在擴充能力的同時，人員配備充足。我們希望在擴充套件服務的同時不降低質量。我認為這是我們必須遵守的關鍵原則。
2030年的時間表實際上允許我們與服務提供者同步建設能力，隨著需求增長，同時也能與教育服務提供者合作，提升這方面的能力。
為了保持服務質量，我們將遵循兩個關鍵原則或兩個關鍵方面。我們將招聘具備相關資質和經驗的專業人員。家庭援助中心的輔導員需具備輔導、心理學或社會工作相關的高等學歷，並且至少有三年與家庭合作的經驗。特別是在家庭援助中心，我們需要輔導員比一般情況更有經驗，以應對更復雜的案例。
具備社會工作和心理學資質的輔導員還需接受額外培訓，以確保他們具備必要的輔導技能。同時，家庭援助中心的輔導員將接受持續的臨床監督，以維持專業標準並支援其持續發展。
主席：潘淑儀女士。
潘淑儀女士（惹蘭勿剎）：我想感謝高階議會秘書蔡志明、州務部長吳佩明以及SG Enable和社會及家庭發展部團隊多年來的真誠和積極回應。有兩個澄清。第一，我很高興部委策劃了更多賦能技能課程，但現實非常緊迫，因為人工智慧驅動的自動化領域帶來了很大沖擊，許多藍領和白領工作都面臨風險，因此需要更有針對性和刻意的努力。因此，我建議設立國家殘疾工作再設計資源/基金。我想聽聽高階議會秘書對此的看法，因為情況緊急，我們不能等所有報告出來後再行動。
第二，對於中度到高需求者的需求也很強烈，發展輔助日間護理中心需要時間且成本高。我想知道是否有可能開發一種簡化版的賦能生活技能課程，以便這些服務可以在本地社群中心或居民委員會開展，支援基層工作，因為我知道許多同事也非常願意支援這些家庭。
蔡志明先生：主席，我感謝議員多年來充滿熱情的發言。首先，關於工作再設計。在現有的“開放門計劃”下，已經有工作再設計補助金可供申請，這是一個潛在的途徑。
關於她提出的簡化版賦能生活技能課程——賦能生活技能減版或便攜版，我們非常希望在未來幾年在島上不同地區推廣更多賦能生活技能課程，敬請關注更多資訊。
主席：蔡銀洲先生。
蔡銀洲先生（碧山-大巴窯）：謝謝主席。我想問社會及家庭發展部如何評估已推出的進步套餐專案的成功？感謝州務部長分享家庭可以享受社群活動和景點門票折扣，但這些活動仍需監督。資金有限，時間更緊張。是否有其他帶監督的舉措可以在社群正式推廣，比如“觸動小箭兒童計劃”？
第二個問題是，我瞭解到ComLink+家庭在危機時會成為家庭服務中心（FSC）個案，家庭教練會退居二線。部委是否考慮允許家庭教練繼續陪伴家庭，因為危機時刻需要更多人手，且與教練建立的信任關係在這些時刻更為重要？
第三個問題，部委是否探索過資助照顧者與他們照顧的殘疾人士開展創業專案的補助，比如Junlefont和Bakes by Ben？這兩個專案均由照顧特殊需要兒童的照顧者創辦，既能讓孩子們有意義地參與，也能實現收入和靈活性。
最後，借用潘淑儀議員的觀點，為緩解輔助日間護理中心的壓力，部委是否考慮試點將長者護理中心與成人輔助日間護理中心整合？因為輔助日間護理中心的居民年齡在增長，我也曾在這兩種機構工作，發現如如廁、餵食和認知參與的護理需求目標相似。試點整合或可幫助緩解平均六個月的排隊壓力。
朱卡納因·阿卜杜勒·拉希姆先生：謝謝主席。我先回答前幾個問題，高階議會秘書蔡志明將回答其餘問題。
議員問及ComLink+的成效及我們如何評估成功。我們持續監測ComLink+，並收集服務家庭及家庭教練、社會服務組織和家庭服務中心的反饋。請注意，ComLink+僅於2023年中推出。根據社會及家庭發展部2025年釋出的《支援低收入家庭趨勢》報告，參與ComLink+的家庭在就業和住房等方面表現出積極跡象。
參與ComLink+進步套餐的兒童入學和出勤率也高於未參與的兒童。但我們希望做得更多，因此根據ComLink+家庭和基層從業者的反饋，對進步套餐進行了改進。我們理解一些家庭儘管努力，仍難以達到某些條件，因此我們正與家庭及家庭教練合作，鼓勵他們實現這些里程碑。
在跟蹤方面，我們也與學術界合作，研究套餐對家庭短期和長期結果的影響。正如我在發言中提到的，我們將根據更多洞見不斷調整方法。
關於本地努力，這些是對社會及家庭發展部現有計劃的補充。家庭可以利用社群中的所有計劃。家庭教練也會將ComLink+家庭及其子女連線到這些活動。例如，在我服務的蔡厝港和吉洞，我們在假期期間為低收入家庭舉辦音樂和藥劑訪問等特定專案。
社會及家庭發展部也將致力於瞭解新加坡各地的最佳實踐，並嘗試在本地實施專案。我鼓勵本議院所有議員，如果有基層合作伙伴，請提出創新專案，吸引低收入家庭及其子女參與。
最後，關於家庭服務中心，議員問及當個案轉介至家庭服務中心時，家庭教練是否能繼續陪伴家庭，他提到“全員上陣”會有幫助。但這通常發生在家庭危機時，如家庭暴力或離婚。在這種情況下，優先事項是穩定家庭，達到就業等里程碑可能暫時不在考慮範圍內。
然而，家庭服務中心的個案工作者會兼任ComLink+家庭的家庭教練角色，請放心，對於需要更多幫助的家庭，家庭服務中心個案工作者會優先處理緊急風險問題，並與家庭建立關係和信任。這也使得每個家庭有一個主要聯絡點，整合社群內的不同支援，避免導航困擾。
主席：最後澄清。抱歉，高階議會秘書蔡志明。
蔡志明先生：主席，感謝議員關於殘疾包容和支援的兩個澄清。
首先，關於輔助日間護理中心。輔助日間護理中心旨在支援中度至重度需求的殘疾人士，且客戶群體相對年輕，許多直接來自特殊教育學校。重點是裝備客戶，幫助他們為社群獨立生活做好準備。但我們認可他的建議，會進一步研究。
第二，關於家庭式創業。我感謝他提出這一點並關注Junlefont。事實上，我一直支援Jun Le。過去兩年我的國慶遊行服裝均由Jun Le設計。也感謝李慧穎議員去年國慶遊行的支援。
除此之外，我們已與他們合作。例如，作為i'mable集體的一部分，我們策劃了許多家庭式創業專案，包括Jun Le，Jun Le也是i'mable集體的成員。
每年年底的賦能生活節，我們都會舉辦一個市場，展示這些家庭式創業專案，如Jun Le。我也因此認識了設計師Jeremiah，還有Isaac和擅長恐龍畫作的盛傑等。我真誠希望議院各位及所有人支援這些企業。這不僅僅是購買一個陶瓷恐龍或藝術品，購買行為本身是他們尊嚴和貢獻社會能力的活生生證明。
我呼籲議院所有議員支援這些家庭式創業專案，比如Bakes by Ben和他的母親。他們靠自己的努力謀生，不向生活低頭，表達了“我在儘自己的一份力”，也在向社會呼籲“請支援我們的旅程”。我已加入這條路，邀請大家一同參與。[掌聲]
主席：讓我們共同支援本地人才和本地企業。話說回來，我邀請謝耀權先生，如果您願意撤回修正案？
12點15分
謝耀權先生：謝謝主席。感謝社會及家庭發展部回應我們的質詢，我請求撤回我的修正案。
[(程式文本) 修正案經許可撤回。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 主估算中，第一項撥款58億2252萬9800元獲批准。 (程式文本)]
[(程式文本) 發展估算中，第一項撥款2億5975萬9300元獲批准。 (程式文本)]
英文原文
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-05-02
[(proc text) Head I (Cont) – (proc text)]
[(proc text) Resumption of Debate on Question [5 March 2026] (proc text)]
[(proc text) "That the total sum to be allocated for Head I of the Estimates be reduced by $100." – [Mr Xie Yao Quan] (proc text)]
[(proc text) Question again proposed. (proc text)]
The Chairman : Minister of State Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.
10.34 am
The Minister of State for Social and Family Development (Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim) : Chairman, several Members, such as Mr Xie Yao Quan, Mr Melvin Yong, Ms Mariam Jaafar and Mr Cai Yinzhou, have raised concerns about improving social mobility. This has always been an area of focus for the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
As we saw in the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Occasional Paper last month, Singapore has done relatively well in this area compared to other advanced economies. However, like in other advanced economies, pressures are likely to persist or even intensify. Hence, MSF will redouble our efforts to enhance social mobility.
MSF's goal is to support lower-income families to progressively achieve the "3S" outcomes: stability, self-reliance and ultimately, social mobility. We are going beyond social assistance to social empowerment by supporting our families through three things.
First, a safety net. When families fall on hard times, we provide a safety net through immediate support. Second, a steadying hand. MSF provides a boost so families can get back on their feet and take the next step forward. Third, a supported ladder. MSF supports families with opportunities to grow their own resources. Such opportunities, when harnessed, will allow families to reach, grab the next rung and pull themselves up. In this way, MSF empowers families to succeed by overcoming challenges, seizing opportunities and most importantly, doing so with dignity.
This is what drives ComLink+.
Today, MSF supports around 11,000 ComLink+ families. We started with families living in public rental housing and we have been expanding to other lower-income families, such as those on KidSTART. Each ComLink+ family has a Social Service Office (SSO) family coach or Family Service Centre (FSC) case worker. They are the family’s greatest champion – someone in their corner who understands their circumstances and walks alongside them towards their longer-term goals.
Mr Xie Yao Quan suggested efforts to address slowing social mobility. ComLink+ seeks to do precisely that by providing targeted support across key domains and over different life stages, such as income security, children’s development and education, housing, family functioning, financial resilience and health. As families’ needs are varied and dynamic, we co-develop an action plan with each family.
As mentioned by Minister Masagos, MSF is committed to invest in research to better understand the impact of these efforts. We do not have all the answers on how to best support families to achieve social mobility. But by learning continuously and applying these insights, we will be able to refine our intervention and update our slate of support.
From a safety net to a steadying hand. When family coaches or case workers start journeying with families, they address the families' immediate needs. This could mean referring the family for ComCare assistance and other financial support for some interim relief. Together, these form our safety net for families.
But a safety net may not be enough for upward mobility. This is where we offer a hand to give families a boost to progress in a steady, sustained manner.
We therefore introduced the ComLink+ Progress Packages to encourage families moving towards their goals. Launched progressively over the last two years, these packages boost families’ efforts through financial top-ups when they take action in four areas: preschool enrolment and attendance, employment, debt clearance and home ownership.
Let me introduce Joseph, a family coach, who has been working with Ms Erna and her husband, Mr Suhaimi, together with their young children, aged one to 10. Joseph remembers when Mr Suhaimi shared his dream to move out of their rental flat and into their own home. Hearing that, Joseph worked with the family to chart out a roadmap and encouraged them along the way to achieve this dream. Acting on the plan, both Ms Erna and Mr Suhaimi are working hard. They are committed to employment and their children’s education. With ComLink+ Progress Package top-ups, they are also able to set aside more savings for their future.
However, as noted by Mr Melvin Yong, some families find the conditions too complicated or difficult to meet. With that, as announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech, we are enhancing the ComLink+ Progress Packages this year.
First, all ComLink+ families will now receive a new payout of $500 each quarter. We will call this the Partnership Payout. It reflects the families' commitment to work with us to improve their circumstances. Families will receive this payout after agreeing to be on ComLink+ and will continue to receive it so long as they keep taking steps towards their goals. With steady, predictable support, families can better focus on longer-term goals.
Second, many families work hard to maintain employment and regular preschool attendance. Yet, despite genuine effort, some may not be able to meet their targets due to their circumstances. We are therefore adjusting our conditions to better support families with more complex challenges.
For employment, we will look at the whole family's efforts, rather than the income of each person. For example, Ms Erna's part-time job's salary currently does not qualify her for payout on its own. However, with the enhanced progress package, it will now be counted together with her husband's earnings towards their family's employment milestones. For preschool, we will introduce intermediate milestones to encourage families' progress towards regular attendance.
Overall, a ComLink+ family with two preschool-aged children can receive up to $10,000 every year by maintaining a household income of at least $2,000 and regular preschool attendance.
More of the payout will be in cash to better support families facing day-to-day cashflow challenges. At the same time, a portion will continue to be placed in families' Central Provident Fund (CPF) and Child Development Accounts (CDA), so that we support not just today's needs but also tomorrow's security.
As noted by Mr Cai Yinzhou, some families may be hesitant to get on board ComLink+. Together with these enhancements, family coaches will step up efforts to reach out to families by working closely with Government agencies and community partners in their support system.
A supported ladder. Once families get back on their feet and start to move forward, we support them to take charge of their long-term progress. At MSF, our goal is to create opportunities that families can seize for themselves.
Employment is one of the best ways to do this. However, lower-income families often face barriers to employment that are not so straightforward to address, especially with limited financial resources. Even with a stable job, they may need certain educational qualifications or skills to unlock higher wages. We will therefore put in place more enablers to bridge the gap to employment, starting with three enhancements: facilitate job matching, enable upskilling and support caregiving. Allow me to elaborate.
On job matching, MSF is reviewing how to provide tailored support for lower-income families navigating the world of work as they may face more challenges finding suitable jobs. For example, lower-income jobseekers tend to work in service industries, where work schedules are less flexible on short notice. This makes it harder to deal with family emergencies, such as picking their children from school when they fall ill. MSF is thus working with partners, such as Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), AKG and TOUCH Community Services, to strengthen employment support for these families to prepare them for work, find suitable jobs and ultimately do well in their jobs.
We will also provide more support for upskilling. Some ComLink+ families today have younger jobseekers, who with the right skills, can unlock better-paying jobs. While broad-based schemes like SkillsFuture exist, ComLink+ families may benefit from a more targeted approach.
Families bear some costs when they choose to upskill. For example, their income may be disrupted during their studies and it is not certain even that they will get a job with a higher salary after. MSF has observed that this deters some ComLink+ families from upskilling even when they want to do so and even when they have the opportunity to do so.
That is why we rolled out a ComLink+ Skills Upgrading Support Pilot this January. When ComLink+ individuals aged 18 to 39 undergo full-time education or vocational training, they will receive support for basic living expenses. They will also receive an incentive of $500 for every three months that they sustain their education.
On caregiving, parents will have peace of mind to work when they know that their children are being taken care of and meaningfully engaged after school hours. MSF supports this by making after-school care more accessible, more affordable.
As announced by the Prime Minister in his Budget speech, MSF will increase the Student Care Fee Assistance income threshold from $4,500 to $6,500 and update the income tiers. This will benefit around 13,000 students.
We are also giving parents greater assurance of support so that they can plan ahead. Parents can now submit their Student Care Fee Assistance applications up to six months before their child’s enrolment in a Student Care Centre. Eligible parents will be granted in-principle approval, which guarantees that they will receive Student Care Fee Assistance once they enrol in an eligible centre. We are also extending the maximum Student Care Fee Assistance assistance period from 24 months to 36 months.
Mr Cai Yinzhou highlighted that children should have opportunities to continue developing holistically outside school hours. We totally agree. As a parent myself, the time I spend with my children after hours, after work, allows me to bond with them and explore their interests. Lower-income families, who are often stretched in time and resources, could especially benefit from additional support to purposefully engage their children.
10.45 am
As part of Grow Well SG, we have worked with Families for Life partners to provide low-cost activities for screen-free family bonding. Families can enjoy children's books, discounted attractions and community events.
Working towards the 3S outcomes is a long journey for our ComLink+ families. One of the factors that can derail progress is dealing with health issues. When we are unwell, it is not easy to meet our responsibilities at home, at school or at work, let alone pursue our aspirations. And yet, for many ComLink+ families who are busy making ends meet, they tend to deprioritise these health concerns. Over time, this can lead to poorer health outcomes, leaving some families trapped in a vicious cycle where poor health makes it harder to stabilise their lives, and life's pressures make it even harder for them to stay well.
We want to help them break out of this cycle. Therefore, as mentioned by Minister Masagos, we trialled a new model of support in 2025. We tested how family coaches and healthcare staff, together, could achieve two things. First, set health goals and actions that support families to take care of their health even as they juggle competing needs. Second, streamline service delivery, so families do not have to interact with too many officers, which can be overwhelming.
MSF, the Ministry of Health and the healthcare clusters are finetuning the model and will extend it to more ComLink+ families this year. Together with the extension of Healthier SG to younger ComLink+ families, shared by Minister Masagos, we hope families will be empowered to take charge of their health.
Ms Mariam Jaafar would be pleased to know that as we develop more interventions to support families towards the 3S outcomes, families will not face a navigation nightmare. Instead, it has always been the intent of ComLink+ for family coaches to co-develop action plans with families that sequence the interventions in a manageable way. Family coaches will also connect families to the resources and support to achieve their goals. This is how ComLink+ aims to provide each family with a pathway towards social mobility tailored to their needs.
Such efforts reveal how we can do better together, but the Government cannot do this alone. Minister Masagos proposed 3Cs to guide how we partner with others. We will collaborate, cooperate and co-create. Because truly, it takes a whole-of-society effort to uplift each other.
We thank our partners for working closely with MSF, like the DBS Foundation, which has been a strong supporter of the ComLink+ progress packages for preschool and homeownership. We look forward to more partners coming onboard.
With tighter partnerships, we can weave stronger safety nets, offer more steadying hands and craft sturdier supported ladders. Together, we will journey with our families to achieve stability, self-reliance and social mobility. Chairman, in Malay, please.
( In Malay ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] In these challenging times, many Singaporean families face numerous obstacles. These include rising costs of living, the need to upgrade skills in a rapidly changing economy and various daily responsibilities that often test our families' resilience and perseverance.
Yet we continue to stand firm, facing these challenges steadfastly. As the saying goes, "Effort is the ladder to success". Every small step taken with a sharp mind, determination and collaborative spirit brings us closer to our dreams.
Families like Mdm Erna's embody this spirit. Mdm Erna's husband, who works as a clerk, is working towards getting his driving licence to secure better job opportunities. Mdm Erna herself works hard, taking on part-time jobs more frequently despite being busy caring for her children. With sustained and comprehensive support, their efforts will bear even greater fruit.
In their journey to improve their quality of life, families like Mdm Erna's do not have to go through it alone. MSF is committed to supporting every family that needs help so they can achieve stability, self-reliance and progress.
We will therefore enhance the ComLink+ Progress Packages to ensure more families can get the support they need for their next steps. With this enhanced package, families like Mdm Erna's can better manage daily expenses and build savings for the future. MSF will also boost after-school care support by raising the income criteria for Student Care Fee Assistance from $4,500 to $6,500. More than 13,000 students and their families will benefit.
Beyond Government support, community organisations play a vital role. MSF has strengthened collaboration with them, particularly in expanding employment support and skills development opportunities for low-income families.
We must stand by those families in need. We value our Malay/Muslim organisations' efforts and hope more organisations will join hands with MSF to build a caring and united society.
Through close cooperation, we can build a caring and inclusive society for everyone at every stage of life.
Let us continue working together to build a Singapore that gives hope and opportunities for every family to become stronger, self-reliant and progress. Strong families are the bedrock of a successful society. This is our shared responsibility.
( In English ): Chairman, real support is not just once-off. It is journeying together, step by step. Families, like Ms Erna's, know their strength and hard work will be seen by their family coaches, like Joseph. They will never have to walk alone.
In MSF, we believe that collective efforts by the Government, partners and the families themselves, will turn obstacles into opportunities, trials into triumphs, hardships into hope for families who need it the most. As a society, we need to ensure that no family is trapped by their circumstances, no child is defined by their starting point, no potential goes unrealised and no hope beyond reach.
This is not just a social policy; it is a moral responsibility. As a society, we will empower all families to unlock their maximum potential, for a brighter future. As we move collectively from assistance to empowerment, this future is shaped not by what we give to families, but by what families are enabled to become.
The Chairman : Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Eric Chua) : Chairman, a fair and inclusive society does not expect people to fit neatly into our systems. Instead, it asks the question: how must our systems evolve so that every person can flourish?
At MSF, that is the question guiding our work. Earlier, Minister of State Zhulkarnain spoke about uplifting low-income families. I would like to focus on another group of families who carry both immense love and immense responsibility, families with persons with disabilities (PwDs).
When I meet parents and caregivers, one concern surfaces time and again. It is not just about today. It is also about tomorrow. They ask me, after my child graduates from special education (SPED) school, what comes next? Will there be a community? Will there be meaningful opportunities? And most importantly: perhaps when I am no longer around, who will look after my child?
Sir, these are deeply human questions, and under the Enabling Masterplan 2030, we are addressing them in three ways.
First, building capability through lifelong learning. Second, building communities where PwDs truly belong. And third, building lifelong security so families can plan with confidence. Allow me to share more.
For many families, graduation from SPED school is both a proud milestone as well as a moment of uncertainty. Each year, about 250 SPED graduates move into employment or further studies within six months of graduation. Behind each statistic is a young person taking a brave step into adulthood, and parents learning, oftentimes anxiously, to let go. Access to lifelong learning is important to facilitate a smoother transition to life beyond school.
Mr Ng Chee Meng and Ms Denise Phua will be pleased to know that we provide funding support for skills training through the SG Enable Training Grant. SG Enable, supported by SkillsFuture Singapore, will introduce new courses from April this year, adding to the existing 140 active courses curated by the Enabling Academy.
But skills alone are not enough. We need inclusive employers.
SG Enable is partnering employers in sectors, such as food and beverage (F&B) and Health and Social services to curate job roles thoughtfully. And through various grants, wage offsets and the Enabling Mark, our national accreditation framework, organisations can steadily strengthen the inclusive hiring practices.
Inclusive hiring is not charity. It is good business. It enriches workplaces with resilience, loyalty and diverse perspectives. For graduates with higher support needs, centre-based services remain critical. Today, about 3,600 PwDs attend our Daily Activity Centres (DACs) and Sheltered Workshops (SWs). [ Please refer to the clarification later in the debate. ]
Behind this number are real families, like 21-year-old Mirza and his mother, Mdm Habibah, who simply wants the best for her son.
After graduating from SPED school, Mirza tried a placement with a SW before eventually settling into a DAC at SUN-DAC. I visited Mirza recently. For him, the DAC gives him good structure, friendship and a safe space to grow. Every Thursday, Mirza goes on walks around Bedok. He buys prata, sometimes ice cream, learns how to count money and take the bus. These are meaningful lessons in independence.
For his mother, Mdm Habibah, the programme gives her peace of mind. She can go to work knowing that Mirza is safe and meaningfully engaged, and treasures coming home to hear his story about the day.
But we know the current wait time, from referral to enrolment, is long, over half a year on average. This weighs heavily on families. When the child graduates, six months can feel like an eternity.
We are accelerating expansion. Our pledge was to add 500 DAC and 500 SW places by 2030. But in fact, we have already added 100 shelter workshop places in 2024. A further 520 DAC and 360 SW spaces will come on stream progressively by 2027.
As capacity builds, families on the waitlist are not left alone. Enabling Services Hubs (ESHs) offer activities and serve as community touch points. For recent graduates, the Supported Transition and Engagement Programme (STEP) ensures they remain meaningfully engage with outings and activities at least twice weekly while waiting for placement.
All this, because transition should not mean isolation.
We also heard feedback that moving between SW and DACs can be cumbersome. Re-assessments, transitions – families told us that it felt like starting from scratch each time the needs changed. So, last year we launched the Enabling Skills for Life Programme (ESLP).
ESLP integrates both models – SW and DAC – into a single continuum. More importantly, it introduces individualised curriculum and development plans co-created with clients and caregivers. That co-creation is important because no one knows a person's strengths and aspirations better than the individual himself or herself, and the family members.
As of January this year, close to 770 clients across eight centres have transitioned to ESLP, and we will continue refining the service model over the next three years. Our aim is simple: as each individual grows, the support around them grows too. This means that ESLP clients will have access to more training pathways depending on their specific needs and aspirations.
Sir, skills matter, but belonging matters just as much.
To this end, MSF is piloting two community living models to strengthen support for independent living. The first is the Enabled Living Programme (ELP) pilot, which has started in five locations, and we are doing this in close partnership with appointed SSAs.
11.00 am
Delivered within designated public rental flats, ELP allows PwDs with low to moderate support needs and no to little family support to live independently.
When I recently spoke to Boon Hao, an ELP resident supported by the Autism Resource Centre, he did not talk about policies or subsidies. He spoke about hosting his friends on Valentine's Day – about the dishes he prepared, about the chore schedule he shares with his roommate, Vincent, about grocery runs at Ang Mo Kio Hub. These may sound like mundane things, but for Boon Hao, they represent dignity, independence, friendship.
Through ELP, persons with low to moderate support needs can live independently in public rental flats, supported by coaches and community networks. Residents may not live with family, but they are never alone. Grassroots leaders check in, neighbours build friendships, and Boon Hao is even exploring volunteering. That is inclusion, in action. Living side by side, contributing to the same community.
We will also launch the Home Support Programme in the second half of this year, extending similar support to those already living independently or has plans to do so in their homes, near ELP sites.
Alongside community-living models, we are strengthening neighbourhood support through our ESHs. The idea is straightforward: support should be close to home and easy to access.
Our ESHs in Tampines, Punggol and Jurong have worked with over 300 community partners and volunteers in the past two years: from grassroots organisations to schools and local businesses. They conduct outreach, organise learning workshops and social activities, and link PwDs and caregivers to relevant services.
For families, the ESH can be a reassuring first touchpoint: a place to ask questions, seek guidance and find support without feeling overwhelmed. More importantly, ESHs help communities grow in confidence. Through inclusion workshops and partnerships, neighbours learn how to better welcome and support PwDs in everyday settings.
Because when support is embedded within our neighborhoods, PwDs are not seen simply as clients of a programme, but they are recognised as fellow residents, friends and contributors to the same community they live in.
Chairman, caregivers carry quiet courage. Many worry most not about themselves, but about what will happen after they are gone. We recognise the challenges they face and we must ensure they are well-supported on this journey.
As Singapore ages, this concern becomes more urgent. Caregivers themselves grow older too. Health challenges emerge over time. Future planning cannot wait. As noted by Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon, a chief area of concern for caregivers is how their loved ones will be cared for after they pass. We are supporting families in three ways: first, near-term relief; second, strengthened savings; and third, secure future arrangements.
First, to provide near-term financial relief, Prime Minister announced in Budget last year that subsidies will be increased for adult disability services and extended to more households. Since January this year, subsidies for the Assistive Technology Fund were enhanced, and extended to families with per capita income between $2,601 and $4,800. Through the Assistive Technology Fund, eligible families can purchase assistive technology devices for independent living. From July 2026, we will increase subsidies for residential and community disability services by up to 15 and 10 percentage points respectively. The income threshold for subsidies will also be raised, extending eligibility to households with per capita income between $3,601 and $4,800.
Ms Denise Phua and Ms Kuah Boon Theng would be pleased to know that these enhancements will provide additional financial relief for 3,600 PwDs accessing our residential and community disability services, including those attending Day Activity Centres.
Ms Phua and Ms Kuah also noted that our funding to service providers impact service access and quality. And that is exactly why we regularly review our funding models for relevance. We last increased funding to Day Activity Centre providers in 2021, and to disability residential service providers last year, in 2025, to account for inflation and enhanced staffing requirements for clients with higher support needs. The inter-agency Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities will explore more ways to keep disability support affordable for families and sustainable for service providers.
Second, on strengthening savings. From January this year, eligible Singaporeans with disabilities are included in the Matched Retirement Saving Scheme (MRSS). This was announced by the Ministry of Manpower at the Committee of Supply last year. Under the MRSS, we dollar-match CPF top-ups for those eligible, up to an annual cap of $2,000 and a lifetime limit of $20,000.
This means that if a parent of a seven-year-old with a verified disability status tops up $2,000 annually to their child's account, we will match by topping up another $2,000 each year. Assuming: one, the parent consistently tops up $2,000 annually over 10 years to hit the lifetime cap of $20,000; and two, a 4% compounding interest, this child would have minimally $320,000 in CPF retirement savings by age 65. This translates to at least $1,700 in monthly payouts for life, from age 65. If a parent tops up consistently from a young age, the compounded impact can be substantial, giving their child meaningful CPF payouts in later life. This is all about dignity in their senior years.
Third, on securing future arrangements. Caregivers need assurance that these funds are secure when they are no longer around. The Special Needs Trust Company can help.
As announced at Budget last year, we will be introducing a dollar-for-dollar matching grant for tops-ups to the Special Needs Trust (SNT) accounts. From 1 April this year till 31 March 2031, families with per capita household income of up to $3,600 can sign up to receive matching top-ups of up to $10,000 to the SNT accounts. [ Please refer to the clarification later in the debate. ]
Parents can further multiply their financial provisions for their child by buying a Great Eastern Cares Term Plan. This term plan insures parents up till age 100, with coverage ranging from $100,000 to $300,000.
For insurance coverage of $250,000, a healthy 33-year-old mother with per capita household income below $3,600 would only need to make a one-off trust top-up of $10,000 to her child's account to cover the total premiums for the plan. Upon the insured parent's demise before age 100, $250,000 will be paid into the child's SNT account.
As premiums increase with age and the amount insured, caregivers are thus encouraged to start these conversations early with SG Enable. Case Managers, who are social work-trained, will work with caregivers to craft personalised care plans and ensure funds are disbursed in accordance with these plans after caregivers have passed.
These measures offer real relief for caregivers. I recently met Mdm Kitty Li. Kitty is the mother of a child living with autism and she was initially hesitant due to the initial capital needed to start an SNT account for her child. With the Community Chest sponsorship, Mdm Li can start saving in the SNT account to benefit from the Government Matching Grant and use these savings to purchase a Great Eastern Cares Term Plan.
While we work on ensuring our initiatives remain fit for purpose, we agree with Miss Rachel Ong that raising awareness is a crucial part of ensuring that these initiatives have reach. Beyond what is available on their website, SG Enable has developed the Enabling Guide to consolidate information on available support. And they will also continue engaging with partners, such as employers and industry chambers, to raise awareness of inclusive hiring and employment support.
We also endeavour to improve accessibility to our initiatives given the wide range of needs. To Miss Rachel Ong's query, we are studying how to improve deaf access services, including training more Singapore Sign Language interpreters. There are also SSAs like SADeaf, who provide casework and counselling services using sign language. Chairman, please allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Mr Chairman, promoting a more inclusive Singapore is the shared aspiration of all Singaporeans. We hope to build a Singapore where PwDs can pursue their own ideals and aspirations.
Through employment support, Day Activity Centres and Sheltered Workshops, as well as the Enabling Skills for Life Programme, we hope to help PwDs build lifelong learning capabilities, enabling them to better integrate into society and live meaningful lives.
We implement the Enabled Living Programme, the Home Support Programme, and establish Enabling Services Hubs to strengthen the support networks for persons with disabilities at home and in the community, allowing them to live independently in the community for the long term.
We have not forgotten about the family members and caregivers around PwDs. The existing CPF Top-Up Matching Scheme and Special Needs Trust Company are in place to provide financial security for special needs families, giving them a peace of mind in planning for the future.
We will continue to collaborate with partners from all sectors to ensure that every person with disabilities can find their place in our country and live dignified and meaningful lives. This is our commitment and determination in building a more inclusive and caring home.
( In English ): Chairman, as we journey towards 2030, our commitment very clear: to build a Singapore where PwDs pursue aspirations with confidence, where families trust that support will endure.
And we will keep listening and we will keep refining. We thank Ms Denise Phua for her suggestions to the Taskforce, and we will deliberate over her input and share more when ready.
Sir, policies alone cannot create inclusion. Policies remove barriers. People create belonging. Inclusion happens when employers open doors, when neighbours extend friendship and when communities choose to see ability before disability.
PwDs are not defined by what they need. They are defined by the strengths they contribute: resilience, creativity, loyalty, courage. They are not passive recipients of support, much like seniors in our community. They are partners in our shared future.
So, let us move forward together: not by asking people to fit into narrow definitions, but by shaping a society heartful enough for every Singaporean to belong. And that is how we advance an inclusive Singapore. One where everyone, truly, can thrive. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : Minister of State Goh Pei Ming.
The Minister of State for Social and Family Development (Mr Goh Pei Ming) : Mr Chairman, MSF is committed to building a nation that supports Singaporeans in raising strong families and giving every child a good start.
Today, I will elaborate on three strategies to achieve this: starting strong – building firm foundations within the home; starting early – ensuring access to affordable and quality early childhood education; and starting together – working as a community to support our families.
Strong, Early, Together. And if we take the first letter of each, they spell out SET, reflecting our shared commitment to ensuring that families are set to thrive in Singapore.
I will begin by sharing how we are supporting our families to start strong. For many of us, families are our safe harbour and where we turn to in our happiest and also our most challenging moments. An MSF survey in 2023 showed that most Singaporeans have a closely-knit family and believe in its importance.
We will continue to support families to build strong foundations within the home. Mr Gabriel Lam and Mr Melvin Yong asked about support available for the different family types, while Ms Eileen Chong asked about strengthening support for parents and caregivers.
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MSF is committed in our efforts to strengthen all families. Our children deserve to be valued and given equal opportunities to thrive. Benefits that support their growth and development, such as subsidies for education, healthcare, and the CDA, are given to all citizen children, regardless of their parents’ marital status.
To help all families stay resilient, we offer holistic support at every stage of life. These programmes range from financial assistance to family counselling to parenting workshops. For more vulnerable households, by adopting a holistic case management approach, our Family Service Centres help them manage multiple stressors and break out of inter-generational patterns. Minister Masagos has also shared that we will double our family counselling capacity under the Strengthening Families Programme (FAM) by 2030.
To provide better support for caregivers, we have significantly enhanced leave provisions for parents of newborns, increased mandatory paternity leave, and introduced a new Shared Parental Leave scheme, and in total, parents now have up to 30 weeks of paid parental leave from April 2026 onwards. The Ministry of Manpower has also introduced the Tripartite Guidelines on flexible work arrangements to help caregivers.
MSF's latest survey findings show that more than 85% of Singaporean families reported moderate to high family resilience scores, reflecting good ability to bounce back from life’s challenges. Nonetheless, data also shows that our divorced, widowed and separated respondents reported a lower family resilience score compared to married respondents. MSF will continue to track the resilience of families and study whether to provide more targeted support for single parent households.
We also recognise that some children may not have access to stable homes with their biological parents, and may require adoption or fostering. Ms Sylvia Lim and Dr Neo Kok Beng have asked about these arrangements.
Today, there are multiple layers of checks in our adoption processes to detect child trafficking. Challenges remain in transnational arrangements. Singapore has adopted regional frameworks to complement our domestic efforts to protect children. We undertake regular reviews to ensure that our processes, our laws and our international efforts are effective in combating unethical adoption practices and child trafficking.
In fostering arrangements, we facilitate regular contact or access between children and their biological parents to maintain links, wherever safe and appropriate. We have also seen cases where foster parents proactively help children reunite with their biological parents. MSF remains open to considering ways to facilitate this, including co-parenting, recognising also that every case is unique. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all foster parents, including Dr Neo, for their efforts in providing positive family environments.
Finally, we are helping families plan for their later years. Yesterday, I was very glad to share that we will make it free of charge for citizens to file Form 1 of the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). Members of this House have raised this topic, including Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Kenneth Tiong. We encourage all Singaporeans to make their LPA while they are still healthy and to do so as soon as possible.
We acknowledge Members' feedback about the challenges faced in the scenarios where individuals require Professional Donees or Deputies. We have also heard similar feedback in our public consultations and with our Professional Deputies and Doneess. We will consider them in our upcoming review of the Mental Capacity Act and the Professional Deputies and Donees Scheme.
Building a strong family environment requires creating healthy habits and quality time together – a challenge when screens increasingly dominate family life. Mr Cai Yinzhou and Miss Rachel Ong raised valid concerns about prolonged screen usage and exposure to AI.
Parents are our first and most important line of defence. For practical support, I will refer parents to the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA's) Digital for Life portal and MSF’s Families for Life Parenting website. They offer guiding materials on managing children’s screen time, and helping them navigate the online world safely and to use AI responsibly. By reducing screen times, we hope parents can create opportunities to bond and form meaningful connections with their children.
Every year, we dedicate the month of June to celebrating families through the month-long National Family Festival (NFF). Last year, more than 850,000 participated in activities like family carnivals, games and experiential learning activities. With greater community and corporate support, we hope to welcome one million participants to participate in NFF 2026 this year and to create even more memories as a family.
Through our partnerships, MSF has been bringing more quality and affordable family activities directly to local communities. These include kite-making, reading programmes, community lo-hei, since Chinese New Year just passed, as well as discounts from commercial partners for family outings. Families can find upcoming events and good discounts on the Families for Life website.
Next, let me touch on Starting Early, I would like to share how we will further enhance our early childhood education.
Research has shown that the early years are crucial to a child’s development, where preschool attendance from the age of three leads to positive outcomes. To ensure accessibility to preschools, we have increased the number of full-day preschool places from around 135,000 to now more than 220,000 in the past decade. We now have enough full-day preschool places nationally for every resident child aged three and above. We have also achieved our commitment of ensuring that 80% of preschoolers can have a place in a Government-supported preschool. To serve the newer housing estates with more families with more young children, we are on track to adding more than 40,000 full-day places in Anchor Operator preschools by 2029.
Our early childhood services will continue to remain affordable. Since the start of the year, full-day childcare fees have been further reduced to a maximum of $610 at Anchor Operator preschools and $650 at Partner Operator preschools, a reduction of 15% since 2020. This will make out-of-pocket expenses for full-day childcare in an Anchor Operator preschool comparable to primary school and after-school care fees combined. With the revised Additional Subsidy income thresholds announced by the Prime Minister in his Budget speech, many families can expect to pay even lower fees.
Let me elaborate. From January 2027, we will raise the gross monthly household income ceiling for the Additional Subsidy for childcare and Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme to $15,000. We will also increase income thresholds for all the subsidy tiers below to reflect changes in household incomes. This will further improve affordability of preschools for more than 60,000 lower- and middle-income families with young children.
Let me cite an example. A median income household earning $12,500, with two children in Anchor Operator childcare, will see their total out-of-pocket fees for both children reduce by 35% from $730 in 2026 to $470 in 2027.
Mr Kenneth Tiong suggested portable preschool subsidies and additional salary support for non-Government supported operators. Portable subsidies have been raised in Parliament before. We have studied this and highlighted that this approach alone may lead to unintended consequences, such as fee increases without improvements in accessibility or quality, or preschools becoming overly commercial. We have seen this initiative implemented in other countries, only to be withdrawn a few years later.
Instead of one single approach, we take a more holistic, multi-pronged approach. We provide funding to rigorously selected operators to cap fees and to maintain quality. We also provide basic and means-tested additional subsidies, so basic subsidies as well as additional means-tested subsidies, to parents to ensure affordability, with lower-income families paying less. CDAs help parents further offset post-subsidy fees at preschools of their choice. And our schemes have worked well with demonstrated success in our accessibility and affordability outcomes.
In the next bound, MSF will place greater emphasis on the quality of preschools. Today, I will share our vision for "Quality Preschools", where children play, learn and grow alongside their peers, and develop holistically with strong foundations for life. To achieve this vision, we will journey with the sector to enhance preschool capabilities, improve programme and professional quality, foster stronger parent-preschool partnerships, and strengthen research and innovation.
First, for our children, we will cultivate a preschool environment where they can play, learn and grow at a pace suitable for them. We will cater to children of different needs and backgrounds by encouraging play and offering different ways for them to learn and to explore.
In my maiden Parliamentary speech, I highlighted the crucial role of play in children's learning and development. Play is a child's natural language. Play teaches children to share, to solve problems, to adapt to new situations, and to manage emotions. Our educators today already provide play experiences. We introduced play-based pedagogies in our earliest curriculum more than a decade ago. In the next bound, we will take it further. We will share across the entire sector best practices they have observed from the operators and intensify the application of play in everyday lessons to make learning more responsive to each child's needs and interests, and to help children enjoy both learning and their childhood.
Next, we recognise that every child has their own strengths and learning needs. International research demonstrates that when educators design lessons that offer children different ways to learn, it improves teaching quality and leads to better outcomes for our children. We are strengthening efforts to equip educators to support every child's development to help them reach their full potential.
For our parents, we will enable stronger partnerships with their child’s educators. Parents play a crucial role in bridging our children's development across preschool and home. From my preschool visits, the principals have shared that parents want to be involved in shaping their children’s development and learning. However, they are unsure how to partner educators. So, we will work with preschools to strengthen educator-parent partnerships through clearer role definitions and shared best practices.
Educators are at the heart of preschool education and critical for our children's holistic development. We care for their well-being and want to ensure that more support is given to our educators as mentioned by Mr Melvin Yong. Attracting and retaining quality educators remains a priority for us. We will grow our early education workforce by another 3,500 educators by 2030 to meet sector needs. We will better equip educators through pre-service training and in-service continuous development to adapt to our evolving early childhood landscapes, as they apply more play-based learning and support different learning needs.
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We also acknowledge the challenges that our preschool operators face – given the long hours they spend caring for our children, there is little time to engage in other tasks, such as lesson planning or relevant upskilling. Preschools also do not have school holidays unlike primary or secondary schools. We have been enhancing our educators' career proposition over the years and we remain committed to doing more to ensure they are well-supported.
Together with operators and educators, we are currently reviewing educators' working conditions and workload, such as better enabling non-contact time. We will also embark on a sector-wide job redesign project to review the job scopes, the work processes and support structures in our preschools and to improve work experiences.
For our operators, we will provide more support to strengthen their daily operations and to enhance their programme quality.
Technology is a key enabler. As shared by Minister Masagos yesterday, we will refresh the Industry Digital Plan 2.0 jointly with IMDA to enhance support for all preschools' digital transformation efforts, including non-Government-supported preschools. Through new innovation seed funding and establishing baseline technology requirements, we will support preschools to adopt digital capabilities. We want to streamline routine tasks while facilitating better communication with parents and fostering stronger parent-preschool partnerships.
We will also want to encourage more operators to seek accreditation under the revised Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework 2.0, rolled out last year. As preschools attain a higher banding that reflects better service provision, parents can be assured of better quality. They can look forward to these preschools, which offer an even more enriching environment, to cater to their children's needs and to allow them to flourish.
Finally, undergirding our next bound of quality improvements will be a strong focus on research and innovation.
ECDA will lead efforts and collaborate with research partners to stay updated on emerging research and assess and encourage adoption of effective teaching and learning practices to raise the overall profile of our early childhood landscape.
Quality improvement is a continuous journey. Our focus this year will be to engage and closely work with preschool operators, our educators, our operators and our parents to further develop our plans, as we strive to deliver this vision of quality preschools over the next five years. MSF and ECDA will share more details when we are ready.
I have spoken about the importance of starting strong and starting early. So, that brings me to my final point to ensure that our families are set for life – starting together.
Many parents tell me that raising children is a full-time job, and since many parents have to continue to work, we are often stretched thin and this is where the broader community plays a crucial role in supporting our children's development and makes raising children a joyful experience.
Through the strong partnerships that MSF has built with our community partners to run our Families for Life @ Community initiative, we were able to organise more than 670 family-centric activities across all 24 towns in Singapore last year. These events were supported by over 780 volunteers and benefited more than half a million participants. So, my deepest appreciation goes out to all our volunteers who help make these events possible. Thank you.
These events provide opportunities for local communities to come together to foster friendship, to build support, while teaching our children what books cannot teach them – to care for those people and everyone around us.
Take 11-year-old Capella, who started volunteering with Families for Life because she wanted to accompany her mother. What began as family time has become something much deeper – Capella has become more confident, more empathetic and discovered her own passion for volunteering and helping others. Their shared service not only supported other families; it deepened their own bond. This is the ripple effect we see when families volunteer together – creating meaningful family time while making a difference in our community.
We all have a role to play in supporting families in Singapore. Let me talk about families, our families with PwDs.
I would like to thank Ms Denise Phua and Prof Kenneth Poon for acknowledging the inter-agency Taskforce and your suggestions that the Taskforce can consider, including reviewing the affordability of day activity centres and residential homes, reviewing employment opportunities and supporting PwDs and their families with long-term planning. As Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric has shared, we will carefully consider these suggestions, along with recommendations for supporting PwDs that many other Members have raised through the past week. I am grateful to be leading this Taskforce which will complement our Enabling Masterplan 2030 and go beyond its recommendations to provide greater opportunities and assurances of dignity and stability for them.
The Taskforce has started its work by looking at the life-cycle of PwDs of different needs and identifying the pain points and gaps that they encounter in the current system. We will relook how they transition from education to employment. We will grow employment opportunities that tap on their strengths. We will expand capacities of our day activity centres and sheltered workshops to provide stable and secure care environment for more clients and to shorten waiting times, thereby reducing the unnecessary stressful transitions for PwDs and their families. We will review community pathways and healthcare support for them to stay engaged in the community for longer. We will see how to better support our caregivers, by designing the system with them and their PwDs as a dyad and we will review and keep services affordable for all.
The Taskforce's report will be released later this year.
The Government stands ready to invest more to support PwDs and their families. But an inclusive society also means reshaping our systems and attitudes to embrace all abilities, and empowering PwDs to pursue their aspirations, achieve their potential and participate as integral members of society. Chairman, next, please allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.
( In Mandarin ) : [ Please refer to Vernacular Speech .] Building an inclusive society requires whole-of-Government coordination and participation and effort from the entire society. Therefore, we have established the inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities to explore how to better provide assistance to persons with disabilities and their families in areas, such as employment, community living and affordability of disability support services. The taskforce will also examine encouraging corporates and community partners to provide more job opportunities and community support for persons with disabilities, as well as promote greater social inclusivity, so that they can also pursue their dreams, realise their potential and contribute to society in their own way.
MSF firmly believes that family is the cornerstone of society, so we are committed to building a nation that can support Singaporeans in forming families. Marriage, parenthood – we support Singaporeans through various measures at every important stage of life.
Worth mentioning is our progress in preschool education. Over the past decade, preschool places have increased from 130,000 to 220,000 today. School fees have also become more affordable. Today, every child above three years old in Singapore can receive quality, affordable preschool education, and in the next phase, we will further enhance the quality of preschool education, continuing to give children a good start in life.
( In English ): Mr Chairman, at MSF, families are at the heart of all we do. Strong families need effort and they are built by entire communities working together. The Government provides broad-based support to help families start strong, early and, together, setting firm foundations and giving every child a good start.
For families who are more vulnerable, we offer a steady hand and a supported ladder, so that they too can climb and thrive on their own terms. For families with PwDs, we are committed to removing barriers and working with the community to create opportunities that foster inclusion and belonging.
Over the past week, our House has shared our respective visions of a "we first" society. For MSF, this vision comes alive when our social service sector, community and our corporates partner us to create better outcomes for families and individuals that we serve. By sharing in this commitment that "Better Starts with Us", each of us make the difference together.
Let us work towards stronger families, stronger communities, a stronger Singapore. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : We have some time for clarifications. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua.
Mr Eric Chua : Chairman, thank you for your indulgence. I would like to set right a couple of points in my speech earlier before Members seek clarifications.
Firstly, I mentioned that enhancements we provide additional financial relief for 3,600 PwDs accessing our residential and community disabilities services. The number should be 3,800.
Second, on families who are looking to set up the SNT Account, for these families, we will provide the initial $5,000 capital needed to set up an SNT Account through ComChest Funding. Thank you.
The Chairman : Mr Xie Yao Quan.
Mr Xie Yao Quan : Thank you, Chairman. Just three buckets of clarifications.
The first on the expansion of ComLink+ social health integration pilot. So, this is directed at Minister of State Zhulkarnain . How many more ComLink+ residents is MSF looking to bring onboard this expanded pilot and where, which ComLink+ towns is MSF looking to expand this pilot to? And also, will family coaches and public health institutions be sharing data to support clients to navigate the system and avoid the navigation, like Minister of State Zhulkarnain spoke about?
Second bucket of clarifications on the ComLink+ skills upgrading support pilot. Again, directed at Minister of State Zhulkarnain . I just wanted to ask if family coaches will be working with IHLs and the course providers to signpost clients to certain courses and also to help them to enrol and get on board these courses?
A third bucket of clarifications on supporting our professionals in the sector to uplift them, even as they care and pour their heart and soul to care for clients. So, this is directed at the Minister. Does MSF have plans to enhance the support to professionals for professional development and career advancement opportunities in the sector?
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim : Thank you, Chairman. I thank Member Xie Yao Quan for all those questions and clarifications.
On social health integration, we focus our efforts on the health issues that are most likely to disrupt the broader social goals. Last year was the trial for the social health integration and about 500 families were involved. We target another additional 500 more. In terms of where the regions will be trialled in, we are trialing in SSO clusters in: one, Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang; two, Sembawang and Woodlands; and three, Tampines, Pasir Ris and Punggol. In terms of the data sharing, MSF works closely with MOH, and the health care clusters so the relevant health information, like the children's mandatory immunisation records would be shared via a system interface with the family coaches.
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The second bucket of questions on the skills upgrading scheme. The family coach works together with the families, closely with the families who express interest to come on board the pilot and it is a very recent thing, the pilot was just in January, we aim for 100 families. We also engage the IHLs on their application, to help them with their application as well.
The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M) : We work with the industry practitioners, including the training providers, education institutions, the professionals themselves and their associations, to put up what we call the skills framework for social service. Within this framework, we lay out the competencies needed for the families of social sector jobs so that professionals know clearly what they need to have in order to articulate and for their career planning. This is very useful for both the trainers, training institutions as well as for the individuals and the associations.
For the individuals themselves, for example, they would know there are scholarships available under the professional development sponsorship, where it covers full tuition fees. They can study, even if they have a degree, of which they have to have one to practise as full professionals in this field – in alternate or related fields, for example, in psychology.
But we want to also look at how we can expand these fields of studies that may not look as related as they were, maybe 10 years ago, but may be relevant today. For example, AI, for example, how they can be related to their work in social service.
There are also of course, short-term grants for individuals to look at, to take up the courses and then to uplift their ability and their skills. Not necessarily to enhance their career possibilities, but also to support their clients better.
In the meantime, SSAs, too, should use this framework, because they may want to attract talents from outside who may not have the requisite professional degrees or qualifications to practise in this sector. MSF also will provide grants for such people and at the same time for our SSAs to plan the career path and articulation for their own staff, those who are within the SSAs themselves.
The Chairman : I see a number of hands, but guillotine time is 12.15 pm. So, as usual, keep your clarifications succinct. Mr Melvin Yong.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye (Radin Mas) : Thank you, Chairman. I have three clarifications for Minister of State Goh Pei Ming, they are all related to preschools. One, given the critical importance of quality early childhood education in shaping our children's developmental outcomes, how can ECDA further strengthen the capabilities of preschools to better engage parents as active partners in their children's learning and development?
Two, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has introduced a right to disconnect policy so that school teachers are not expected to respond to work matters after school hours. Given that preschool educators also face demanding workloads, could the Minister of State clarify whether ECDA has similar safeguards for our preschool educators?
Three, recognising that continuous professional development is fundamental to maintaining high educational standards, what steps is ECDA taking to enable our early childhood educators to pursue meaningful professional development opportunities, for example, giving study awards or time off for the preschool educators?
Mr Goh Pei Ming : Mr Chairman, let me take the questions part by part. First in terms of how we will build stronger parent-preschool partnerships, we believe that this partnership is important to help bridge the overall development and learning of our children between the home and the preschool. They are not separate entities, that experience has to be collective. Therefore, we want to see more parents participate in our preschools.
In fact, one of my recent visits to My First Skool in Anchorvale, Sengkang, I was very encouraged, it was the day of the launch of the health screening and I observed there was a parent doing a storytelling exercise together with the children. After that I managed to speak to her and she was sharing with me that My First Skool, at least at that centre, regularly sends out messages, sharing what are the opportunities for excursions, for storytelling, participating in games, sports or even coming in for rather mundane activities. But these experiences allow for the parent as well as the child to have a common experience that goes beyond the classroom back into the living rooms, over the dining table, where they talk. And in fact, the parent also knows many of the names of the child's friends. I thought that was very precious, very, very meaningful, and we want to have more of such experiences.
And for this parent, when she walked away, this was sometime about 9.45 am in the morning, I remember being quite encouraged that how come she was able to do this? She told me she was going to work, so I guess some of the flexible work arrangements have also set in, and she is well supported by her employer in this regard.
So, from ECDA's view, what we are hoping to do more, as I mentioned earlier, we want to talk to the preschools, share many of their best practices. We understand within the landscape, it is a little bit varied. All of them have their good ideas. We want to collate and promulgate many of these across. We also want to perhaps set clearer expectations of what the educator is and is not supposed to do, what the parent is and is not supposed to do and also, perhaps in this process, enable digital capabilities to foster this partnership.
The second part of the question on the right to disconnect and understanding that MOE has a similar policy. In fact, in the preschool sector, we recognise the importance of having this. We agree, the workloads of our preschool educators are very heavy, the hours are very long, and this is a policy that we are working now. It is a work-in-progress. We want to formalise this, and we are starting with the co-creation of a parent-preschool charter. Once we formalise this, will promulgate to all. But perhaps my own experience, I also have a preschooler in my home, but I do not have the phone numbers of the teachers, nor is it shared. I call the general office and through that, the messages get shared to the teachers when they need to.
The third question pertains to how do we allow our educators to have meaningful professional development opportunities. We recognise it is important for them to be well supported in their journey by ECDA, and to have time to attend to not just the professional but also their personal learning needs. We have mechanisms, such as a Continuing Professional Development roadmap, whereby we help guide and mentor our educators through this journey in terms of what courses that they can attend to upgrade, to upskill, and many of these courses are provided by the National Institute of Early Childhood Development, as well as other training providers, so we allow them a certain scaffold for them to continue to grow and progress in their careers and, of course, with new pedagogies, we hope that they will stay current.
But of course, this requires time and we are studying and, we have in the past, set aside more protected time for them. We designated six preschool closure days – development days, actually – to allow the centre, not only for personal training but also team training. We have also designated Teachers' Day and Children's Day as holidays in 2024, we have also ceased childcare services or early childhood education services on Saturdays from last year onwards.
A few months ago, I met a group of ECDA Fellows. They shared with me, and this is a group of very senior principals and educators, and they shared with me some of their feedback, so we are looking into it. We are looking to offer more bite-sized continuous development opportunities. We are also looking into how we can ease the workload, more non-contact time, ensuring there is protected time for professional development, time for reflection, time for individual planning and more importantly, at the end of the day, all these allow for the development of the educators, which translate into better development and teaching for our children, benefiting our future.
The Chairman : Mr Kenneth Tiong.
Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat (Aljunied) : Thank you, Chair. My clarifications are on preschools. One, ECDA itself shifted Anchor Operator funding from a centre-capacity model to a per child funding model earlier in 2025. If per-child funding is the right principle for allocating resources among Anchor Operator centres, then why is it the wrong principle for allocating resources among all licensed centres?
Number two, I thank Minister of State Goh for his emphasis on play-based learning. Ms Loy Wee Mee, who I mentioned in my cut, is a – if not the expert – on play-based learning in Singapore. So, does the Ministry acknowledge that their operator funding model is making the play-based learning expert's schools, and others like hers, unviable? And what is your message to the independent operators?
Mr Goh Pei Ming : Mr Chairman, to the Member's first question on whether per child funding should be extended to all centres. There are two parts to it. We moved from capacity-based to enrolment-based funding, primarily because we wanted to be more equitable to ensure that efficient resources are being assigned to all centres and if the centre is not full, we should not be assigning it based on capacity. And that is also to encourage the centre to improve on quality to attract more parents to come to them, to provide better curriculum, and per child enrolment basis allows for that. However, that is a different conversation from resources for all centres, and I note that the Member has over past instances also raised that we should provide funding to be assigned to the child rather than to the centres.
It goes back to the fundamental principle of how we build the early childhood sector. MSF and ECDA's priority is to ensure that families have access to accessible, affordable, quality preschools and today, 80% of all preschoolers are able to enrol in Government-supported preschools. That is the vision. That is the outcome that we have achieved. We have done this, like I explained in my speech earlier, through various means or various funding approaches, both on the subsidy side to the preschools directly; on the demand side to the parents, as well as allowing the parents to have some free choice through the CDA. We believe that the confluence of that allows us to achieve the balance and the right incentives for both the preschools' operators, as well as in terms of our support for the parents.
One particular area that I would like to perhaps talk about is how do we run our anchor operator and partner operator schemes, because I think the point of the Member's question is how do we better support – there is a slice of operators that may not be getting Government funding. The operator schemes, the Anchor and Partner Operator schemes, employ a very rigorous selection process, and these are private operators that we are evaluating, so as to find out who are the best able to advance our early childhood objectives. The operators must be both willing and capable to meet stringent scheme requirements, and these include the provision of affordable quality preschool services as well as the commitment to improve the professional development of their educators.
There can be good reasons why certain operators are not part of the Anchor Operator or the Partner Operator schemes. Some operators simply choose not to participate because of legitimate business considerations, such as they have already established a premium market positioning. Others may be providing a very specialised, a very niche service or programme. They have higher business costs that may not justify for Government funding to go in. And to maintain the quality and sustainability of these programmes, they may also not believe and subscribe to the fee caps that we have imposed through our operator schemes.
Some preschools are also in areas with higher Permanent Resident and foreigner numbers, and therefore, Government support is less relevant. Some operators may also not be selected because of the application process. The Partner Operator selection is competitive and factors, such as track record in delivering services, financial sustainability, accessibility of the centres as well as the local preschooler demand in the immediate area where the preschool is located. So, all those are factors that we consider, and we want to do so because we need to be judicious in how we spend Government money.
The second point on play-based learning. Actually, I would like to reiterate the point that play-based curriculum is embedded as part of our preschool curriculum, that all Anchor Operators and Partner Operators already implement across all our centres and like I said in my speech, we are looking to step it up further. I acknowledge the point the Member raised about Ms Loy. I think we will be keen to talk to her and see how she can help in the sector.
The Chairman : Prof Kenneth Poon.
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Prof Kenneth Poon (Nominated Member) : Thank you, Chairman. Let me just get to the point. Future care planning extends beyond employment and financial planning, and it includes residential arrangements, community access and the maintenance of social relationships. So, I would like to ask if the Ministry has or intends to help develop a playbook or have a coach or peer support system to guide family members involved in this future care planning process?
Mr Eric Chua : Sir, I thank the Member for his clarifications. Indeed, future care planning, especially with the person, as well as the caregivers at the centre of this planning process, is absolutely essential. That is a key organising principle for service models moving forward.
Just want to highlight a few examples, so that we can illustrate the point. I have mentioned briefly in my speech that the Enabling Skills for Life Programme, an important component, is the individual curriculum and development plan, for which the caregivers, as well as the PwD themselves are very intimately and closely involved in the creation of the content and the milestones within.
In yesterday's cuts, Ms Denise Phua, also talked about the Family Life Navigator Model, and she likened that to the ComLink model, where we have different families, different ranges of needs being supported by somewhat like a defender. We totally agree with that mission and that vision. What we need is some time, in order for us to assemble the right manpower, with the right aptitude, the right capability and competencies to do this. But in terms of vision, we are well aligned.
The Chairman : Ms Diana Pang.
Ms Diana Pang Li Yen (Marine Parade-Braddell Heights) : I would like to ask Minister of State Goh, how would the increase in a family counselling capacity affect the quality of counselling services? And are there sufficient counsellors to support this capacity increase?
Mr Goh Pei Ming : Mr Chairman, there are currently 11 FAM centres across Singapore providing family counselling services. We are working with the various service providers to ensure that there is adequate staffing as capacity expands. We want to make sure that we are expanding while not compromising quality. I think that must be the key principle that we are observing here.
The timeline of 2030 actually allows us to work together with the providers to build up the capacity in sync, as demand grows, and that also allows us to work with the educational service providers to help raise up this capability.
To maintain service quality, there are two key principles or two key prongs that we are going to do this by. We will recruit professionals with relevant credentials and experience. Counsellors in FAM are required to have the relevant tertiary qualifications in counselling, psychology or social work, along with a minimum of three years of experience working with families. Especially in FAM centres, we do need our counsellors to be a lot more experienced, slightly more experienced than usual, to deal with more complex cases.
Those with social work and psychology qualifications also undergo additional training to ensure they have the necessary counselling skills. At the same time, FAM counsellors will receive ongoing clinical supervision to maintain professional standards and to support their ongoing development.
The Chairman : Ms Denise Phua.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar) : I just want to thank Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric, Minister of State Goh and the SG Enable MSF team for being really sincere and responsive all these years. Two clarifications. Number one is, I am glad that the Ministry has curated some more enabling skills courses, but there is a real urgency because there is a lot of disruption in the AI-driven automation space, and many of the jobs, blue and white collared included, are really at risk, and there is urgency to have more deliberate intentional effort in this. Therefore, that is why I recommended the National Disability Job Redesign Resource/Fund. So, I would like to hear the Senior Parliamentary Secretary's views on that, because there is an urgency and we cannot wait until all the reports are out.
The second one is: there is a strong need also for those with moderate to high needs and that it will take a while for DACs to come up, and also, they are also costly. I wonder if there is a possibility of looking at a lighter version of the ESHs, so that these services can be developed at the local community centres or residents' committee, supporting grassroots efforts as well, because I know many of my colleagues really want to support these families as well.
Mr Eric Chua : Sir, I thank the Member for her very passionate interventions over the past years as well. First, on job redesign. Under the existing Open Door Programme, there is a Job Redesign Grant that can already be applied for, so that is one potential avenue that we can point to.
On her suggestion for the lighter version of the ESH – the ESH Minus or the ESH Portable – we are very keen to roll out more ESHs over different parts of the island in the coming years, so please stay tuned for more information.
The Chairman : Mr Cai Yinzhou.
Mr Cai Yinzhou (Bishan-Toa Payoh) : Thank you, Chair. I would like to ask how would MSF evaluate project success of progress packages launched? I thank the Minister of State for sharing that families can enjoy community events and attraction tickets at discount, but these activities still require supervision. Money is scarce and time is even more. Are there any other initiatives with supervision that can be formalised across neighbourhoods, such as the Touch Young Arrows Children's programme?
My second question is that I understand ComLink+ families become FSC cases during crisis and family coaches take a step back. Will the Ministry consider allowing family coaches to continue journeying with the families on the context that in times of crisis, more hands-on-deck is needed, and trust and relationship built with coaches can be more pertinent in these moments?
Third question, has the Ministry explored grants to support caregivers with entrepreneurial endeavours with PwDs that they are caring for initiatives, such as Junlefont and Bakes by Ben? They are both started by caregivers with children with special needs, and they continue to provide and allow the children to be meaningfully engaged, yet allowing income generation and flexibility.
Lastly, riding on Member Denise's points to reduce wait time in the pressure valve of DACs, has the Ministry considered pilot integrating Senior Care Centres and DAC for adults, since DAC residents are getting older, and I have also been a care staff in both settings, and care needs of toileting, feeding and cognitive engagement are similar in objectives. A pilot integration could help the pressure valve queue of an average of six months.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim : Thank you, Chairman. I will address the first few questions and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua will cover the rest.
Member asked about the effectiveness of ComLink+ and our evaluation of the success. We continuously monitor ComLink+ and we receive feedback from families that we serve and of course, from the family coaches themselves, the SSOs and FSCs. Bearing in mind that ComLink+ was only launched in the middle of 2023, and if one looks at the MSF release paper in 2025 "Supporting Lower Income Household Trends", that report showed positive signs in some domains, like employment and housing, compared to the year before, experienced by families who had been enrolled in ComLink+.
Children in ComLink+ Progress Package also had higher enrolment and attendance rates, compared to the children who were not emplaced. But we continually want to do more. Hence, the enhancements to the ComLink+ Progress Packages were made, and these were made based on the feedback from the ComLink+ families and ground practitioners as well. We understand that some families may find it difficult, as I have mentioned in my speech, to meet some of these conditions despite their best efforts, so we are actually working with the families and the family coaches themselves on how to encourage the families to achieve those milestones.
In terms of tracking, we are also working with academics to study the impact of the packages on the families' short- and long-term outcomes. I also referenced that in my speech that we will continually finetune our approach as we have learned more insights.
On the local efforts, these are complementary to our programs already in MSF. Families may take advantage of all the programmes in the community. Family coaches also themselves connect our ComLink+ families and their children to such activities. For instance, in Choa Chu Kang and Keat Hong where I serve, we have specific programmes during the holidays for music and pharmaceutical visits for lower-income families.
But MSF also will be looking towards working and understanding the best practices all across Singapore, across towns and try to implement programs at the local level. And I do encourage all Members in this Chamber, if Members have partners on the ground, do come up with innovative programmes to engage our low-income families and their children.
Lastly, on the FSCs, Member asked on the situation when the case is referred to the FSC, whether the family coach can continue journeying with the family, he said "all hands-on-deck" would help. However, this only typically happens when there is a crisis that happens to the family, like domestic violence, there is a divorce. So, in that situation, the priority would always be to stabilise the families. So, achieving milestones, such as employment, may be the furthest thing on their minds.
However, the FSC caseworker will double up and serve like the family coach to the ComLink+ family, so do not worry, for those families that require family services and need more help, and the Family Service Centre caseworker will focus on these more urgent risk issues and prioritise that. And they will also build rapport with the family and, hopefully, build trust, and this also allows one caseworker to be the main touchpoint for each family, and integrate the different support in the community for that family, so that again, the navigational nightmare would be avoided and they have one touchpoint.
The Chairman : Last clarification. Sorry, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua.
Mr Eric Chua : Sir, I thank the Member for his two clarifications on disability inclusion and support.
First, on DACs. DACs are actually meant to support PwDs with moderate to more severe needs and in fact, the profile of clients in DACs are actually rather young, with many of them coming straight from SPED schools. The focus really is on equipping and getting these clients ready for independent living in the community, but we acknowledge his suggestion and we will take it back to take a closer look.
Second, on home-based businesses. I thank him for raising the point and pointing the spotlight on Junlefont. In fact, I have been supporting Jun Le. My two National Day Parade outfits for the past two years has been designed by Jun Le. And I thank Member Lee Hui Ying for also jumping onboard last National Day Parade.
But that aside, we are already working with them. So, for instance, like as part of the i'mable collective, we have curated a whole host of home-based businesses, such as Jun Le, and Jun Le is featured as part of the i'mable collective as well.
Every year end, when we have our Enabling Lives Festival, we do have a marketplace where we feature each of these home-based businesses, like Jun Le themselves, and that is where I got to know designers like Jeremiah, we have Isaac and Sheng Jie, who is so good with the dinosaur drawings, and so on. And I really hope that Members of the Chamber, and also all of us out there – this is my call to all of you to also support these businesses. It is not just about buying a clay or porcelain dinosaur. It is not just about buying artwork. The act is not in the buying, but because that buying is living proof of their dignity, of their ability to also contribute to society and to be an upstanding member of society.
And I behove all Members of the Chamber to also support these home-based businesses, because many of them, for instance, Bakes by Ben and his mum. They are making a living. They are not letting life get them down, and they are saying, "Look, I am playing my part", and in a way they are crying out to society to say, "Support us as well in this journey". I have come on board and I invite everyone to share in this journey. [ Applause. ]
The Chairman : Let us all support local talents and local businesses. On that note, can I invite Mr Xie Yao Quan, if you would like to withdraw your amendment?
12.15 pm
Mr Xie Yao Quan : Thank you, Chairman. I thank MSF for responding to our cuts and I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.
[(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $5,822,529,800 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)]
[(proc text) The sum of $259,759,300 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]