2024年3月6日，新加坡社会及家庭发展部长兼卫生部第二部长马善高在国会回复议员关于“凝聚家庭”运动的系列举措、取得的成效和进一步的打算。
以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：
马善高：家庭与社会服务部长
主席先生，感谢各位议员的建议。作为一个国家，我们之所以能够经受住风暴并变得更加强大，是因为我们拥有强大的家庭和牢固的社会契约。 Forward SG重申新加坡人仍然重视家庭的重要性，大家也有强烈的共识要建设一个所有家庭都有机会成功的社会。
我将谈谈实现这一使命的三个关键方法。第一，共同努力，支持家庭走过人生的每一个阶段，巩固婚姻，从孩子幼年起就支持父母，并照顾我们的长者。第二，我们将不仅仅提供援助，赋予需要帮助的家庭力量。我们已经启动提升版社区联系站计划（ComLink+），并将进一步帮助低收入家庭的孩子脱离困境。第三，政府将与社会服务部门、企业和新加坡人携手合作，巩固家庭，并继续努力帮助有需要的人，以确保产生持续的影响。我们邀请更多人参与志愿服务，贡献他们的时间、才华和财富。通过共同努力，我们将建设一个充满关爱和包容性的社会，并保持新加坡的社会流动性。
请允许我详细说明一下。如今，夫妻在一起的时间越来越长。最近的研究表明，在10周年纪念日之前解除婚姻关系的比例有所下降。让我感到欣慰的是，越来越多的夫妻认识到持续投资婚姻的重要性。他们积极主动寻找婚姻和育儿资源，而不只是在关系出现问题时才寻求帮助。
我们肯定社会对家庭的承诺，并将继续巩固家庭观念，这是我们未来几年的支柱。我们通过为家庭提供终身支持来实现这一目标。正如我在卫生部(MOH)供应委员会所分享的那样，我们正在加强对夫妇在怀孕和生育过程中的支持。
孩子的幼年时期至关重要，对于新手父母来说，可能也是最具挑战性的时期。经过多年努力，家长们有更多机会将孩子送入负担得起的优质幼儿园。我们将继续努力。我们还帮助在职家长平衡工作责任和照顾婴儿之间的关系。政府正在通过多种方式解决这一问题，内政部政务部长孙雪玲将对此进行详细阐述。
我们最近增加了政府支付的有薪陪产假。我们鼓励符合条件的父亲使用陪产假，并正努力让更多的父亲从新增加的两周假期中受益。不仅仅停留在关注幼儿时期，我们正在推出各种便利的方案和资源，以解决家庭各种问题。
由凝聚家庭理事会领导的“凝聚家庭”(FFL) 运动，汇集了各方面合作伙伴，在社区提供婚姻和育儿方案。目前已在9个市镇开展，我很高兴地告诉大家，到今年年底，这项计划将扩展到18个市镇。我们最近还与主要业者（Anchor Operators）合作，在他们的社区为学龄前儿童的家长提供“凝聚家庭”亲子课程。黄玲玲女士将很高兴地得知，理事会将推出更多育儿资源，以更好地支持有孩子的家庭。
上个月，我们还推出了一种新的自助工具“我们的婚姻之旅测验”，以帮助夫妻评估他们关系的健康状况，就像身体健康检查一样。
杨益财先生和黄玲玲女士提到，全社会要共同努力，建设一个“为家庭而生”的新加坡。我同意这一点。因此，理事会也希望与雇主合作，在他们的工作场所提供婚姻和育儿资源或讲座。社区合作伙伴和志愿者对于支持我们建立牢固家庭的使命同样至关重要。
我们很高兴看到“凝聚家庭”运动稳步发展。去年，超过150家企业和社区合作伙伴，如凯德购物中心和新加坡心脏基金会等，以及400名志愿者齐聚一堂，共同支持全国家庭周。
我们将继续推动这项运动的发展。从今年起，凝聚家庭理事会将把该活动扩展成为期一个月的全国家庭节。我鼓励所有家庭利用理事会资源并参加全国家庭节，这个节日将于5月25日学校假期启动时开始。我们也期待与更多合作伙伴合作一道，为家庭提供引人入胜的体验。
在许多人的努力下，我们打造了一个“为家庭而生”的新加坡。
杨益财先生询问我们如何才能打造一个不让任何人掉队的社会。我们的目标是让每个新加坡家庭成为一个强大而稳固的家庭。这包括低收入家庭。
正如潘丽萍女士所观察到的那样，低收入家庭往往面临更多挑战。仅靠社会援助可能还不够。例如，家庭可能不得不利用有限的财力来满足不同的需求，同时还要平衡工作、照顾和休息。这可能会导致“带宽税”，即家庭只关注日常事务而无法规划长远。除了提供社会援助之外，我们还希望与家庭合作，帮助他们实现自己的愿望，增强自己的优势，为自己和孩子创造更好的生活。换句话说，我们希望超越援助，转向赋权。
因此，我们推出了提升版社区联系站计划(ComLink+)作为ForwardSG的一部分。 ComLink+家庭现在有了一位专门的家庭导师，在新夫妻努力实现长期目标的过程中为他们提供指导、激励和陪伴。 潘丽萍女士也将很高兴地得知，截至2023年底，约有10,000个ComLink+ 家庭已同意与我们合作，其中97%正在接受家庭导师的支持。这其中包括由家庭服务中心 (FSC) 支持的家庭，他们的工作人员承担着家庭导师的职责。
随着家庭朝着目标迈出积极的步伐，他们可以从ComLink+ 进步套餐中获得资金补贴，以激励他们努力的效果，并帮助他们更好地专注于实现自己的目标。关于这一点，高级政务次长蔡瑞隆将详细阐述。
ComLink+的这些增强功能以及与家庭服务中心的合作表明，我们是如何将以家庭为中心作为我们一切工作的核心。正如杨益财先生所言，除了低收入家庭外，家庭服务中心还为其他家庭提供服务。就像全科医生诊所在社区提供医疗保健服务一样，家庭服务中心也是以社区为基础的机构，提供个案工作专业知识，来支持有社交和情感需求的家庭。 30多年来，家庭服务中心不断发展其实践，以满足服务对象不断变化的需求，帮助他们实现“3S”——自力更生(Self-reliance)稳定(Stability)和社会流动(Social mobility)。
如今，家庭服务领域不断扩大，家庭服务中心与许多其他机构一起，为家庭提供支持。一个有复杂需求的家庭，除了获得家庭服务委员会的支持外，还可能获得其他社会服务机构（SSA）的支持，如家庭暴力、家庭咨询或子女青少年计划。尽管这些社会服务机构会努力相互协调，但家庭可能仍然会发现与多个合作伙伴互动很繁琐。另一个担忧是，由于每个合作伙伴都专注于解决眼前的问题，我们可能并不总能解决根本问题。
未来十年，我们还将面临更多的人口挑战。我们将进入超老龄社会，家庭结构可能会发生变化。
但是，随着社会的变化，我们也有机会进行调整，以满足新的需求，并以更加协调的方式支持家庭。我们的愿景是，让有需要的家庭通过一个单一的主体接受家庭服务的支持，这个主体能够全面和更加协调地满足不同家庭成员的需求，从而为整个家庭带来更好的发展。
我很高兴地宣布，新加坡社会与家庭发展部将成立家庭服务格局审查委员会。本着Forward SG的精神，我们将与社区合作，共同打造未来的服务格局。该委员会将由高级政务秘书蔡瑞隆担任主席，成员包括来自行业合作伙伴的代表。我们将在准备就绪后和大家分享更多细节。
主席先生，我们一直致力于支持低收入家庭实现社会流动。我们持续提升新加坡社会流动性的战略的一个关键方面是支持儿童，让所有儿童无论背景如何，都能有一个良好的人生开端。
尽管低收入家庭儿童的学前教育入学率有所上升，但仍低于全国平均水平。来自低收入家庭的三至四岁儿童中，约有八成进入学前班，而全国平均水平为九成。这可能是由多种因素造成的。家长可能担心无法负担学前教育费用，对学前教育的好处了解较少，或者不得不用较少的资源兼顾工作和家庭。我们将推出多项措施，帮助低收入家庭的孩子从我们对幼儿教育的投资中获益。
首先，我们将为低收入家庭提供更大的保障，确保他们有能力送子女上上学前班。所有接受社区关怀计划（ComCare）援助金或居住在公共租赁组屋的家庭都已经自动符合领取最高托儿服务津贴的资格。正如黄循财副总理在预算案中宣布的那样，我们将向更多低收入家庭提供类似的支持。所有家庭月收入在 6,000 新币及以下的低收入家庭，都将有资格获得与其收入层级对应的最高托儿服务津贴。我们将从2024年第四季度开始实施这一举措，届时将新增多达17,000名儿童受益。
其次，从2024年第三季度开始，我们将扩大对所有低收入家庭的主动外展活动，鼓励他们让孩子入读学前班。学前外展工作人员和ComLink+计划的家庭导师将与家长合作，帮助他们了解学前教育的重要性，并让他们的孩子入读合适的学前教育机构。作为ComLink+套餐计划的一部分，ComLink+计划的家庭如果及早为孩子报名并定期送孩子上学前班，就可以获得财政补贴。
最后，我们将支持家庭最大限度地受益于优质学前教育。我们认识到，低收入家庭的儿童即使入读学前班，也可能需要更多的支持。平均而言，在“主要业者”幼儿园就读的孩子中，来自低收入家庭的孩子每月出勤率约为72%，低于中等收入同龄人79%的出勤率。他们的家庭可能也没有那么多资源来支持他们在家学习。
从今年第二季度开始，我们将为选定的“主要业者”幼儿园提供更多资源，让他们能够为他们照顾的儿童提供有效和及时的支持。“主要业者”幼儿园将与我们共同出资，提供有针对性的支持，并利用额外资源来支持这些儿童，例如提供专门的小组学习课程，并解决家庭在定期送孩子上学方面面临的挑战。正如马利基部长（总理公署部长兼教育部和外交部第二部长）所说，教育部也将同样加强教育部幼儿园的各项举措，以支持低收入家庭的儿童。
总之，这些措施将有助于解决低收入家庭面临的挑战，使他们的孩子能够与同龄人一起学习、玩耍和全面发展。
我们在加大这些努力的同时，也不能忽视家庭环境和父母在塑造孩子发展方面作用的重要性。正因如此，迄今为止已为8500多名儿童提供支持的“幼儿培育辅导计划”（KidSTART）将重点放在向家长传授培养孩子的知识和技能上。我们将与凝聚家庭理事会（FFL）合作，为低收入家庭提供更多的育儿资源。
这样，家长和学前教育工作者的努力就能相辅相成，为儿童的茁壮成长奠定坚实的基础。
有了强大的社会服务生态系统，我们为巩固家庭所做的努力才得以实现。这个系统由一群坚定的合作伙伴、专业人士和志愿者组成。我们的社会服务机构、学术界、高等教育机构 (IHL) 以及企业等不同的合作伙伴群体齐心协力，为有需要的人提供支持。
为了满足社会不断变化的需求，社会服务部门在未来五年内需要增加2,000名专业人员。 蔡长春议员（Keith Chua）询问了我们吸引、招聘和留住专业人员的计划。政府和包括社会服务机构在内的合作伙伴必须共同努力，使社会服务行业成为人们的首选职业。
其中一个关键方面，是确保该行业的薪资与专业人员的辛勤工作和技能相称。去年，我们审查了《社会服务行业薪资指南》，以确保薪资与竞争市场上的同类职位相比具有竞争力。社会与家庭服务部和国家福利理事会（NCSS）也调整了拨款，以确保支持我们资助项目的专业人员的薪酬能符合薪资指南的要求。目前，该行业约有80%的员工薪酬符合指南要求。我们期待受资助机构在未来三年能遵守指南，并按指南支付员工工资。我们将与需要额外支持的社会服务机构（SSAs)密切合作，包括提供有针对性的顾问支持。
社会服务部门是一个以人为本的部门。我们更需要关怀我们的员工，这样他们才能更好地关爱我们的受益者。我们的专业人员除了可以获得国家福利理事会（NCSS） 提供的一系列自我保健和健康的资源，还可以获得社会服务技能创前程三方工作小组（SkillsFuture）开展的Joy@Social Services运动，提升工作中的情感和心理健康。
社会与家庭服务部和国家福利理事会将继续为更多人进入这一行业并在职业生涯中取得进步开辟道路。例如，我们正在与高等教育机构合作，吸引学生参与。我们还通过“转业计划”（Career Conversion Programmes)吸引中年人士加入，这些专业人士可以从黄循财副总理在财政预算案中宣布的技能创前程进阶计划中受益。我们正与社会服务机构一道起，通过重新设计工作岗位、加强组织能力和采取留住人才的措施，来提高职位的价值定位。为了支持专业人士的发展，我们制定了《社会服务技能框架》。我们还与相关专业协会和机构合作，监督不同专业所需的标准、资格和培训。通过共同努力，我们将建设一个更加强大的社会服务部门。
我们的生态系统还有另一个重要群体：我们的义工。去年，我们庆祝了与社会服务合作伙伴的合作关系。今年，我们将以这些合作伙伴关系为基础，将 2024 年定为“欢庆义工年”。任何人、每个人都可以成为义工。义工是那些为支持他人而慷慨地奉献自己的时间、才能和财富的人。
首先，我们的义工慷慨地奉献自己的时间。我们“义工关爱网络”组织的个人身上身上看到了这一点。他们与家庭与社会服务部合作开展提升版社区联系站（ComLink+）等计划。苏姗小姐就是这样一位义工。自 2022年10月以来，她一直与玛琳娜女士和她的儿子保持着良好的关系。
任何一位家长都知道，升入小学是一件令人兴奋但紧张的事情。当玛琳娜女士因经济状况而难以为儿子购买小学一年级所需的学习用品时，苏姗指导他们申请了教育部经济援助计划。她的儿子带着所需的所有课本和校服开始了他的小学生活。
如今，苏珊继续倾听这个家庭的心声，并帮助他们满足自己的需求。例如，当发现玛琳娜女士的儿子需要配眼镜时，苏珊和家庭导师向他们解释了尽快配眼镜的重要性。苏珊找到社区支持，使眼镜价格更加低廉，后来还陪同他们一起去配了一副眼镜。我们感谢像苏珊这样的义工的奉献和合作。
其次，我们的义工慷慨解囊，贡献自己的才能和技能。例如，新能源集团（SP Group)的员工经常参加社会服务机构的义工活动。其中一些是经验丰富的义工，熟悉弱势家庭所面临的挑战，因此他们贡献自己的真知灼见并与社会服务机构共同制定计划。其他人则利用自身的专业领域做出贡献。
郑欣慈（音译，下同） 女士和她的工程师同事开设课程，教弱势家庭的孩子如何制作太阳能玩具车。孩子们不仅学到了太阳能知识，还受到了这些“大哥哥大姐姐”的启发。欣慈也是新能源集团爱心项目（SP Heart Workers)委员会的成员，该委员会负责领导新能源集团全年的志愿服务活动。当拥有不同技能的个人站出来时，家庭就会从所提供的机会和支持中受益。
最后，许多人慷慨解囊。他们以不同方式贡献自己的资源。一种方式是向公益金 (Community Chest 或者 ComChest) 捐款，用于为弱势群体提供支持服务。我将谈论公益金（ComChest）的两项举措——分享计划（SHARE）和消费为公益补贴计划（Change for Charity）。
“分享计划”（SHARE）告诉我们，持续的捐赠，即使很少，也可以随着时间的推移，积少成多，并会产生有意义的影响。许多捐助者每个月都会向“分享计划”捐赠几新币。这些个人捐款加在一起，平均每年达1600万新币。通过“分享计划”，我们还看到关爱行为往往是从年轻时开始的。今年是我们的标志性吉祥物“Sharity”诞生40周年，它将继续向学校学生灌输关爱和分享的价值观。
杰拉尔德.罗德里格斯（Gerald Rodrigues）先生是“分享计划”的首批捐赠者之一，曾是一名警官。在与低收入家庭的互动中，他对这些家庭所面临的困境感同身受，从而激发了帮助低收入家庭的愿望。杰拉尔德开始通过每月的工资捐款资助这些家庭，39年过去了，他仍然通过“分享计划”定期捐款。像杰拉尔德这样的捐助者激励我们去关爱他人。为了鼓励更多的人奉献爱心，政府将继续为公益金“分享计划”的增量捐款提供配捐资助。我们还将持续配捐两年，直到2025财年。
最近，我们推出了“消费为公益补贴计划”（Change for Charity)，通过全社会的努力来扩大捐赠。城市发展有限公司 (CDL) 是实施“消费为公益补贴计划”的企业之一。千禧酒店集团（Millennium Hotels and Resorts）是CDL的子公司，在新加坡有六家酒店，他们为客户捐款提供了便利。
陈安迪(Andy Tan，音译)先生带领他的团队集思广益，在商业模式中融入捐赠机制，并推动实施。他们在办理入住手续的前台以及餐厅放置捐赠箱，让顾客更方便地捐赠。顾客还可以在结账或兑换会员奖励积分时捐赠。以顾客的消费和捐赠为起点，酒店为每位自助晚餐消费者配捐1新币，从而将捐赠金额成倍增加。政府还通过为顾客的每1新币捐赠提供0.5新币的配捐，以及为企业给顾客的每1新币配捐提供0.5新币的配捐，进一步使捐赠资金成倍增长。我们将把这种配捐政策延长至2027财年。
我们希望通过这种方式产生倍增效应，扩大社会捐赠。主席先生，我们正在加强与新加坡人生命各个阶段的联系，鼓励他们为社会贡献自己的时间、才能和财富。针对杨涴淩（Yeo Wan Ling）女士、蔡长春（Keith Chua）先生和黄玲玲（Ng Ling Ling）女士提出的问题，我们将以上述方式激励整个社会，从年轻到年长，从这一代人到下一代人。我们将继续与我们的合作伙伴（从企业到社会服务机构）合作，号召更多人为此做出贡献。企业对在企业社会责任工作中更具战略性表现出越来越大的兴趣。我们在制定可持续慈善框架方面取得了进展，以指导他们制定基准并阐明其社会影响。国家福利理事会一直在与各行各业的领导者合作，以更好地制定该框架。
本月，我们将扩大影响范围，与更广泛的商界进行磋商。我们还将加强社会服务机构（SSA）义工管理人员的能力。义工管理者可以从国家福利理事会（NCSS）义工资源中心获取资源，指导他们利用义工的创造力和专业知识来解决社会问题，并更好地吸引和留住义工。我们共同努力，为更多人创造奉献机会，建设一个互相关爱的社会。
主席，请允许我继续用马来语发言。
（马来语):主席家庭是我们社会的基础。政府将继续加强对家庭的支持，让家庭在人生的每个阶段都能茁壮成长。为配合ForwardSG计划，政府将通过ComLink+计划，加强对低收入家庭的支持，重点关注社会赋权。
义工在帮助有需要的家庭方面发挥着关键作用。他们的贡献令我感到振奋。例如，在”DIAN@M³项目 “中，志愿者们已经帮助了250个马来ComLink+家庭。他们与这些家庭建立了信任。这些义工还定期与他们联系，并通过将他们与现有的支持计划联系起来，解决他们的燃眉之急。
今后，义工将继续与 ComLink+ 官员密切合作，为 ComLink+ 家庭提供更全面的支持。我相信，在义工的帮助下，我们将努力帮助这些家庭实现稳定、自立和社会流动性。
(英语）：主席，让我们发扬 “前进新加坡 “（Forvard SG)的精神，共同努力，为所有家庭建设一个充满关爱和包容的社会，一个更加光明和美好的新加坡。
以下是英文质询内容：
The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their suggestions. As a country, we have been able to weather storms and emerge stronger because we have strong families and a strong social compact. Forward SG reaffirmed that Singaporeans continue to value the importance of the family. There was also strong consensus to be a society where all families have the opportunity to succeed.
I will touch on three key approaches to achieve this mission. First, working together to support families through every stage of life, strengthening marriages, supporting parents from their children’s early years and caring for our seniors. Second, we will move beyond assistance to empowering families in need. We have started this through ComLink+ and will go further to uplift children from lower-income families. Third, the Government will come alongside the social service sector, corporates and Singaporeans to strengthen families, uplift those in need and reinforce their efforts to ensure sustained impact. We invite more to volunteer and contribute their time, their talent and their treasures. Together, we will build a caring and inclusive society and sustain social mobility in Singapore.
Let me elaborate. Today, couples are staying together longer and recent cohorts show a lower proportion of marriages dissolving before the 10th anniversary. I am heartened that more couples recognise the importance of continuing to invest in their marriage. They proactively look for marriage and parenting resources rather than seeking help only when the relationship is on the rocks.
We affirm society’s commitment to families and will continue to strengthen families, our anchor in years to come. We do this by supporting families throughout their lives. As I shared in the Ministry of Health (MOH) Committee of Supply, we are enhancing support for couples in their journey through pregnancy and parenthood.
The early years of our children are critical and for new parents, possibly the most challenging time too. Over the years, parents have greater access to affordable and quality preschools. We will continue to enhance these efforts. We are also helping working parents balance work responsibilities and infant caregiving. The Government is tackling this in several ways, which Minister of State Sun Xueling will elaborate on.
We recently enhanced the Government-Paid Paternity Leave. We encourage eligible fathers to use the paternity leave and work is in progress to allow more fathers to benefit from the additional two weeks of leave. But we do not stop at the early years. We are making programmes and resources even more accessible to support the range of family relationships.
The Families for Life (FFL) movement, led by the FFL Council, brings together various partners to offer marriage and parenting programmes in the community. Currently in nine towns, I am pleased to share that this will be expanded to 18 towns by the end of this year. We have also recently partnered Anchor Operators to offer FFL parenting programmes to parents of preschoolers in their neighbourhoods. Ms Ng Ling Ling will be happy to note that the Council will roll out more parenting resources to better support families with teenagers.
We have also launched a new self-help tool, Our Marriage Journey Quiz, last month, to help couples assess their relationship well-being akin to physical health checks.
Mr Melvin Yong and Ms Ng Ling Ling referred to the collective effort by everyone in society to build a Singapore Made for Families. I agree. That is why the Council is also looking to work with employers, who play a crucial role in fostering a family-friendly environment, to offer marriage and parenting resources or talks at their workplaces. Community partners and volunteers are equally critical in supporting our mission to build strong families.
It is wonderful to see the FFL movement growing steadily. Last year, over 150 corporate and community partners, such as CapitaLand Malls and Singapore Heart Foundation, alongside 400 volunteers, came together to support the National Family Week.
We will continue to grow this movement. From this year, the FFL Council will expand the event to a month-long National Family Festival. I encourage all families to make use of the FFL resources and participate in the National Family Festival, which will start from 25 May, when the school holidays begin. We look forward, too, to collaborating with more partners to offer families an engaging experience.
With the effort of many, we build a Singapore Made for Families.
Mr Melvin Yong asked how we can foster a society where no one is left behind. Our goal is for every Singaporean family to be a strong and stable family. This includes lower-income families.
Lower-income families often face additional challenges, as Ms Denise Phua observed. Social assistance alone may not be enough. For example, families may have to stretch their limited finances to meet different needs while also balancing their work, caregiving and rest. This can lead to “bandwidth tax”, where families are focused on the day-to-day and not be able to plan for the long-term. Beyond providing social assistance, we want to partner families as they work towards their aspirations and reinforce their strengths to build better lives for themselves and their children. In other words, we want to move beyond assistance to empowerment.
That is why we introduced ComLink+ as part of ForwardSG. ComLink+ families now have a dedicated family coach who coaches, motivates and journeys with them as they work towards their longer-term goals. Ms Denise Phua will be pleased to hear that of the approximately 10,000 ComLink+ families that have agreed to work with us, 97% are receiving family coach support as at end-2023. This includes families supported by Family Service Centres (FSCs), whose case workers perform the family coach function.
As families take active steps towards their goals, they can receive financial top-ups from ComLink+ Progress Packages to multiply the impact of their efforts and help them better focus on achieving their goals. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua will elaborate.
These enhancements to ComLink+ and partnerships with FSCs show how we place family-centricity at the heart of everything we do. As Mr Melvin Yong observed, besides lower-income families, FSCs also serve other families. Like GP clinics providing healthcare in the community, FSCs are community-based agencies that provide casework expertise to support families with social and emotional needs. For over 30 years, FSCs have evolved their practice to serve changing needs of clients to help them achieve the “3Ses” – Self-reliance, Stability and Social mobility.
Today, the landscape of family services has grown and FSCs work alongside many other agencies to support families. A family with complex needs, apart from receiving support from an FSC, may also receive support from other social service agencies (SSAs) for domestic violence, family counselling or youth programmes for their children. While SSAs put in effort to coordinate with one another, the family may still find it tedious to interface with multiple partners. Another concern is that we may not always be addressing the underlying issues, as each partner is focused on tackling the issue at hand.
In the next decade, we will also face more demographic challenges. We will become a super-aged society and household structures may change.
But as our society changes, there are opportunities for us to adapt to meet the emerging needs and support families in an even more coordinated manner. Our vision is for families in need to receive support through a single primary touchpoint for family services, who can address the needs of different family members in a holistic and more coordinated manner to achieve better outcomes for the entire family.
I am pleased to announce that MSF will be establishing a review committee on the Family Services Landscape. In line with the spirit of Forward SG, we will engage and co-create the future landscape with the sector. The committee will be chaired by Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua and will comprise representatives from sector partners. We will share more details when ready.
Mr Chairman, we have been concerted in our efforts to support lower-income families towards achieving social mobility. A key aspect of our strategy to sustain social mobility in Singapore is to uplift children and for all children to have a good start in life regardless of their background.
While preschool enrolment rates of children from lower-income families have increased, these remain lower than the national average. About eight in 10 children aged three to four from lower-income families are enrolled in preschool, compared to the national average of nine in 10. This could be due to a variety of factors. Parents may have concerns about being able to afford preschool fees, be less aware of the benefits of preschool, or may have to juggle work and family commitments with fewer resources. We will be rolling out several measures to help children from lower-income families reap the benefits of our investments in the early years.
First, we will provide greater assurance to lower-income families that they can afford to send their children to preschool. All families on ComCare assistance or residing in public rental flats already automatically qualify for maximum childcare subsidies. As Deputy Prime Minister Wong announced in the Budget speech, we will extend similar support to more lower-income families. All lower-income families with a monthly household income of $6,000 and below will qualify for the maximum amount of childcare subsidies for their income tier. Up to 17,000 additional children stand to benefit when we introduce this move from the fourth quarter of 2024.
Second, we will expand proactive outreach to all lower-income families from the third quarter of 2024 to encourage them to enrol their children in preschools. Preschool outreach workers and ComLink+ family coaches will work with parents to help them understand the importance of preschool and to enrol their child in a suitable preschool. As part of the ComLink+ Packages, ComLink+ families can benefit from financial top-ups when they enrol their children early and send them to preschool regularly.
Third, we will support families in maximising the benefits of quality preschool education. We recognise that children from lower-income families may require more support even after they enrol in preschools. On average, among children who are enrolled in Anchor Operator preschools, children from lower-income families have a monthly attendance rate of about 72%, lower than the 79% attendance rate of their middle-income peers. Their families may also have less resources to support their learning at home.
From the second quarter of this year, we will provide more resources to selected Anchor Operator preschools to equip them in providing effective and timely support to the children under their care. Anchor Operators will co-fund this targeted support and use the additional resources to support the children, such as providing dedicated small group learning lessons and addressing the challenges that families face in sending their children to preschool regularly. As Minister Maliki shared, MOE will also similarly strengthen initiatives in MOE Kindergartens to support children from lower-income families.
Taken together, these measures will help address the challenges that lower-income families face and enable their children to learn, play and develop holistically alongside their peers.
Even as we step up these efforts, we cannot overlook the importance of the home environment and parents’ role in shaping their children’s development. This is why KidSTART, which has supported more than 8,500 children to date, focuses on equipping parents with the knowledge and skills to nurture their children. In partnership with the FFL Council, we will increase the accessibility of parenting resources for lower-income families.
In this way, the efforts of parents and preschool educators complement each other and lay a strong foundation for the children to flourish.
Our efforts to strengthen families are made possible by a strong social service ecosystem. This comprises a group of deeply committed partners, professionals and volunteers. The different groups of partners, our SSAs, academics and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and corporates, come together to support those in need.
To meet the evolving needs of our society, the social service sector needs 2,000 more professionals over the next five years. Mr Keith Chua asked about our plans to attract, recruit and retain professionals. The Government and partners, including SSAs, must work together to make the social service sector a career of choice.
One key aspect is to ensure that the salaries in the sector are commensurate with the hard work and skillsets of our professionals. Last year, we reviewed the Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines to ensure salaries are competitive with comparable roles in competing markets. MSF and National Council of Social Service (NCSS) also adjusted funding to ensure professionals supporting our funded programmes can be paid within the guidelines. Currently, around 80% of employees in the sector are paid within the salary guidelines. We expect our funded providers to adhere to and pay employees within the guidelines over the next three years. We will work closely with SSAs that require additional support, including providing targeted consultancy support.
The social service sector is a people-oriented sector. All the more, we need to care for our people, so that they can better care for our beneficiaries. Apart from a range of NCSS’ resources on self-care and wellness that our professionals can access, the SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce also promotes emotional and mental wellness at work through the Joy@Social Services movement.
MSF and NCSS will continue creating pathways for more to enter the sector and progress in their career. For instance, we are working with IHLs to engage students. We are also attracting mid-career entrants through the Career Conversion Programmes and these professionals can benefit from the new SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme announced by Deputy Prime Minister Wong in the Budget Statement. Together with SSAs, we are improving the value proposition of roles through job redesign, strengthening their organisational capabilities and working on talent retention measures. To support the development of our professionals, we have the Skills Framework for Social Service. We are also working with relevant professional associations and providers to monitor the standards, qualification and training required for the different professions. Together, we will build a stronger social service sector.
Our ecosystem is made of another important group of people: our volunteers. Last year, we celebrated the partnerships with our social service partners. This year, we build on these partnerships and have dedicated 2024 as the Year of Celebrating Volunteers. Anyone, and everyone, can be a volunteer. Volunteers are people who give generously their time, talent and treasures to support others.
First, our volunteers give generously their time. We see these in the individuals that make up our MSFCare Network. They work with MSF in initiatives, such as ComLink+. Miss Susan Lim is one such volunteer. Since October 2022, she has been befriending Mdm Marlina and her son.
And as any parent would know, the transition into primary school is an exciting but hectic one. When Mdm Marlina had difficulty buying school materials needed for her son at Primary 1 due to her financial situation, Susan guided them through the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme application. Her son managed to start primary school with all his books and school uniform needed.
Today, Susan continues offering the family a listening ear and assisting them in meeting their needs. For instance, Susan and the family coach explained the importance of getting Mdm Marlina’s son glasses as soon as possible when he was found to need them. Susan found community support to make the glasses more affordable and later accompanied them to make a pair. We thank volunteers like Susan for their dedication and partnership.
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Second, our volunteers give generously, by contributing their talent and skills. For example, employees of SP Group regularly volunteer with SSAs. Some are seasoned volunteers who are familiar with the challenges faced by vulnerable families, so they contribute their insights and co-curate programmes with SSAs. Others tap on their own areas of expertise to contribute.
Ms Tay Xin Ci and her engineer colleagues run classes to teach children from vulnerable families how to build solar powered toy cars. The children learn not only about solar power but are inspired by these “big brothers and sisters”. Xin Ci is also part of the SP Heart Workers committee, which spearheads volunteering activities for SP Group throughout the year. When individuals with different skills come forward, families benefit from the opportunities and range of support offered.
Third, many give generously their treasures. They contribute their resources and give in different ways. One way is through donations to the Community Chest, or ComChest, which go towards supporting services for vulnerable groups. I will talk about two ComChest initiatives – SHARE and Change for Charity.
SHARE reminds us that sustained giving, even in small amounts, can add up and lead to meaningful impact over time. Many donors put in a few dollars to SHARE each month. Collectively, these individual donations amass an average of $16 million per year. Through SHARE, we also see how acts of caring often start from young. This year is the 40th Anniversary of our iconic mascot, Sharity, who will continue engaging students in schools to inculcate the values of caring and sharing.
Mr Gerald Rodrigues is part of the pioneer batch of donors on SHARE and a former Police officer. His interactions with lower-income families ignited a desire to help those with less, as he empathised with the hardships they faced. Gerald started donating through his monthly payroll. It has been 39 years. And he continues to donate regularly through SHARE. Donors like Gerald inspire us to care for others. To encourage more to give, the Government will continue to match new and incremental donations to SHARE. We will do so for another two years till Financial Year 2025.
More recently, we introduced Change for Charity to amplify giving through a whole-of-society effort. City Developments Limited (CDL) is one of the businesses that has implemented Change for Charity. At Millennium Hotels and Resorts, a subsidiary group of CDL with six hotels in Singapore, they make it convenient for customers to donate.
Mr Andy Tan led his team in brainstorming ideas to weave giving mechanisms in their business model and pushing for the implementation. They place donation boxes at the check-in counters and F&B outlets, to make giving more accessible to their customers. Customers can also donate when they are paying their bills or by redeeming membership reward points. With the customers’ spending and contributions as the starting point, the amount is multiplied as the hotel donates a dollar for every dinner buffet cover. The Government further multiplies the contributions by matching 50 cents to every dollar donated by customers, and another 50 cents to every dollar if businesses match their customer’s donation. We will extend this matching till Financial Year 2027.
Through this, we hope to create a multiplier effect that amplifies giving in our society. Mr Chairman, we are strengthening touchpoints with Singaporeans at every stage of their lives to encourage them to contribute to the society – their time, talent, their treasure. To the questions raised by Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Keith Chua and Ms Ng Ling Ling – this is how we will galvanise the community, from young to old, from one generation to the next. We will continue to work with our partners, from corporates to SSAs, to rally more to contribute. Corporates have shown growing interest in being more strategic in their corporate social responsibility effort. We are making progress in developing the Sustainable Philanthropy Framework to guide them in benchmarking and articulating their social impact. The National Council for Social Service (NCSS) has been engaging leaders across diverse sectors to better shape the framework.
This month, we will be extending our reach by holding consultations with the wider business community. We are also enhancing the capabilities of volunteer managers in SSAs. Volunteer managers can access resources from the NCSS Volunteer Resource Hub to guide them in tapping the creativity and expertise of volunteers to address social issues and to better attract and retain them. Together, we create opportunities for more to give and build a society that cares for one another.
Chairman, allow me to continue in Malay.
(In Malay): Chairman, families are the foundation of our society. The Government will continue strengthening our support to enable families to grow and thrive through every stage of life. In line with ForwardSG plans, the Government will strengthen support for lower-income families by focusing on social empowerment through the ComLink+.
Volunteers play a pivotal role in uplifting families in need. I am heartened by their contribution. For instance, under Project DIAN@M³, volunteers have assisted 250 Malay ComLink+ families. They build trust with these families. These volunteers also check in with them regularly and address immediate concerns by connecting them to available support schemes.
Moving forward, volunteers will continue to work closely with ComLink+ officers to provide more comprehensive support for ComLink+ families. I am confident that with the help of volunteers, we will work towards helping these families to achieve stability, self-reliance and social mobility.
(In English): Chairperson, carrying forth the spirit of Forward SG, let us work together to build a caring and inclusive society, a brighter and better Singapore for all families.
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