Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years with regard to funding provided to family service centres, what is the amount and percentage of funds respectively allocated to (i) casework (ii) group work and (iii) community work.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Family Service Centres (FSCs) serve low-income and vulnerable individuals and families who need help addressing their social needs. The FSCs’ services are funded almost entirely by MSF, Tote Board and the Community Chest.

Each FSC receives funding for case-work based on the actual number and complexity of cases. Additional funding is provided for headcount to conduct group work and community work. Each FSC may internally re-allocate funding across its casework, group work and community work, according to its assessment of needs. We do not have readily available data on how individual FSCs allocate resources across their casework, group work and community work.

For community work, FSCs are also encouraged to leverage the SG Cares Community Network which brings together community and government agencies in identifying and meeting local community needs, and providing comprehensive, convenient and coordinated help to persons who need help.

In the past five years, the total amount of funding disbursed to FSCs has increased steadily from $84.3 million in 2016, to $114.7 million in 2020, details in Table 1 below. This is due to factors such as an increase in cases handled by the FSCs, an increase in the number of FSCs and also an increase in funding norms. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the average social worker to caseload ratio at family service centres; and (b) what is the optimal social worker to caseload ratio based on the Ministry’s studies.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Family Service Centres (FSCs) serve low-income and vulnerable individuals and families who need help addressing their social needs.

The average social worker to caseload ratio over the past five years was 1:20 in FY20¹, 1:19 in FY19, 1:25 in FY18, 1:23 in FY17 and 1:22 in FY16.   

There is no single optimal social worker to case load ratio, as the cases managed by FSCs vary in complexity and intensity of effort required. FSCs are funded based on their caseloads, with more funding provided for clients with more complex and higher risks or needs. This enables FSCs to have the resources and flexibility to hire more staff when needed. 

Note(s) to Question No(s) 25: ¹ Based on available staff data for April – September 2020 (the first half of FY2020).  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Average and Median Number of Hours per Month Each Social Worker is Required to Spend on a Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 Case

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the average and median numbers of hours per month a social worker is required to spend on (i) a group 2 case (ii) a group 3 case and (iii) a group 4 case; and (b) if this data is not currently being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting this data.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social workers in Family Service Centres (FSCs) partner individuals and families to address their social needs. FSCs refer to the FSC-Code of Social Work Practice (FSC-CSWP) to classify each case into one of four case groups based on its assessed risk and complexity. Cases with higher risks and complexity of needs are assigned higher CSWP groupings and receive more funding.

MSF does not prescribe the number of hours that FSCs are required to work on cases in each FSC-CSWP group. The nature of cases may vary even within the same FSC-CSWP group. The experience level of social workers also varies, leading to differing time needed to handle cases. Based on the survey of FSCs’ workload data conducted in September 2020, FSC social workers spent between three hours and five hours per case per month, with more time spent on cases in higher CSWP groupings. Ultimately, the FSCs have the autonomy to decide on how to distribute cases among their social workers.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Turnover and Retention of Social Workers

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is studying the turnover rates of social workers; and (b) what are the plans to increase the retention of social workers and reduce the burnout rate.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) are committed to developing and strengthening a strong core of professionals in the social service sector and have various initiatives in place to support and retain our social workers. The overall annual resignation rate of social workers is 17% (as at March 2019), down from 20% in 2015.

Social Service Agencies (SSAs) play an important role in supporting and retaining their staff. MSF and NCSS work closely with SSAs to strengthen their Human Resource (HR) practices and policies1, in areas such as Recruitment and Selection, Compensation and Benefits, Performance Management and Career Development.

MSF and NCSS also publish sector salary guidelines that provide a reference for SSAs to keep pace with competing markets and general wage movements. SSAs are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines to reward and retain good staff.

In-sector social workers can apply for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme supported by NCSS and the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Sabbatical Leave Scheme provides seasoned social service professionals, including social workers, with paid leave and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship, to recharge themselves and develop their professional competencies.

MSF also works closely with the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) to support social workers in various ways, for example, through recognising their contributions at the annual Social Work Day and Outstanding and Promising Social Worker Awards.

MSF and NCSS will continue to work with our tripartite partners in the social service sector, through the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce (STT), to support the development and retention of our social workers. Key initiatives that the STT have worked on include expanding more support to social workers through SASW’s Supervision Service, facilitating associate professionals in taking on some social work tasks to address issues of high workload contributing to professional attrition and burn-out.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 62: ¹ Approximately 100 SSAs are participating in the People Practice Consultancy (PPC), an initiative that has been ongoing since 2016.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Degrees and Diplomas in Social Work Awarded by NUS and SUSS in Each of Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, broken down by the degrees awarded, how many students respectively applied for, were accepted into, were enrolled in or graduated with (i) an NUS undergraduate major in Social Work (ii) an NUS graduate diploma in Social Work (iii) an SUSS undergraduate degree in Social Work or (iv) an SUSS graduate diploma in social work; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): Between 2016 and 2020, around 100 undergraduate students in NUS declared and graduated with a Major in Social Work each year. SUSS launched its full-time undergraduate degree programme in Social Work in 2016 with an intake of 52, which has increased to over 80 in recent years. The first cohort graduated in 2020.

Besides full-time undergraduate degrees, CET programmes such as part-time undergraduate degrees, graduate diplomas, and master’s by coursework programmes from NUS and SUSS also contribute to the pipeline of social workers. The number of graduates from such programmes is around 300 a year since AY2017.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, among social workers at Family Service Centres whose duties do not include supervising other social workers, what are the average 25th percentile, 50th percentile and 75th percentile numbers of cases per social worker; and (b) what is the rationale for changing the Family Service Centre (FSC) funding system from a tiered system to one based on the exact number of cases handled by each FSC.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social workers in Family Service Centres (FSCs) partner individuals and families to address their social needs. In the past five years (FY2016 to FY2020), the FSCs served an average of 350 clients each per year, with an average of 22 cases per social worker. Caseloads vary across FSCs, depending on factors such as the profile of the community served and the manpower situation in each FSC.

MSF does not have readily available data on the number of cases managed by each social worker with or without supervisory duties. The FSCs have autonomy on how they distribute cases. MSF maintains a close watch over the total caseload and overall manpower situation of the FSCs on an ongoing basis. The Ministry engages FSCs regularly to understand their situations and challenges, especially those with higher caseloads or higher staff turnover, and works with them on possible solutions such as hiring more social workers and attending to staff development. 

MSF provides funding to the FSCs based on their caseloads. Before FY2018, MSF funding was disbursed in blocks and did not take into account the risks and complexity of each case. Since FY2018, to better tailor funding to the resourcing needs of the FSCs, MSF funds FSCs based on the actual number of cases managed, with higher funding given to cases with higher risks and complexity. This revised funding approach more precisely meets the resourcing needs of the FSCs. Based on the resourcing provided, the FSCs have the flexibility to hire staff to match their case mix and client risk profile. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Shortage or Surplus of Social Workers

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there is a current shortage or surplus of social workers; and (b) if there is a shortage, what are the plans to address this shortage.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): In the past five years, the number of social workers has grown with the launch of Singapore University of Social Sciences’ Bachelor in Social Work programme in 2016. This augments the pipeline of graduates from the National University of Singapore, Bachelor of Arts in Social Work programme. Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes in the form of part-time undergraduate degrees, graduate diplomas and master’s by coursework programmes also contribute to the pipeline of social workers.

MSF and National Council of Social Service (NCSS) also support mid-career professionals who are interested to join the sector as a social worker through the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). The PCP enables mid-career professionals to undergo skills conversion and move into new job roles as social workers.

As of end-2020, there were 2,100 registered social workers¹. We expect the supply of social workers to be sufficient to meet the increase in demand in the coming years.

The demand for social services is expected to grow with demographic changes and the growing complexity of needs. MSF and NCSS will continue to work with MOE to plan the pipeline of graduates from the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) with social work qualifications. We will also continue to work with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to ensure the attractiveness of jobs in the sector, through measures such as improving SSAs’ human resource competencies and promoting the Sector Salary Guidelines that provide a reference for SSAs to offer competitive remuneration packages.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 30: ¹ The figure includes all registered social workers (for example, in the social service, healthcare sector and so on.) and does not capture social workers who are not registered with the Social Work Accreditation and Advisory Board.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Sufficiency of Places in Social Work Undergraduate Degree and Continuing Education and Training Programmes

Louis asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry is considering increasing the number of places for full-time undergraduate degrees and Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes (such as part-time undergraduate degrees, graduate diplomas and master’s by coursework programmes) in social work so as to increase the supply of social workers; (b) if so, when will the increase likely take place and by how many places; and (c) if not, why not.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (MOE): MOE and the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) work closely with economic and sector agencies to distribute the supply of Pre-Employment Training (PET) full-time undergraduate degrees across disciplines. This takes into account industry demand, employment outcomes, as well as student interest. For Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes (such as part-time undergraduate degrees, graduate diplomas and Master's by course work programmes), institutions also take into consideration industry demand for the CET programmes, when they plan for capacity.

Over the past five years, the number of graduates in social work from PET and CET programmes has increased by about 50%. MSF's assessment is that the supply of social workers is expected to be sufficient to meet the increase in demand in the coming years. There are currently no plans to further increase the number of degree and training places in social work and we will continue to monitor the situation. We will continue to work with MSF to monitor and review the number of degree and training places in social work in order to sustain workforce needs.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Fresh Graduate Social Workers Remaining in Sector for Each Year in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the average and median number of years a fresh graduate social worker remains in employment as a social worker without any change in profession; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): MSF is committed to building a strong core of professionals in the social service sector. We collect data, such as information on accreditation of social workers and staff turnover in the sector, that help our Ministry to plan for manpower needs for the sector. However, we do not collect data on the retention of fresh graduate social workers in social work professions over time. 

Social workers are employed in a range of settings from the social service sector to the healthcare and education sectors where the profession is able to be part of the multi-disciplinary system. A change in profession may occur for a variety of reasons and there is also re-entry into the sectors, for example, when their family commitments are lessened. Given that social workers work in a diverse range of organisations, it would not be practical to track changes in employment for all individuals with social work qualifications and such data is insufficient to determine whether there are retention issues without the context of qualitative feedback.

Nevertheless, we recognise that retention efforts are key. We continue to work closely with Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to understand their manpower needs and collect feedback from social service professionals, including on whether there are retention issues and the reasons why social workers may decide to leave the profession. This will enable us to better work with the sector on development and retention efforts and ensure that social workers are adequately supported in their professional journey.

To support fresh social work graduates entering the social service sector, the Social Service Institute (SSI) offers onboarding programmes that equip new social workers with foundational knowledge of various social work settings. These courses aim to deepen their understanding of the social service sector and facilitate networking with experienced social workers and peers. MSF also supports the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) in providing clinical supervision and mentoring to less experienced social workers. Additionally, MSF partners SSAs to promote self-care and retention for social workers. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Number and Percentage of Social Workers Who Applied for Sabbatical Leave Scheme in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of social workers who have applied for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): The Sabbatical Leave Scheme (SLS) is one of several initiatives that MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) have put in place to support in-sector social service professionals. 

The SLS is available to social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, psychologists, counsellors and teachers in the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) with at least five years of direct work experience in their respective professional fields in the sector. It offers up to $45,000 in support, comprising up to 10 weeks of paid leave for seasoned professionals to recharge themselves and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship to refresh their professional competencies.

From April 2016 to March 2021, 136 social service professionals have benefited from the SLS, of which around 80% were social workers. The breakdown of SLS awardees per annum is in Table 1. As at 31 December 2020, there were 1,622 social workers registered with the Social Work Accreditation and Advisory Board.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Average and Median Starting Salaries for Social Workers

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what are the average and median starting salaries of a social worker; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to recommend higher salaries for social workers.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Mdm Speaker, based on MSF's Manpower and Salary Survey which collected salary data of employees in the Social Service Agencies (SSAs) in 2015, 2017 and 2019, the monthly mean salary of entry-level social workers increased from $3,500 in 2015 and 2017, to $3,600 in 2019, while their monthly median salary increased from $3,400 in 2015 and 2017, to $3,600 in 2019. The figures are comparable with the salaries for all fresh graduates, including those without a Social Work Degree, in those years, based on the Graduate Employment Survey (GES) conducted by the Autonomous Universities.

MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) are committed in guiding the sector to pay competitive salaries for all social service professionals, including social workers. NCSS publishes sector salary guidelines for a range of professions in the social service sector. The guidelines are updated annually to keep pace with competing market and general wage movements. The majority of SSAs adopt the guidelines and we strongly encourage SSAs to adhere to these guidelines to reward and retain good staff.

Louis: Madam, I thank the Minister for the reply, but could I ask the second part of the Parliamentary Question (PQ), which is whether MSF will be proposing increases to the salaries of social workers in the next financial year? And second, I am sure they are not in it for the money, but I think a good salary would help in terms of retaining social workers where I think there is a problem. So, could I ask MSF what else it is doing to retain social workers?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: As I mentioned to the Member and the Members of this House, the guidelines are updated annually to keep pace with a competing market, so it is not just about the competition between SSAs, but also competition for qualified staff that will move out of the sector to other sectors too.

Therefore, we want to make sure that it is at the level, which is commensurate with the skills and the market competition that these graduates or social workers can face. I think we should not get ahead of ourselves, we should not intervene with market forces, unless it is drastically bad for our social workers. Even when we do, we must know when to go out and not intervene all the time.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Review of Funding Criteria for Cases Handled by Family Service Centres

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the criteria for a case handled by a Family Service Centre (FSC) to be considered as an active case and eligible for funding from the Ministry; and (b) whether the Ministry is reviewing these criteria.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Family Service Centres (FSCs) serve individuals and families who need help addressing their social needs. FSC cases are considered active and eligible for funding when they have registered at least one 20-minute casework session within each quarter. These sessions could take various forms, including home visits, case conferences involving other agencies, and telephone and video conversations with the client or other help agencies.

From April 2021, MSF revised the criteria for ‘active’ cases taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, to also fund cases with case sessions conducted by remote modes of communication such as phone text exchanges and emails. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, how many social workers have left the profession; (b) what are the main reasons for leaving the profession; and (c) if this information not currently available, whether the Ministry will start tracking this information.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social workers are employed in a range of settings from the social service sector to the healthcare and education sectors. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) does not currently track changes in employment for all social workers, given that social workers work in a diverse range of organisations and it would be challenging to do so.

We do, however, track the key reasons based on Social Service Agencies’ (SSAs) declarations for staff resignations and turnover, i.e. changes in employment or employer. For social service sector employees in general, the top reasons declared for resignation based on MSF’s Manpower and Salary Survey in 2019 included: (a) other opportunities for their career growth; (b) family and caregiving reasons; and (c) issues with job fit. 

We recognise that retention of social workers is a key component of effective social service. On an ongoing basis, MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) work closely with SSAs to understand their manpower needs and work on strategies to improve the retention of their employees, including social workers. In supporting SSAs to develop career progression pathways, MSF, NCSS and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) had launched the Skills Framework for Social Service (SFwSS) in 2019. The SFwSS provides information on the range of jobs and career pathways available in the sector, and employers are encouraged to utilise the framework to improve talent attraction, performance appraisal and retention. 

To boost retention of social workers, the social work sub-team of the SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce (STT), which comprises representatives from community and Government agencies, has looked into continuous professional development of those in the profession, as well as clinical supervision and mentoring by the Singapore Association of Social Workers. At the same time, the STT has also identified self-care as an important factor for reducing attrition among social workers and has therefore partnered practitioners to promote self-care among social workers. In addition, to support fresh social work graduates entering the social service sector, the Social Service Institute (SSI) offers onboarding programmes that equip new social workers with knowledge of various social work settings.

While financial reward may not be the sole motivation for social work professionals, we recognise that other employers in the broader labour market will continue to pay competitively to attract talent and social work professionals need to be adequately compensated for their contributions. This is why we have developed salary guidelines for the sector and strongly encourage SSAs to adopt the guidelines.  

At the broader level, the Social Service Tribe has been key in promoting the branding (including debunking common career myths) of the social service sector. The Tribe initiative will continue to engage SSAs to build their own value proposition to attract and retain manpower. In addition, MSF supports the Singapore Association of Social Workers in organising the annual Outstanding Social Worker and Promising Social Worker Awards ceremony, to recognise the exemplary contributions of social workers. We will continue to work closely with the sector and ensure that social workers are adequately supported in their professional journey.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Social Service Agencies Adopting National Council of Social Services' Salary Guidelines in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what percentage of social service agencies adopt the salary guidelines of the National Council of Social Services; (b) what are the main reasons provided by social service agencies for not adopting the guidelines; and (c) if this information not currently available, whether the Ministry will start tracking this information.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Based on the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) Manpower and Salary Survey (MPSS) of Social Service Agencies (SSAs) conducted in 2015, 2017 and 2019, the proportion of full-time, resident employees¹ with salaries adhering to the recommended starting salaries in the salary guidelines ranged from 87% in 2015, to 76% in 2017 and 79% in 2019. This is amidst increments in the guidelines of approximately 3 to 4% annually, to keep pace with comparable jobs in other sectors and general wage movements. This was also accompanied by increases in monthly median salaries whereby for example, entry-level social workers’ salaries increased from $3,400 in 2015 and 2017 to $3,600 in 2019.

SSAs are reliant on external funding, fund-raising and the generosity of donors to support their operating costs. SSAs have cited the ability to sustain the recurrent cost of salaries as a key consideration in deciding staff salaries. MSF and NCSS will continue to work closely with the sector to strengthen their capacities and capabilities, so that their salaries can be more aligned to the guidelines. 

MSF and NCSS also respect each SSAs’ underlying mission and philosophy in delivering social services. We strongly encourage the sector (including the Boards of SSAs) to adopt the guidelines, so as to be able to recruit and retain competent and dedicated professionals who play an important role in supporting the sector’s work and ensuring that beneficiaries are well-served.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 22: ¹ Different SSAs could have varying proportions of employees with pay meeting the guidelines depending on their own context and circumstances for their remuneration policies.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Data on Average and Median Numbers of Group 2, 3 and 4 Cases Handled by Each Social Worker in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what are the average and median numbers of (i) group 2 cases (ii) group 3 cases and (iii) group 4 cases respectively that are handled by a social worker; and (b) if this information is not currently available, whether the Ministry will start tracking this information.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social workers in Family Service Centres (FSCs) partner individuals and families to address their social needs. FSCs refer to the FSC-Code of Social Work Practice (FSC-CSWP) to classify each case into one of four case groups based on its assessed risk and complexity. Cases with higher risks and complexity of needs are assigned higher CSWP groupings. 

From FY2018 to FY2020, the average and median number of cases in each grouping managed by each FSC social worker is in Table 1 below. We do not have data for the period before FY2018.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Effectiveness of Community Work Definition in Family Service Centre Code of Social Work Practice

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is studying the effectiveness of “community work” as defined in the Family Service Centre Code of Social Work Practice; and (b) whether the Ministry is considering providing more funding to family service centres to do community work.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Family Service Centres (FSCs) partner individuals and families to address their social needs. FSC social workers carry out social work intervention through case work, group work and community work.

 Community work involves FSCs tapping on local community strengths and networks to build the community, promote individual and community’s well-being, as well as support individuals and families in need.

 Community work can range from outreach activities and assessment of community needs and assets, to community projects such as food distribution for low-income families, in collaboration with other agencies and partners. One example is the FSCs’ partnership with the SG Cares Community Network to conduct outreach to public rental households during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

 In view of the diversity of community needs, FSCs have the flexibility to determine the type and nature of community work required based on the needs of their local community. Given the variation of practices, MSF does not currently use a standardised rubric to evaluate the effectiveness of community work.

 That said, MSF convened a workgroup in 2019 comprising social work professionals from the FSCs and academia to develop a FSC-Code of Social Work Practice (CSWP) Community Work practice guide. This guide further elaborates on how to operationalise and evaluate community work within an FSC setting and seeks to document best practices in community work. MSF intends to roll out this practice guide in 2022. After the guide is rolled out, MSF intends to work with FSCs to review the impact and effectiveness of their various community work projects. 

 FSCs are funded for casework, group work and community work, and have the flexibility to internally re-allocate resources amongst these interventions according to their needs. The resourcing required for specific community work projects varies given the diverse nature of the assessed needs and projects. FSCs also tap on community partnerships and resources to deliver community work projects. MSF conducts regular reviews of funding to FSCs to ensure they have the resources they need to carry out their work. Over and above the funded community work services, FSCs have also been able to contribute to areas of community needs through their parent organisations’ services, and cooperation with other community partners and member organisations of the National Council of Social Service. 

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Total Number of Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 Cases Handled by Family Services Centres and Number of Social Workers Employed by the Centres in Past Five Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years (a) what is the total number of (i) group 2 cases (ii) group 3 cases and (iii) group 4 cases that are handled by the Family Service Centres (FSCs) respectively; and (b) what is the total number of social workers employed by the FSCs.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social workers in Family Service Centres (FSCs) partner individuals and families to address their social needs. FSCs refer to the FSC-Code of Social Work Practice (FSC-CSWP) to classify each case into one of four case groups based on its assessed risk and complexity. Cases with higher risks and complexity of needs are assigned higher CSWP groupings. FSCs review the cases regularly and adjust the CSWP classifications accordingly. 

From FY2018 to FY2020, the total number of active cases in each grouping¹ managed by FSCs is in Table 1 below. We do not have data for the period before FY2018.

The total number of social workers handling cases² in FSCs has increased steadily over the past five years, from 658 in FY2016 to 673 in FY2017, 680 in FY2018, 925 in FY2019 and 1,015 in FY2020.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 16:
¹ The number of cases in each CSWP grouping is based on the average of reported figures at the end of each quarter in the FY.  
² The data on the number of FSC caseworkers is based on the average of reported figures at the end of each half-year in the FY and may not account for staff turnover between reporting periods.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will look into ensuring social workers are provided with counselling services similar to the confidential and free counselling service administered by the Law Society of Singapore (LSS) in conjunction with its partner company for members of the LSS.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Member has also filed a question on the availability of compassionate leave for social workers who have encountered particularly stressful events in the course of their casework for a subsequent Sitting. I will address both questions in this reply.

Social Service Agencies (SSAs), including those that run Family Service Centres (FSCs), determine their own staff welfare and leave policies. While MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) do not mandate or monitor the leave policies across SSAs, SSAs generally offer compassionate leave as part of their staff benefits. At the same time, NCSS promulgates best practices related to compensation and staff welfare, as well as offer experts as mentors to Human Resource practitioners in SSAs.

We recognise that the nature of work in the social service sector can take its toll and social service professionals may encounter particularly stressful events in the course of their work. To safeguard their mental well-being and to give them an opportunity to recharge, MSF and NCSS has put in place several initiatives, including the National Care Hotline (NCH) and Sabbatical Leave Scheme (SLS). The NCH provides emotional and psychological support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including professionals working in social services. The SLS is available to individuals with at least five years of direct work experience in their respective professional fields. It offers up to 10 weeks of paid leave so they can recharge themselves, and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship to refresh their professional competencies.

MSF and NCSS have also been engaging SSAs to raise awareness on the importance of organisational support for their employees’ mental well-being and to develop a culture of self-care. We have conferred with social work leaders on balancing staff well-being with maintaining service delivery standards, particularly during this period of high workload and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. SSAs are mindful of the need to support their employees’ mental well-being and have undertaken various initiatives. For example, during the start of Circuit Breaker, AWWA established a care team of social workers and psychologists, for their staff to dial in to and seek support from. The Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) also conducted mindfulness and counselling programmes for their employees, to provide advice, resources and training to improve their mental well-being.

In addition, social service professionals can access self-care and coping strategies, through subsidised courses offered by the Social Service Institute (SSI) under NCSS. NCSS also offers a range of schemes and initiatives that SSAs can tap on to strengthen their Human Resource practices and capabilities. These include the People Practice Consultancy (PPC), Organisation Development Journey (ODJ), and the Transformation Support Scheme (TSS). Apart from these schemes, SSAs can tap various other grants under the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Community Capability Trust (CCT) will open for applications from April 2022 and will build upon our existing efforts to further support SSAs to achieve organisational excellence.

Furthermore, to complement the staff welfare benefits offered by SSAs and to emphasise the importance of well-being of our social service practitioners, NCSS launched the Caring for Social Service Professionals Scheme in May 2021. The scheme provides co-funding of up to 90% (capped at $2,000 per SSA) for SSAs to offer professional counselling services to their staff. To date, 63 SSAs which employ over 12,000 professionals, are on-board the scheme.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Publication of Findings of REACH Survey in 2021 on Social Workers Impacted by COVID-19

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry will be publishing the findings of the REACH survey in 2021 on how social workers have been impacted by COVID-19; (b) if so, when will the findings be published; and (c) what further steps will be taken by the Ministry to consult with social workers after obtaining the survey findings. 

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): REACH conducted a dipstick survey with 547 social workers on how social workers have been impacted by COVID-19. The survey was conducted from 15 October to 26 October 2021 and the findings were subsequently shared with MSF and the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW).

The purpose of these surveys and engagements are to inform MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) in our ongoing efforts to support our social workers, working closely with our Social Service Agencies (SSAs). SSAs play an important role in supporting and retaining their staff and initiatives are in place to support and strengthen their Human Resource (HR) practices and policies1, in areas such as Recruitment and Selection, Compensation and Benefits, Performance Management and Career Development.

The survey reflects sentiments expressed by social workers with regard to their remuneration, amount of workload and issues of inter-agency coordination, which MSF and NCSS have been working together to address.

To support our social workers, MSF and NCSS publish sector salary guidelines and SSAs are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines to reward and retain good staff. Funding to MSF programmes is calibrated to allow SSAs to hire at a reasonable staff to client ratio, and remunerate staff according to the salary guidelines. During COVID-19, the Government provided significant support to SSAs in the form of the Jobs Support Scheme to retain their workforce, and MSF stepped in further to provide more funding where necessary to support SSAs in coping with additional work brought about by COVID-19. We also reviewed if services could be delivered online to facilitate work from home and closely monitored the staffing of MSF-funded programmes, and directed SSAs with shortfall in staff to relevant grants and schemes to meet their transformation and hiring needs. In-sector social workers can also apply for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme supported by NCSS and the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Sabbatical Leave Scheme provides seasoned social service professionals, including social workers, with paid leave and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship, to recharge themselves and develop their professional competencies.

Over the past two years, MSF has been regularly engaging social work leaders on balancing staff well-being with maintaining service delivery standards, particularly during this period of high workload and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. MSF also works closely with SASW to support social workers in various ways, e.g. through recognising their contributions at the annual Social Work Day and Outstanding and Promising Social Worker Awards or promoting best-practices within Social Work supervision via the biennial Social Work Supervision Seminar.

MSF and NCSS will continue to work with our tripartite partners in the social service sector to address feedback from our Social Workers, through the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce (STT). Comprising social workers in SSAs, Hospitals, Community Care Organisations (CCOs), Post-Secondary Institutions (PSEIs), Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and other institutions, the Taskforce will continue to consult social workers to co-create initiatives with them.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Compassionate Leave Offered to Social Workers at Family Service Centres

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is aware if Family Service Centres offer compassionate leave to social workers who have encountered particularly stressful events in the course of their casework; and (b) if so, in each of the past five years, what is the median number of days of compassionate leave taken by social workers.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Social Service Agencies (SSAs), including those that run Family Service Centres (FSCs), determine their own staff welfare and leave policies. While MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) do not mandate or monitor the leave policies across SSAs, SSAs generally offer compassionate leave as part of their staff benefits. At the same time, NCSS promulgates best practices related to compensation and staff welfare, as well as offer experts as mentors to Human Resource practitioners in SSAs.

We recognise that the nature of work in the social service sector can take its toll and social service professionals may encounter particularly stressful events in the course of their work. To safeguard their mental well-being and to give them an opportunity to recharge, MSF and NCSS has put in place several initiatives, including the National Care Hotline (NCH) and Sabbatical Leave Scheme (SLS). The NCH provides emotional and psychological support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including professionals working in social services. The SLS is available to individuals with at least five years of direct work experience in their respective professional fields. It offers up to 10 weeks of paid leave so they can recharge themselves, and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship to refresh their professional competencies.

MSF and NCSS have also been engaging SSAs to raise awareness on the importance of organisational support for their employees’ mental well-being and to develop a culture of self-care. We have conferred with social work leaders on balancing staff well-being with maintaining service delivery standards, particularly during this period of high workload and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. SSAs are mindful of the need to support their employees’ mental well-being and have undertaken various initiatives. For example, during the start of Circuit Breaker, AWWA established a care team of social workers and psychologists, for their staff to dial in to and seek support from. The Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) also conducted mindfulness and counselling programmes for their employees, to provide advice, resources and training to improve their mental well-being.

In addition, social service professionals can access self-care and coping strategies, through subsidised courses offered by the Social Service Institute (SSI) under NCSS. NCSS also offers a range of schemes and initiatives that SSAs can tap on to strengthen their Human Resource practices and capabilities. These include the People Practice Consultancy (PPC), Organisation Development Journey (ODJ), and the Transformation Support Scheme (TSS). Apart from these schemes, SSAs can tap various other grants under the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Community Capability Trust (CCT) will open for applications from April 2022 and will build upon our existing efforts to further support SSAs to achieve organisational excellence.

Furthermore, to complement the staff welfare benefits offered by SSAs and to emphasise the importance of well-being of our social service practitioners, NCSS launched the Caring for Social Service Professionals Scheme in May 2021. The scheme provides co-funding of up to 90% (capped at $2,000 per SSA) for SSAs to offer professional counselling services to their staff. To date, 63 SSAs which employ over 12,000 professionals, are on-board the scheme.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Reasonable Staff-to-client Ratio for Social Service Agencies under Guidelines for MSF-funded Programmes

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the reasonable staff to client ratio for Social Service Agencies (SSAs) under the Ministry’s guidelines for MSF-funded programmes; (b) what happens when SSAs are unable to meet this ratio; and (c) for each year in the past five years, how many SSAs and what percentage of SSAs have been unable to meet this ratio respectively.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) funds about 90 Social Service Agencies (SSAs) to run about 50 different programmes. The staffing models of MSF-funded programmes consider staff-to-client ratios which vary according to the nature of each programme. 

Programmes catering to high-risk client groups, such as vulnerable persons in need of protection, would require a higher staff-to-client ratio. Other considerations include the complexity of client needs, the nature of intervention, such as whether it is a preventive programme requiring group psychoeducation or casework, and the intensity of intervention, such as whether it is a short treatment programme or a long-term maintenance programme. 

For example, Family Service Centres (FSCs) are resourced based on the number of active cases, with higher funding given to cases with higher risks and complexity. FSCs have the flexibility to decide on the number of social workers to hire and how best to distribute cases among their social workers.

As at end-2021, about 15% of the headcount in the recommended staffing models across MSF-funded programmes were not filled by SSAs. The differences between actual hiring and the staffing models would differ across the programmes and the SSA providers for each programme. 

MSF also works closely with SSAs to monitor their staffing and ensure that they are adequately resourced. If SSAs face difficulty hiring, MSF will engage them to understand their hiring challenges and provide support where needed. For example, some SSAs may not have sufficient senior social workers to provide supervision, and can tap on the Singapore Association of Social Workers’ Supervision Service to enable their social workers who have yet to attain the requisite 1,000 supervised practice hours required for accreditation to receive supervision from a qualified supervisor. 

To mitigate the impact of COVID-19, SSAs can tap on various initiatives under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, and the Transformation Support Scheme to support their hiring and capability-building efforts. 

In addition, MSF periodically reviews staffing models to ensure that client needs and service standards are met. This includes updating staffing models while taking into consideration reasonable caseload ratios to ensure clients are adequately served and staff have reasonable workloads.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Additional Funding Received by Social Service Agencies to Cope with COVID-19 Pandemic in Past Two Years

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in the past two years (a) how many Social Service Agencies (SSA) received more funding from the Ministry to cope with the additional work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (b) what were the mean and median amounts of additional funding provided to each SSA per year.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Over the past two years, all employers, including Social Service Agencies (SSAs), received support from the Jobs Support Scheme to help keep their businesses running and retain their employees.

In addition, as the majority of MSF-funded programmes receive funding calibrated by caseload, additional work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic would have resulted in a commensurate increase in funding. However, even when caseloads were reduced (for example, where a programme could serve fewer clients due to Safe Management Measures), MSF maintained funding at pre-COVID-19 levels. Beyond this, MSF provided additional funding to all programmes during FY20 and FY21 in the form of support for ancillary costs during COVID-19. For example, overall MSF funding to the Family Service Centres (FSCs) increased from $85.2 million to $90 million, or 5.6%, from FY19 to FY20, although actual changes in funding for each FSC would have varied depending on their caseload and client profile.

MSF also reviewed the adequacy of funding against the challenges brought about by the new normal, and adjusted funding models where necessary. For instance, funding to the residential homes rose by an estimated $2.4 million, or 2.9%, from FY20 to FY21, in view of additional costs to comply with Safe Management Measures and changes to the Environmental Public Health Act.  

SSAs also benefitted from other broad-based support provided to the sector. In February 2020, the ComChest Emergency Fund made available $3,000 to each NCSS member to strengthen business continuity measures, purchase personal protective equipment, and carry out cleaning and disinfection of premises. In April 2020, NCSS launched The Invictus Fund (TIF) and has since raised $10 million from the community, to support SSAs providing critical services to vulnerable groups. The Government further contributed an additional $18.9 million to TIF, with a focus on helping SSAs invest in technology and transform their service delivery for the new normal. SSAs could also apply to TIF if they needed additional financial support to maintain service continuity and comply with Safe Management Measures.

MSF will continue to closely monitor and review its funding for programmes to ensure that they receive adequate funding as the COVID-19 situation evolves.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for the past two years (a) how many and what percentage of Social Service Agencies (SSA) faced shortfalls in staff members; and (b) what were the average and median number of staff members in the shortfall faced by each SSA.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Based on the Manpower and Salary Survey (MPSS)¹ conducted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in 2019 across 187 Social Service Agencies (SSAs), about two-thirds of SSAs (125) reported having vacancies for permanent positions (both part-time and full-time) in their organisations at the time. 

Among the SSAs reporting vacancies, the average vacancy rate was about 8%, the average number of vacancies per SSA was 15, and the median number was four.

As SSAs may have programmes spanning different sub-sectors, these vacancies would include those in programmes outside the social service sector.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 18:
¹ The MPSS captured the majority of MSF/National Council of Social Service (NCSS)-funded agencies and a portion of unfunded agencies in the social service sector.  

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for the past two years (a) how many and what percentage of Social Service Agencies (SSA) faced shortfalls in staff members; and (b) what were the average and median number of staff members in the shortfall faced by each SSA.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): Based on data reported by Family Service Centres (FSCs), in the past five years, the median length of service for social workers working with a single FSC is as shown in Table 1 below.

MSF does not have data on social workers’ length of service with single or multiple FSCs without any interim employment beyond the FSCs.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis delivered the following speech advocating and seeking resources and support for social workers at Debate on Annual Budget Statement 2022:

Louis: Sir, every year during Budget season, we ask ourselves how we can best support the most vulnerable members of our society. Let me start this time with one story of what vulnerability looks like.

 Allie – not her real name – is a girl who used to live in my constituency. When I first met her in 2016, she was just eight years old. She was like a big sister to my daughter Ella and they used to play together. Her family had little and lived in a rental flat but she gave what she could. She gifted Ella her toy car. She patted Ella on her back whenever she coughed. One could not wish for a sweeter, kinder child.

But all this changed when in about a year later, Allie was sent to live in a place of safety – to protect her and to help her. But it also made her a completely different person. Torn from her friends, her family and her home, she shrunk into her shell. When I visited her, she barely spoke a word. She just sat in the room and stared into space. This was not the lively child I once knew and it was heartbreaking to see how much she was affected and how she had her childhood ripped from her. 

It is hard to blame the social workers at the place of safety. I saw firsthand how much they cared. They tried their best with the limited resources they had. When I was there, I saw a little boy climbing the fence and the barb wires, trying to escape. The social worker was trying so hard and so gently to calm him down.

Children like Allie need all the help they can get. I spent a lot of time thinking about what we can do to help children like her. I raised questions in Parliament about places of safety and about inter-generational incarceration. 

I thought, surely, we can launch new programmes, more programmes, to help. But as we deep dived into the issues, I realised we have plenty of programmes. The issue might be that social workers had too much on their plate and many were burned out. 

Over the past year, I talked with many social workers. I met with social workers every month. I spoke to senior social workers and junior social workers. I spoke to those in the frontlines and those who have left the profession. I spoke to those from family service centres, or FSCs, and from other voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs). I also carried out a public survey and reached out to over 120 social workers.

I listened to their concerns, their worries and most of all, their deep passion in wanting to help others. But Sir, they too need help, especially during this pandemic. 

A study found that nearly 60% of frontline social workers were affected by anxiety at the height of the pandemic, with 45% facing depression. The study also found that social workers in FSCs faced higher depression rates. 

These findings mirror what I was hearing from social workers in my dialogues. One after another, social workers described their heavy caseloads and exhaustion. I heard the same requests over and over again: requests for more time, more resources and more help.

Today, I want to focus on social workers at our FSCs. FSCs are often the first port of call for those in need. Many see them as a clearing house for all social services. They advise and support families with financial, housing, employment, social and emotional resources. Families rely on their support when applying for financial assistance, seeking housing assistance, requesting food donations, seeking new employment, solving marital problems and much, much more. 

It is no surprise that active cases handled by FSCs skyrocketed during the pandemic, increasing from 17,000 per quarter to 20,000 cases – and cases are also getting more complex. 

Sir, we need to do more for our social workers who are just as much at the frontline of this pandemic and are in a tight situation like our healthcare workers.

Today, I have three recommendations to give our social workers the time, resources and support they need.

My first recommendation is to set a cap on the number of cases that each social worker can take on at any given time. Currently, too many social workers are forced to juggle an excessive caseload. According to MSF data from the past five years, the average social worker at a FSC handles 22 cases a year.

If 22 cases was the maximum, that might be fine. But 22 cases is the average. This likely means many social workers are out there working far heavier caseloads. I met many of them during my dialogues who told me that they often have 30 to 50 cases at any given time. This is a shocking number. Maybe they are outliers but their views are important too. 

Social workers have told me that excessive caseloads directly hurt their ability to do a good job. A FSC social worker shared with me that they feel that they are shortchanging their clients who so desperately need help and they feel bad.

Another social worker shared this quote with me to explain how they feel, "If you ever wanna know what a social worker's mind feels like, imagine a browser with 2,857 tabs open. All the time." 

With a huge caseload, they obviously have to give less attention to each case. Often, they end up doing what they call "firefighting", which means tackling only the most urgent problems. This firefighting makes it hard for them to give 100% to each case. It also denies them time to attend courses, mentor junior staff and create community programmes, equally important tasks that build organisational capacity, transfer knowledge and support communities.

Ms Elizabeth Quek, a community social worker, shared about "the helplessness social workers feel when we don't have the time or resources for someone who needs more support." This is not a sustainable solution and many social workers are reaching or have reached their breaking point. 

We need to have a cap on the number of cases that social workers can take on.

This is nothing new. In many industries, caps are set to ensure service quality remains high. Schools, for example, limit the number of students in each class so teachers can dedicate more attention to each student.

In a survey I carried out, 87% of social workers felt that there should be a cap on the number of active cases a social worker handles. Ms Quek, whose quote I shared earlier, said that reducing caseloads will improve social workers' capacity to help their clients. 

I know this cannot happen overnight and it is not easy to implement. It will require changes in FSC human resources (HR) practices but this cap is absolutely necessary. The actual number of the cap should also be decided in consultation with social workers from across the profession and take into consideration the wide spectrum of cases – Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 cases – a social worker handles.

Sir, my second recommendation is to increase the time, resources and headcount for research work at FSCs.

Social workers told me they spend a significant part of their work entering data from their cases into the Social Service Net, or SSNet. This might sound like a miserable task but many social workers I spoke to talked about SSNet as a treasure trove of data. They think the rich information stored on SSNet could provide useful insights on the communities they serve.

Some social workers have spent their personal time, after work hours, to trawl through and crunch the data in search of insights. One enthused to me about how it would be possible to run a sentiment analysis by applying natural language processing techniques to the data, to surface trends across cases in the same community.  

Sir, our social work degrees are rigorous. Their graduates emerge with research and technical skills. It would be a waste for them to let these skills atrophy. As I have mentioned, the only barrier is that FSCs often do not allocate time or staff to do research. The same social workers who beamed about unlocking the insights held in the SSNet data were also the ones frustrated by how they never had the time or support to do so. About half of the social workers that I surveyed shared that their FSCs do not have dedicated manpower for research work. About 85% wanted Government funding for headcounts dedicated to research. 

I know MSF is trying to help and recognises the importance of research work. It does provide FSCs with data from SSNet whenever a social worker request for it. But we can cut the administrative workload of social workers making these constant requests by having in-house researchers. 

I hope MSF will respond positively to this appeal by social workers. I know it can provide funding for this through the new Community Capacity Trust which will open for applications from 1 April 2022, and I hope MSF will ensure that all FSCs use this funding and hire in-house researchers. 

With funding support and dedicated headcounts, our FSCs can arm themselves with data about the vulnerable families and communities they serve and they can go upstream to solve these issues within the community.

That brings me to my third and final recommendation today – to increase the time, resources and headcount for community work.

I spoke earlier about how social workers do not have the time to do things like create community programmes. Indeed, when I met them, some social workers described community work as their CCA, as something secondary to case work, something they dabble in during their spare time. But it is something they feel is crucial. 

Sir, community work, in fact, has two important contributions.

First, community work is prevention. It enables FSCs to reach at-risk families not yet clients of theirs. This improves outcomes as the families can receive support before their problems worsen significantly. Easier to put out small fires than raging infernos, after all.

Second, community work builds social bonds. No man or woman is an island, and everyone needs a robust social network to succeed. Often, families working with FSCs lack friends and neighbours they can count on. Through community work, FSCs can link their clients with others in the same community and enable them to provide mutual support. This reduces the family’s reliance on institutions such as FSCs, helps them succeed in a sustainable way and also offers a way for families themselves to support others around them.

Community work will also help to slow the inflow of new cases which will give social workers the space and time they need. It might help to break the vicious cycle some social workers are in. 

There are other NGOs that do community work and, indeed, many do excellent work. But why not empower FSCs to do the same? FSCs are located in the heart of the community and they have their finger on the pulse of their community. FSCs are already working with many of the people in the community, already meeting with them regularly and have the data on the trends and needs on the ground that many other NGOs do not have. 

There might be worries about duplication of work but there is so much to be done. We should be concerned but I think we hardly need to fear the duplication of work currently. 

About half of the FSC social workers I surveyed said their FSCs do not have dedicated manpower and resources for community work. About 84% wanted Government funding for headcounts dedicated to community work. 

I know MSF will agree that community work is important and, in fact, they already provide funding to FSCs for two headcounts for group and community work. But there is a lot more we need to do.

First, social workers need to know there is existing funding for this. During my consultations with social workers, many were surprised to hear that funding for this headcount existed.

Second, we need to increase the funding available. Many social workers shared that funding for two headcounts is hardly sufficient. 

Third, MSF needs to work closely with FSCs and ensure they use this funding available to them and hire the headcounts required to focus on community work.

Sir, in conclusion, let me end my speech by returning to Allie’s story. She has been released from the Place of Safety and I brought her out for a meal and a day at the arcade with my daughter recently. I hope that one day Allie will be able to lead a stable and fulfilling life within the community in spite of everything she has gone through. I hope no other child has to go through what Allie went through. To do this, we need to help our social workers. 

In summary, I am asking that the Government introduce a cap on the number of cases each social worker can take on, provide funding for dedicated headcounts and resources for research work and provide more funding for dedicated headcounts and resources for community work. 

For all these recommendations, we need to make sure that it is not just rolled out as guidelines but that FSCs should follow and implement them, and MSF should help FSCs in the implementation. 

Sir, I recently met with MSF to discuss and share the concerns that social workers have shared with me. I appreciate the important work that MSF is doing and I could feel the passion in the room when they spoke about how they were helping FSCs and social workers. I thank them for their hard work and dedication. 

Let me end my speech with a quote, "Being a social worker is easy. It’s like riding a bike. Except the bike is on fire. You’re on fire. Everything is on fire".

That is the reality. That really is what some social workers are feeling. In fact, I met up with social workers right after the Budget Statement. I shared this speech with them and one social worker shared with me in the most simple terms, "just tell everyone we are just very tired and frustrated". 

Sir, our social workers are our social safety net but they truly want to be more than that, to not just address the symptoms of the problem but address the root of the problem, to go down into the community to co-create solutions and address the real needs of the community. Social workers want to be the social safety trampoline that Senior Minister Tharman spoke about. 

If we value our social workers, I hope MSF seriously considers the recommendations I have made on behalf of the social workers. We can and we must do more to help our social workers and empower them to help make Singapore a better place and more inclusive place for all.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development based on the current geographical boundaries, what are the respective mean and median numbers of equivalent dwelling units that each Family Service Centre serves within each geographical area.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): FSCs serve individuals and families with social and emotional needs and provide case management to coordinate support from other agencies.

The mean and median number of dwelling units within each FSC's service area are about 32,000 and 30,000 respectively.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the factors the Ministry considers in deciding whether a new Family Service Centre (FSC) should be set up to serve a given geographical area; and (b) what is the maximum number of equivalent dwelling units a FSC is expected to serve within a given geographical area.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): In deciding whether to set up new FSCs, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) projects caseloads based on factors such as number of new dwelling units and dwelling unit types (e.g. public rental flats, sold flats). We also consider the proximity of FSCs to residents.

MSF does not impose a maximum number of dwelling units an FSC is expected to serve within its service area. Instead, we monitor caseloads of FSCs to ensure that they are manageable. MSF periodically reviews and may adjust the service boundaries of FSCs with higher caseloads.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what additional steps has the Ministry taken to help social workers following the report that nearly six in 10 frontline social workers are affected by anxiety at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (MSF): The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) recognises that the nature of work in the social service sector can take its toll on social workers, affecting their mental and emotional well-being. This is particularly so with the higher workload and uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Singapore moves towards living with COVID-19 and Safe Management Measures are eased, the demand for social services is likely to normalise and the stress levels of social workers gradually be eased to a more normal level.

MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) have been engaging Social Service Agencies (SSAs) on an ongoing basis to raise awareness of the importance of organisational support for their employees’ mental well-being and to develop a culture of self-care. We have also worked closely with social work leaders on balancing staff well-being with maintaining service delivery standards. Given the impact of the pandemic, these efforts have been ramped up in the past two years.

In addition to the National Care Hotline which provides emotional and psychological support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, NCSS launched the Caring for Social Service Professionals Scheme in May 2021 to support SSAs in promoting staff well-being. The scheme provides co-funding of up to 90% (capped at $2,000 per SSA) for SSAs to offer professional counselling services to their staff. To date, 63 SSAs which employ over 12,000 professionals, are on-board the scheme.  

Social service professionals can access self-care and coping strategies, through subsidised courses offered by the Social Service Institute (SSI) under NCSS. New social workers joining the social service sector can also tap on the Singapore Association of Social Workers’ mentoring programme where they will be matched with an experienced social worker to receive support and guidance. Furthermore, in-sector social workers can apply for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme supported by NCSS and the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Sabbatical Leave Scheme provides seasoned social service professionals, including social workers, with paid leave and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship, to recharge themselves and develop their professional competencies.

MSF and NCSS will continue to raise awareness on the existing schemes available to support social workers. We will also work with our tripartite partners in the social service sector to address feedback from our social workers, through the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce. Comprising SSAs, Institutes of Higher Learning, professional bodies and government agencies, the Taskforce will be extended for an additional term until April 2025 to consult and continue co-creating initiatives to strengthen the system of support for sector professionals, including social workers.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many applications for a new Family Service Centre or a satellite Family Service Centre were rejected in each of the past 10 years; (b) how many such applications were accepted; and (c) what are the top three reasons for rejecting such applications.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Family Service Centres (FSC) provide publicly-funded services and rely substantially on public funds to be financially viable. Hence, the creation of new main or branch FSCs are based on whether existing centres can meet the projected demand and are accessible to clients. Should a new FSC be required, MSF will approach social service agencies (SSA) with relevant experience and track record to operate the service. There is therefore no process where an SSA applies for a new FSC.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)