SINGAPORE: Needy Singaporeans will find it easier to
get help, with a shared database for the social service
sector.
The integrated information system will be set up in
two to three years, providing a history of the cases that are being
handled by various agencies and voluntary welfare organisations
(VWOs).
Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and
Sports Chan Chun Sing likened the system to the one that is being
put in place in the healthcare sector - where electronic medical
records of patients are shared across the hospitals and
polyclinics.
Speaking at an annual members conference of the National Council of
Social Service (NCSS) on Thursday, Mr Chan said such a system will
be useful, as it is not always easy for those who need help to
navigate and access the current network of social service agencies
and programmes.
He said: "The clients who are seeking help are already in need, so
you don't want to make them repeat their stories over and over
again.
"You also want to make sure that the help by the different agencies
are coordinated so that while they overlap each other to cover the
gaps, there won't be too much of a overlap whereby we provide
repeated services for areas of need that are already fully
covered."
Mr Chan said this means the first agency must work with the others
at the back end, and that it will take two to three years to
develop the common database, which will have the case histories of
clients.
Issues related to confidentiality and privacy will have to be
worked out before the system is rolled out.
Mr Chan added: "These are definitely planning parameters that we
definitely have to grapple with when we implement the system. We
must also ask the clients whether they are comfortable to share
this information across agencies that are helping them. So we will
definitely need to respect that.
"In fact, that's one reason why we will take our time to work
through some of these issues as to who has access to the data and
who can share the data."
Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for the
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Seah
Kian Peng, said: "I think the information that's required, will
only be the key and critical information that's needed for this
purpose.
"So I think the public will be assured that we do not need much
information. We only need those that are critical, and the concerns
over privacy are valid and will be of value and be taken intio
account in devising and forming this database."
MCYS will also be looking at different models for funding the
infrastructure of voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) as some
are facing challenges in raising funds.
To help VWOs leverage technology to better serve the needy, the
MCYS, NCSS and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore are
conducting a study to understand the existing ICT capabilities and
constraints in the sector.
This is part of efforts under the Social Service Sector Infocomm
Technology Master Plan to raise the ICT capability of some 500 VWOs
and help agencies drive productivity and innovation in the next
five years.
The study will be completed by the first half of next year.
Mr Chan also said his ministry is looking at ways to fund the
capital costs of VWOs differently, as some face challenges with
fundraising - in particular, to cover their share of the capital
expenditure.
- CNA/cc/ac
