Posted: 09 February 2012 1201 hrs
SINGAPORE: The government is committing S$30 million
to enhance the capabilities of Family Service Centres (FSC) to
reach out to vulnerable families.
This brings the total amount it has committed for the next three
years to S$100 million.
Speaking at this year's FSC seminar, Acting Minister for Community
Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Chan Chun Sing, said the
ministry plans to build another 10 full or branch FSCs to bring
help nearer to the community.
Currently, there are 39 FSCs with two more in the pipeline at
Admiralty and Punggol.
Mr Chan said MCYS will also encourage FSCs in a geographical area
to cluster together and work with other community partners to
provide more integrated services.
He added: "For example, Ang Mo Kio is one big town. If you only
have one centre to serve the whole Ang Mo Kio, first, I think
everybody needs to travel a bit more.
"But when you have a branch FSC, then certain branches can first be
nearer to the community, some group of the community, that reduces
the time people have to travel to seek services. The other thing is
that certain branches can also focus on issues that are closer to
the particular community."
He said the ministry also aims to decrease the workload of social
workers by 20 per cent.
At the same time, it wants to systematically groom some of the
social workers to develop depth and expertise to handle new
challenges and complex cases.
Mr Chan said the National Council of Social Service will also work
with the Committee for Practice Standards to develop a Code of
Professional Practice for FSCs.
- CNA