Affordability of Daycare Centres for Persons with Special Needs

51 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Social and Family Development how can the Ministry ensure that the day care centres for residents with special needs will continue to remain affordable for them.

Mr Desmond Lee: There are currently 26 Day Activity Centres (DACs) that offer day care services to adults with special needs. These are operated by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs).

While fees are set by the DACs, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has put in place several measures to ensure that these programmes stay affordable for those who require them.

First, MSF revises the quanta of operating subsidies to the VWOs at the start of every financial year to keep pace with inflation. Second, subsidies are means-tested so that these services remain affordable to lower-income families. Third, guidelines on fee revisions are issued to the centres to prevent sharp fee hikes.

Apart from fees and Government subsidies, the operation of these centres is also supported by Government grants, such as the Community Silver Trust, which provides dollar-for-dollar matching on donations raised by VWOs.

We will continue to monitor the fees charged by VWOs for programmes that we fund to support persons with disabilities and their families.