Breakdown of Funds Allocated to Casework, Group Work and Community Work in Family Service Centres in Past Five Years
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the funding breakdown for casework, group work, and community work in Family Service Centres (FSCs) over the last five years, as raised by Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M explained that casework funding is based on volume and complexity, while FSCs may internally re-allocate resources according to their assessment of needs. He noted that specific data on individual service allocations is not readily available, though headcount funding is provided for group and community work. The Minister also highlighted that total funding increased from $84.3 million in 2016 to $114.7 million in 2020 because of rising caseloads and more centres. Finally, he encouraged FSCs to leverage the SG Cares Community Network to identify and coordinate help for local community needs.
Transcript
50 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang 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: 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.
