Establishing Government-operated Adult Disability Homes and Day Activity Centres to Complement Social Service Agency-run Ones
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the feasibility of establishing Government-operated Adult Disability Homes and Day Activity Centres and the measures taken to address waitlist durations for high-needs individuals. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli B M M stated that the Government prefers to fund Social Service Agencies for their specialised expertise and has no current plans for Government-operated facilities. To manage demand, the Ministry will add a new residential home and 500 day activity centre places by 2030 while prioritising urgent placements and piloting community-based alternatives like the Enabled Living Programme. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli B M M also highlighted the Social Residential Homes Act passed in 2025 as a regulatory framework to codify care standards. Finally, SG Enable manages waitlists through referrals and engagement via Enabling Services Hubs and transition programmes for special education school graduates.
Transcript
72 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry has evaluated the feasibility of establishing Government-operated Adult Disability Homes and Day Activity Centres to complement the existing Social Service Agency-run model; and (b) how the Ministry plans to address the current waiting list durations for these facilities, particularly for adults with high support needs whose caregivers are ageing.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) appoints and funds Social Service Agencies to operate Adult Disability Homes and Day Activity Centres. We tap on these service providers' specialised knowledge of disabilities, operational expertise and community networks, to deliver services tailored to the needs of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.
Appointed service providers are required to abide by service model requirements and standards. Additionally, the Social Residential Homes Act was passed in 2025, establishing a common regulatory framework for social residential homes and codifying the good practices that have been established in raising the quality of care in our homes over the years. At this point in time, we do not have plans to establish Government-operated Adult Disability Homes and Day Activity Centres.
MSF closely monitors the demand and supply across disability programmes to ensure needs continue to be met. For Adult Disability Homes, MSF will be adding a new facility by 2030 to expand capacity. SG Enable also works with the appointed Social Service Agencies running the homes to optimise placements and ensure cases with urgent needs are prioritised. In parallel, we are piloting community-based support services to provide alternatives to residential care, such as the Enabled Living Programme.
For Day Activity Centres, MSF is progressively increasing the capacity by 500 places by 2030, up from the current 1,800 places. For suitable individuals on the waitlist, SG Enable facilitates referrals to other facilities with available capacity and supports continued engagement through activities at the Enabling Services Hubs and the Supported Transition and Engagement Programme for graduates of special education schools.