Expanding Day Activity Centre Capacity for Young Adults with Autism and Additional Support for Caregiving Families
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Christopher de Souza’s inquiry into expanding Day Activity Centre (DAC) capacity and subsidies for young adults with autism, alongside additional support for caregiving families. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli B M M responded that the government is adding 500 DAC places and enhancing long-term care subsidies for adult disability services and transport from July 2026. These measures complement tiered funding for high-needs clients and the January 2026 Assistive Technology Fund enhancements. SG Enable supports waitlisted individuals through referrals and engagement programmes like the Supported Transition and Engagement Programme. Additionally, families may access the Take-A-Break respite service to help manage caregiving burdens.
Transcript
13 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Government will (i) expand Day Activity Centre capacity and subsidies for young adults with moderate to severe autism and (ii) introduce additional healthcare, transport and financial support to ease long-term caregiving burdens for families facing pro-long waiting times.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is ramping up the capacity of Day Activity Centres (DACs) by 500 places, as announced in MSF's Committee of Supply (COS) in 2024. More details will be shared at a later date.
Government funding for DACs is tiered according to the care needs of the client, with more resources provided to support clients with higher needs, such as those with moderate to severe autism. Also, as announced in MSF's COS in 2025, the long-term care subsidies will be enhanced from July 2026, and will benefit families tapping on long-term care and adult disability services, including DACs and transport. This is in addition to the enhanced subsidies for Assistive Technology Fund which took effect in January 2026.
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. Caregivers may also tap on subsidised respite services through the Take-A-Break (TAB) programme.