INCOME CEILING FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEMES

INCOME CEILING FOR CHILDCARE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEMES: 16.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports whether the Ministry will consider increasing the family income ceiling for eligibility to the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) from the current $1,800 to $2,500 so that more families can qualify and be encouraged to have more children.

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care (CFAC) and Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) provide fee subsidies to help low-income families send their preschool children to childcare centres and kindergartens respectively.

In July 2008, we extended the CFAC and KiFAS income criteria from $1,500 to $1,800 to help more low-income families afford preschool education for their children. The number of children who have benefited from these schemes has increased over the last three years. In FY2009, about 3,200 children received CFAC and another 7,200 children received KiFAS, an increase of 24% for CFAC and 15% for KiFAS from FY2007.

As part of our regular reviews, we are studying the scope and adequacy of CFAC and KiFAS to help more low-income

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families afford preschool education. Sir, we will consider Mdm Halimah's suggestion.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Mr Speaker, can I ask the Minister of State if the Ministry can relax the criteria for CFAC, especially the requirement for both the mother and the father to work to qualify for the subsidy? Would the Minister of State not agree that this would inadvertently disadvantage lower-income families since in these families, the mother is usually unable to work, and the children should not be penalised for this situation and should be able to have the opportunity to go to childcare centres to get a good foundation for life?

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: The childcare philosophy is to encourage the women to work. We have already relaxed the criteria because for those housewives who send their children for half-day care, we would still help them, so that they can get half subsidy. For instance, those women who want to go back to work, or whom we encourage to go back to work, we would also consider giving them support. So, it is not only those women who are already working. If they are prepared to come back to work or they are seeking a job or are under training, we do consider giving them subsidy. The whole philosophy, so far, is to encourage the women to work and help them remain in the workforce.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Can I ask the Minister of State if the intention of the subsidy is to encourage children to go to childcare centres no matter what their financial situation is at home, or to encourage women to work? Because then, we will have very different policy outcomes.

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: That is true. So far, the schemes are to encourage

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mothers to go back to work, especially those in low-income families. We hope that they can supplement the husband's income and that will encourage the children to have a better start and better education, and we hope that the children will get out from the poverty cycle.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: I would like to thank the Minister of State for the positive response to my suggestion. Can I ask the Minister of State when the review will be completed and the new rates introduced?

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon: Very soon.