Enrolments into Day Activity Centres and Plans to Cope with Increased Demand

The following question stood in the name of

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling –: 16 To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to enrolment into Day Activity Centres (DACs) (a) whether DACs can cope with the demand in the next five years; and (b) if not, whether there are plans to (i) reduce the average waiting time for enrolment and (ii) increase the staff support in this sector.

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Question No 16, please.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Eric Chua) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development): Mr Speaker, as of April 2022, there were 31 MSF-funded Day Activity Centres (DACs) with a total capacity of over 1,700 places and an overall utilisation rate of about 78%.

There are, currently, eight DACs with no vacancies. When individuals apply to DACs with no vacancies, SG Enable will refer the caregivers to other DACs with spare capacity. SG Enable also explores alternative support services with the caregivers, such as home-based services for the individual and respite care services for the caregivers.

In October last year, MSF increased funding for DACs by some 20%, or $3 million per year. The increased funding will allow our DACs to hire more care staff to increase their quality of care and service standards, especially for clients with higher support needs. We are also studying the longer-term demand for DACs and will look into setting up new DACs in areas where demand is expected to exceed the current supply.

MSF will continually monitor and review our funding support and programmes to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.