COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS' NATIONAL HELPLINE

Mdm Claire Chiang See Ngoh asked the Minister for Community Development (a) how many calls were registered by the Community Development Council (CDC) National Helpline between 1997 and 1999; (b) what are the main problems faced by the callers; and (c) what measures are adopted by People's Association to help to enhance the community skills of young CDC General Managers in problem-solving neighbourhood challenges.

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi: The Community Development Councils' (CDCs) National Helpline, set up on 3rd January 1998, provides a one-stop referral service for members of the public. From its inception to the end of 1999, the Helpline has received about 19,400 calls.

In 1998, besides enquiries about the National Education Exhibition and miscellaneous calls to air personal views about life, the Helpline also received requests for job matching as the CDCs are linked to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)'s Labournet and job banks set up by some CDCs. Other callers raised family concerns, financial needs and training sponsorship. The summary is given in Table A below.

In 1999, the largest number of callers were interested in skills training and upgrading. This could be attributed to the CDCs' sponsorship of approved courses under the Skills Development Fund (SDF) and Skills Redevelopment Programme (SRP). Job matching continued to be high on the callers' list for 1999. The requests for financial assistance decreased from 769 in 1998 to 666 in 1999. The breakdown is at Table B.

The PA provides the necessary training for all the staff at the CDCs so that they are able to carry out their tasks effectively and efficiently. Such training is either at the National Community Leadership Institute or by professional organisations and trainers. Table A

Breakdown by the type of calls received by the National Helpline for 1998

No. Type of Calls No. of Calls 1 Job matching 1,773 2 Family matters including child and 1,080 youth concerns 3 Financial assistance including help 769 with school fees 4 Enquiries about the CDC Training 364 Sponsorship Scheme 5 HDB related (eg rents and mortgage 298 instalments) and environment matters (eg mosquitoes breeding) 6 Legal aid and disputes 293 7 Health and mental health concerns 264 8 Elderly concerns 181 9 Immigration/citizenship and CPF 93 matters 10 Concerns of the disabled and 33 handicapped 11 Miscellaneous calls to give feedback 4,142 and personal views about life 12 Enquiries about National Education 3,064 Exhibition Total 12,354 Table B

Breakdown by the type of calls received by the CDCs National Helpline for 1999

No. Type of Calls No. of Calls 1 Enquiries about the CDC Training 2,067 Sponsorship Scheme 2 Job matching 1,349 3 Financial assistance including help 666 with school fees 4 Family matters including child and 471 youth concerns 5 Elderly concerns 140 6 HDB related (eg rents and mortgage 128 instalments) and environment matters (eg mosquitoes breeding) 7 Health and mental health concerns 121 8 Legal aid and disputes 104 9 Immigration/citizenship and CPF 61 matters 10 Concerns of the disabled and 22 handicapped 11 Miscellaneous calls to give feedback 1,855 and personal views about life Total 6,984