SINGAPORE - Greater financial support will be given to foster parents from September as part of efforts by the Government to encourage more people to take on the role.

The monthly fostering allowance will be increased from $936 to $1,100 for those caring for children, said Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli on Saturday (Aug 13).

Those looking after children with special needs will have the allowance raised from $1,114 to $1,500 to better support their therapy, intervention and transport needs.

The increments will be covered by an additional $1.5 million annual investment by the ministry, he added.

There are currently about 550 foster children, of whom about 20 per cent have special needs.

Mr Masagos said the higher allowance is part of the ministry's comprehensive suite of measures to support foster families and children.

He was speaking at an in-person seminar at Enabling Village at Lengkok Bahru, with 170 participants, to encourage more families to step forward as foster parents.

"Foster families also receive childcare, early intervention and healthcare subsidies, childcare leave and support from social workers. We recognise that foster parents often go the extra mile in caring for their foster children," he said.

He added that he is glad to see more foster families - there were 595 in 2021, up from 564 in 2020.

"We want more children to experience the joy and warmth of a family. Correspondingly, this also means that fewer children will require placement in residential care.

"To support this continued shift, we will review the out-of-home care sector structure and consult our community partners," he said.

He noted that when the ministry first started its efforts to transform the out-of-home care sector in 2013, the proportion of vulnerable children cared for by foster families was just 29 per cent.

In 2021, it was 51 per cent. The rest are in residential care homes such as Boys' Town and Muhammadiyah Welfare Home run by social service agencies.

These vulnerable children may have been neglected, abused or abandoned.

Physiotherapist Imran Mohamed Khamis, 47, and his wife Faizah Mohammad, 52, who began fostering in 2017, currently care for a four-year-old with autism.

Madam Faizah, a real estate agent, said the higher allowance will help cover the costs of items like diapers, formula milk and educational toys for the child, whom they have cared for since he was two weeks old.

The couple, who have a daughter, 17, of their own, also hired a domestic helper for $800 a month, as caring for the child required extra effort, she added.

Mr Sivachandran T. Palaniasmy, 62, and his wife Anitha N. Sivadasan, 60, have been fostering since 2003. They have cared for 20 children, including two currently - a 12-year-old boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and an 18-month-old boy with Down syndrome.

The couple have two children of their own, a daughter, 28, and a son, 25.

Having looked after so many children over the years, Madam Anitha, a housewife, said she could not keep track of how much she had spent on them.

"But of course the allowance helps a lot, especially for transport when we bring them regularly via taxi for medical treatment or appointments," she added.

It has become more difficult to get a taxi or private-hire car recently, so they have resorted to booking cabs in advance, which is also more costly, she added.

Their primary concern about continuing to foster is their health, but Madam Anitha said she would like to continue till she is 70.

Mr Sivachandran, a maintenance superintendent, said: "We'll have to see. I have some back problems so I can't carry or run after young children so much anymore."

Those keen to find out more about fostering can visit this website.