Easier access to aid for families on ComCare

Families on ComCare financial assistance will soon automatically qualify for other help schemes without having to apply separately for them.

Those applying for ComCare's Short-To-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) scheme can also do so online at the SupportGoWhere portal in the coming months.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) announced these moves yesterday as part of its ongoing efforts to enable low-income families to get help more easily and in a shorter time.

By the second quarter of this year, eligible families whose ComCare schemes are approved qualify automatically for the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Financial Assistance Scheme, which offers school fee waivers and transport subsidies, among other things, and MSF's Student Care Fee Assistance scheme.

MSF also plans to let eligible ComCare families automatically enjoy the maximum fee subsidy for one year for children attending MSF-registered student care centres or special student care centres for those with disabilities.

Up to 10,000 students stand to benefit from these changes.

ComCare is the Government's key social safety net. MSF is also planning to progressively expand the number of schemes from which people can automatically get help, such as pre-school subsidies and housing and healthcare schemes, if they get ComCare aid.

By the end of this year, eligible ComCare recipients will automatically get medical and dental subsidies at certain clinics under the Community Health Assist Scheme.

About 30,000 ComCare families are expected to enjoy greater convenience and a shorter wait before they get help from these schemes.

Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee said yesterday there has been a "deep shift" in how the ministry delivers social services in the past few years. The focus is now on "putting the family at the centre", and meeting families' needs in a proactive and coordinated manner across different agencies.

By the second quarter of the year, those applying for ComCare's SMTA can do so online at the SupportGoWhere portal. But they can also continue to apply in person, if that suits them better.

Mr Lee said the portal, which consolidates information from different help schemes, will be improved so users can check if they qualify for certain schemes, apply for aid, and get updates on their application. Over the next few years, people will be able to apply for more help schemes via the portal.

During the debate on MSF's budget, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli outlined the policies the Government has in place to improve the lives of Singaporeans and, in particular, low-income groups, such as ComCare and Workfare Income Supplement, which tops up the wages of lower-income workers.

He said: "We must not allow inequality to become entrenched, as seen in most advanced economies. Going forward, addressing social needs will become even more complex."

Mr Masagos, Mr Lee and MSF Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua also spoke about Community Link (ComLink), which provides comprehensive and coordinated support tailored to the needs of over 14,000 families with children in highly subsidised HDB rental flats.

Mr Masagos said MSF and its partners, instead of waiting to be approached, seek out low-income families proactively through ComLink.

Mr Chua said ComLink has reached out to over 6,800 families since it was started in 2019. Last year, the scheme was rolled out in 11 towns and will be introduced nationwide in the coming months.

One beneficiary is housewife Norhamidah Mah Hassan, 29, whose family of seven gets $1,650 a month under ComCare's SMTA. Her husband is unable to work as he is unwell, and the couple have five children aged between three and nine. The family lives in a one-room rental flat.

Madam Norhamidah, who is expecting her sixth child, said: "Without ComCare, it will be very difficult for us and we have to borrow money from others."

Three of her children are on the MOE financial aid scheme and automatic qualification means she does not have to pay to photocopy the documents needed to apply for aid.