Debated in Parliament on 10 Mar 2022.
Ms Ng Ling Ling asked the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to parents securing a place for their newly diagnosed special needs children in a Government-funded Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children run by charitable social service agencies (a) whether there is any change in the average waiting time of six months for enrolment; and (b) what is the difference in the average waiting time and out-of-pocket fees when these parents opt for the Enhanced Pilot for Private Intervention Providers instead.
For children who have been enrolled in an early intervention (EI) centre for the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC), the average waiting time from referral to enrolment is, currently, seven months, up from six months in 2020. However, waiting time varies across EI centres and regions, depending on demand.
The increase in waiting time can be attributed to an increase in hospital referrals to Government-funded EI centres and the impact of COVID-19 and safe management measures (SMMs) over the past two years. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has been regularly reviewing the SMMs to enable EI centres to support more children.
The Enhanced Pilot for Private Intervention Providers (PPIP) programme, provided by ECDA-appointed private EI centres, serves as a complement to EIPIC run by Social Service Agencies (SSA). Among PPIP centres which maintained a wait list, the wait time to enrol in the programme ranged from four months to 12 months in 2021.
The out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses, that is, net fee payable by parents after Government subsidies under the PPIP programme are, generally, higher than that of EIPIC. This is because MSF provides SSA-run EI centres with additional funding to keep fees affordable. The exact difference in OOP expenses depends on the EIPIC and PPIP programme fees charged by centres and the subsidy tier the child is eligible for.
For example, after subsidies, a middle-income family will pay about $200 more per month for a PPIP programme than for a similar EIPIC programme, assuming the median fees charged for both these programmes. The Mediacorp Enable Fund, administered by SG Enable, will provide some support for needy families which have difficulties covering the OOP expenses.
PAPERCUTS