Manpower Resourcing Plan for Home Visitation Programme under KidSTART

Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the manpower resourcing plan for the Home Visitation Programme under KidSTART, in terms of the number of home visitors the programme aims to hire in the next two to five years; (b) what are the required skills or eligibility criteria for home visitors that the programme is looking for; and (c) what is the job scope they are expected to perform.

The KidSTART Home Visitation Programme aims to (a) help families optimise child health and developmental outcomes, (b) improve parents' knowledge and skills on child health, nutrition and development, and (c) promote parent-child bonding and positive interactions. Regular screening of the child’s developmental milestones as well as maternal well-being is also carried out to identify and address any concerns early.

To carry out this work scope, practitioners in the KidSTART Home Visitation Programme are professionals with backgrounds in early childhood, psychology, nursing, social work, counselling, or other related fields, and have relevant experience in the early childhood or social service sectors. They are hence skilled in advising on child development issues, conducting child developmental and maternal mental health screening, as well as a holistic assessment of the needs of children and families. In addition to case management and building rapport with the families, practitioners must also work collaboratively with community and social service agencies, and participate in multidisciplinary case reviews in order to provide child-focused support for the families.

Over the next three years, in line with KidSTART's expansion plans, the number of practitioners in the Home Visitation Programme will increase from 19 today to 45. We will step up the recruitment for this group. Given the positive community interest to support KidSTART families, we are also looking to engage volunteers who are prepared to commit to supporting KidSTART families to complement the efforts of the practitioners.