Tracking of Financial Situations of Comcare's Assistance Recipients after Gaining Employment

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry tracks the financial situations of Comcare's short- to medium-term assistance recipients after they gain employment; and (b) how many recipients of such Comcare assistance reapply for assistance within a year after the end of their assistance.

ComCare is part of the multiple layers of assistance provided by the Government to support low-income individuals and families. Other programmes include Workfare, medical and education subsidies, and housing assistance. Households that require help to tide over periods of difficulty are provided Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA), which provides financial assistance for daily living expenses, help with household bills, and other forms of support, such as referrals to Workforce Singapore’s Careers Connect for employment assistance or to Family Service Centres for casework and counselling.

Social Service Offices (SSOs) keep track of clients' situations while they are receiving ComCare assistance. Those who have gained employment while on ComCare assistance may still receive assistance for a period of time as they work towards financial stability in their new jobs. SSOs may also continue to provide assistance if their clients' incomes from work are assessed to be insufficient for their household living expenses, for example, those who are in part-time jobs.

There are various reasons why clients reapply for assistance, such as when they face new challenges in their family, work or health circumstances. We do not have readily available data for households that gained employment while they were on SMTA and subsequently reapplied for ComCare within a year after SMTA ended.