Family & gender

• Dr Wan Rizal inquired about the progress, challenges, and solutions for integrating health and social services to better support child and maternal health.
• He also asked about steps being taken to address rising maternal age and low birth weight despite Singapore’s low maternal and infant mortality rates.
• Minister Ong Ye Kung indicated that these questions were addressed in his earlier oral reply on 2 July 2024, referring to the relevant official report.

• The Syariah Court's divorce process begins with filing an Originating Summons after mandatory counselling and involves three stages: Mediation, Pre-Trial Conference, and Hearing.
• In 2023, one-third of divorce cases were concluded at the Mediation stage, typically within about 10 weeks of filing.
• For consent-based divorces settled at Mediation, the median and average time to finalise was four months or less.
• For contested cases proceeding to Hearing, the median and average time to finalise was within one year from the acceptance of the Originating Summons.

• Mr. Louis Ng requested data from the Minister for Social and Family Development on the number and percentage of child protection investigation cases involving emotional abuse and emotional neglect over the past five years.
• The Minister noted that the Children and Young Persons Act was amended in 2019 to clarify and include examples of emotional and psychological abuse, such as emotional neglect like isolating a child.
• Since the 2019 amendments, the Child Protective Service has investigated about 340 cases of emotional and psychological abuse annually, accounting for roughly 16% of all cases.

• About 10% of Student Care Fee Assistance applications were unsuccessful from January 2021 to March 2024, with only 0.4% of unsuccessful cases involving late requests for retrospective payment.
• Student Care Centres assist parents in submitting applications up to four months in advance, and MSF considers appeals for retrospective payments if delays are substantiated.
• Families can appeal against a centre’s assessment, as MSF oversees the process and allows for review of decisions.

• Mr Sitoh Yih Pin raised concerns about discrepancies between listed and actual preschool vacancies and whether ECDA’s regulatory powers should be expanded to address this.
• ECDA acknowledged feedback about mismatches in vacancy information on LifeSG and noted that most cases were due to inaccurate reporting by operators, which ECDA has worked to rectify.
• ECDA urged operators to regularly and accurately update vacancy information to aid parents’ decision-making and is exploring ways to improve the Preschool Search function.
• The Ministry stated that existing regulations already cover capacity and enrolment reporting and does not plan to impose additional regulations on vacancy reporting.

• Sitoh Yih Pin sought the Minister's assessment on whether infant care and preschool vacancies in Bidadari Estate are adequate and asked for an update on plans and timelines for new preschools to meet rising demand from young families.
• The Minister stated that as of April 2024, there are about 660 infant care and 8,110 childcare places in the Toa Payoh Planning Area, which includes Bidadari, with a utilization rate of about 70%.
• To meet future demand, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has increased infant care and childcare places by 130% and 90% respectively in Toa Payoh over the past five years, significantly above national rates, and plans to add 150 infant care and 920 childcare places in Toa Payoh by 2025, mostly in Bidadari.

• Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim inquired whether the Ministry monitors informal or unregistered childminding services and what steps are taken to educate parents and providers on child safety and reporting abuse.
• Masagos Zulkifli B M M stated that informal childminding arrangements are not regulated but childminders are subject to existing laws like the Children and Young Persons Act and the Penal Code.
• The Minister noted that anyone suspecting child abuse should report it to the police, and there is no evidence the public lacks this general understanding.

• Usha Chandradas questioned if the Science Centre would hold a replacement event on gender and sex after the cancelled talk on 14 June 2024.
• She suggested the replacement could feature a different or expanded panel of speakers to address the same issues.
• Chan Chun Sing responded that Science Centre Singapore does not plan to organize a replacement event on this topic.
• He confirmed that the Centre has already lined up future Science Café sessions on other STEM topics instead.

• The government has implemented the Online Safety Code requiring designated social media platforms to protect children from harmful content through measures like restrictive account settings and content management tools, with compliance reports due by end-July 2024.
• Authorities are studying age assurance methods to better enforce age restrictions on social media, recognizing current reliance on user self-declaration is insufficient for protecting children.
• The government is adopting a holistic strategy to address social media addiction, including providing community support services like counselling and specialized programs for affected youths and their families.
• Upstream measures are being developed where the Ministries of Health and Social and Family Development will provide clearer guidance on device usage and screen time for young children across healthcare settings and preschools.
• The government emphasizes prevention by planning to make device usage advice more definitive and consistently delivered to parents even before a child is born, focusing on shaping early habits.

• The government provides extensive financial support for preschool children from low-income families through fee caps, basic subsidies, and means-tested additional subsidies, reducing monthly costs to as low as $1 to $3 in government-supported preschools.
• Starting in late 2024, more families with monthly household income of $6,000 and below will qualify for maximum childcare subsidies, and fee caps for Anchor and Partner Operator preschools will be lowered in 2025 and 2026.
• The ComLink+ Progress Package for Preschool will launch in the second half of the year, offering financial top-ups in children’s Child Development Accounts for families meeting enrolment and attendance requirements.
• Additional support is available through the Child Care Financial Assistance scheme, which includes aid for childcare fees and a one-time grant up to $1,000 for enrolment and out-of-pocket costs, with Social Service Offices assisting with broader living expenses.
• The government regularly reviews its schemes to ensure comprehensive support for lower-income families to give children a good start in life.

• The government emphasizes a whole-of-society effort to detect and report child abuse, urging vigilance from family, neighbours, and the public, as abuse often occurs privately and can be hard to spot.
• The public can report suspected child abuse via multiple channels, including the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Hotline, the MSF website, police for imminent danger, and from June 2024, the LifeSG App.
• MSF has conducted annual public awareness campaigns since 2016, with the 2024 “Break the Silence” campaign using TV, social media, digital displays, bus stop shelters, and hawker centre materials to maximize reach.

• Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim questioned the Minister for National Development on HDB housing options for youths aged 12–23 who receive no financial or practical support from any living parent or relative due to parental death or separation.
• For younger orphans under 18, the Ministry of Social and Family Development places them in kinship care or alternative arrangements like foster or residential care if no suitable carers exist.
• Orphans aged 18 and above who inherit a fully paid-up HDB flat can continue living there; those under 21 may have a trust created for the flat until they turn 21, while cases with unpaid flats are handled individually with an adult guardian when appropriate.
• Adult orphans aged 21 and above can take over their parents’ flat if financially able, buy a new flat with siblings or alone under the Single Singapore Citizen scheme, or apply for public rental under the Joint Singles Scheme if they have no other options.
• For children of separated or divorced parents, the parents remain responsible for their housing needs, regardless of the children’s age.

• The Ministry states that Childhood Developmental Screening checks are voluntary but streamlined to coincide with vaccination appointments, and non-attendance does not automatically indicate neglect or abuse, as parents may have legitimate reasons like work commitments.
• ComLink+ family coaches and preschool outreach workers engage lower-income families to encourage attendance at both vaccinations and developmental screenings.
• Community partners, health institutions, and social service agencies are trained to watch for signs of neglect or abuse and refer cases to Child Protective Service if needed.
• Suspected cases can be reported by the public or partners via the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline, with protocols in place for investigation when families cannot be contacted.

• Between 2019 and 2023, schools reported an average of about 600 suspected domestic child abuse cases annually to the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline or the Child Protective Service.
• Approximately 30% of these cases were taken up by the Child Protective Service for investigation, with the remainder referred to community agencies for follow-up.
• The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social and Family Development collaborate on these cases, though schools are only one source of reporting among others.

• The Child and Maternal Health and Well-being Taskforce has rolled out 28 of 48 initiatives, with the remainder to be implemented over the next two years; evaluation of these initiatives will begin in 2025 based on effectiveness and participation rates.
• Family Nexus centres, which integrate health and social services for families, are being piloted in four locations with positive feedback; expansion to other regions will consider the density of young families and the outcomes of the pilots, with specific areas like Woodgrove division being considered for future rollout.
• Key initiatives address maternal mental health screening and support, childhood obesity, and balanced screen use, with evaluation methods including participant feedback and monitoring of health outcomes; guidelines for screen use are available and the government is considering more decisive measures.

Louis Ng Kok Kwang questioned the Minister for Health about the number of mothers aged 19 and younger who had their pregnancies confirmed at polyclinics, public hospitals, and private hospitals over the last five years. Ong Ye Kung responded that the Ministry of Health does not track confirmed pregnancies but monitors teenagers seeking obstetric care, which decreased from about 600 in 2018 to 500 in 2022. He also noted a decline in the percentage of pregnancies managed at public health institutions, dropping from 71% to 62% during that period.

Jamus Lim questioned the prohibition of adult child adoption by older couples, particularly for stepchildren from previous marriages. Masagos Zulkifli explained that adoption is meant for younger children who require legal guardianship from trusted adults for their welfare. As individuals reach adulthood, they gain the ability to make their own decisions, making the legal adoption process irrelevant. Therefore, the Adoption of Children Act specifies that adoption orders can only be made for individuals under 21 years old.

Gerald Giam Yean Song requested data from the Minister for National Development on appeals for subsidised rental HDB flats from 2021 to 2023, including the number of appeals granted and the availability of more flats for married couples without children, elderly couples, and singles awaiting BTO flats. Desmond Lee responded that HDB does not have specific breakdowns for the appellants but highlighted that they have increased the supply of subsidised rental flats, notably doubling the provision under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) from 800 to 2,000 units as demand surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. HDB has assisted 146 married couples without children, 72 elderly couples, and 211 singles with interim rental housing over the last three years, and while they can't provide flats to all applicants due to limited supply, they are prioritizing those with greater needs. Additionally, waiting times for BTO flats have been reduced, with over 80% of flats launched recently having waiting times of three-and-a-half years or less.

Louis Ng Kok Kwang questioned the rationale behind requiring unwed parents to sign a letter of undertaking for their child's Primary 1 registration. Chan Chun Sing explained that both parents are usually required to consent to the school choice as they share legal responsibility. If one parent registers on behalf of both, they can declare online that the other parent's agreement has been secured. However, if one parent has full custody, which can occur in cases of unwed or divorced parents, no such declaration or undertaking is necessary.

Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim asked about support programs for stay-at-home mothers seeking divorce and experiencing domestic violence. Masagos Zulkifli B M M outlined that the Ministry of Social and Family Development collaborates with Protection Specialist Centres to provide safety planning, accommodation, legal aid referrals, counselling, and financial support. Workforce Singapore offers the herCareer initiative, which helps women re-enter the workforce through job placement programs and events, leading to a significant increase in successful job placements. Additionally, mothers seeking employment or training can receive preschool subsidy support comparable to working mothers.