AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR PARENTS
According to ECDA, this is part of the government’s efforts to offer parents greater assurance during their child’s first stage of life.
“The pilot aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents,” said the agency.
Its services during normal working hours will be subsidised by the government.
These subsidies will be available for care provided in five-hour or 10-hour blocks between 7am and 7pm from Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays.
“Depending on their caregiving needs, parents have the flexibility to choose the number of days a week they require infant childminding services, and blocks of hours for each day,” said ECDA.
Parents who only require care for selected days a week will only need to pay for the blocks of hours used, it added.
The five-hour and 10-hour blocks will cost S$16.50 (US$12.30) and S$33 respectively excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST).
According to ECDA, full-time use of the services – where parents subscribe to 10-hour blocks for five days per week for four weeks – would cost S$719.40 a month, inclusive of GST.
This is lower than the typical cost of childminding services today, said the agency.
MSF previously reported that parents who choose private childminding services – typically by home-based nannies – pay anywhere from S$1,200 to S$2,800 a month.
The subsidies are only available for up to 10 hours a day during weekdays to ensure that childminders can balance their work, personal commitments and needs, said ECDA.
“If parents require more than 10 hours or if they require childminding services outside of 7am to 7pm on weekdays, they can make separate arrangements with the operators directly based on their regular rates, outside the pilot,” it added.
Parents can also tap on their Child Development Account funds to further defray their expenses for childminding services, it said.
