SINGAPORE: Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua on Monday (Mar 10) announced a range of initiatives to better support people with disabilities in Singapore in the areas of living independently in the community as well as employment and lifelong learning.
Speaking in parliament as he laid out his ministry’s spending plans for the year, Mr Chua said most people with disabilities live with their families and would like to continue doing so.
“However, many have ageing caregivers who may soon be unable to care for them. Without other options, they may end up institutionalised.”
An Enabled Living Programme in the second half of the year will allow lower-income people with disabilities, who are not able to stay with their families, to live in designated public rental flats.
They will receive support such as basic supervision, referrals to financial assistance and coaching on living and social skills, Mr Chua said.
It was reported last year that this pilot would serve up to 250 people with disabilities from 2025 to 2028.
Next, a Home Support Programme will be launched in 2026 to support people with disabilities with low to moderate needs to live at home as long as possible.
For example, a person with physical disabilities living with a caregiver who is frail and unable to support his daily needs, will be able to tap on the Home Support Programme’s visiting services, such as monitoring and coaching for independent living and social skills.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Mr Chua also announced that a new Enabling Skills for Life Programme will run from 2025 to 2028, to provide lifelong learning opportunities to persons with disabilities who cannot work.
The programme, which is targeted at individuals with disabilities with higher support needs, will be run at selected sheltered workshops and day activity centres.
“Persons with disabilities will be better served within a single service catering to their evolving learning needs. They will benefit from a curriculum focused on independent living, communication and language and social-emotional skills, without needing to move between multiple services,” Mr Chua said.
The Institute of Technical Education and disability agency SG Enable will also improve their internship and employment support programme for students with special educational needs.
This will provide pre-employment training, career exploration opportunities and post-graduation job placement with on-site job coaching, for up to a year.
SG Enable will also double its intake for a school-to-work programme from 45 per year today to 90 by 2030.
The programme offers structured training, job placement, and job support in sectors like transport and financial services to graduates from Special Education (SPED) schools.
The employment rate of persons with disabilities aged between 15 and 64 has increased, from 28.2 per cent in 2019 to 2020, to 33.6 per cent in 2023 to 2024.
“We will continue to push towards our goal of 40 per cent by 2030,” Mr Chua said.
