About 10,000 applications a year for Special Approval for higher childcare, infant care subsidies

SINGAPORE – There are about 10,000 applications a year for child and infant care subsidies under the Special Approval scheme, where successful applicants – who are not working – get the higher subsidy given to working mothers.

About 95 per cent of these applications are approved, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Workers’ Party MP He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) about the scheme on Monday (Aug 1).

Working mothers get a basic childcare subsidy of $300 per month and additional subsidies that are means tested, while non-working mothers get $150 in their basic subsidy a month.

The applicants under the Special Approval scheme are not working due to factors such as illness, seeking employment or caring for another person. But even if they are not working, successful applicants get the same subsidy given to working mothers.

Mr Masagos also said that since August 2020, families receiving financial aid from the Government’s ComCare scheme or those living in highly subsidised Housing Board rental flats are automatically eligible for the maximum pre-school subsidy until the next time their application is assessed, regardless of whether the mother is working.

Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) asked the Ministry of Social and Family Development how it determines the duration of aid given to those on the ComCare scheme.

Mr Masagos said that for short-to-medium term assistance, it is typically given for three to six months in the first instance, with the aid renewed if it is deemed that the family continue to require support.

“If a person is temporarily unable to work for an even longer period due to illness, we will grant the support for the duration of their medical certificate,” he added.

The Social Service Offices (SSOs), which administer the ComCare schemes, decide on the duration of aid to be given based on their assessment of how long the family require help to stabilise their circumstances and also the likelihood of their circumstances improving.

When applicants apply to renew their short-to-medium term assistance, the SSOs will consider their most recent circumstances and decide whether to raise or reduce the financial aid given.