Welcome to CDC

To help the less fortunate through job-matching and social assistance schemes

�The Community Development Councils build a CARING and cohesive community where people are PASSIONATE about making a difference in the lives of others�.

The CDC administers various government programmes and schemes to help the needy residents. Providing Social Support and Job Assistance emphasise the importance of self-reliance and self-help to enable them to sustain themselves.The programmes and schemes provided by the CDC are :

ComCare Grow	ComCare Self-Reliance	ComCare EnAble
HOPE	Government Schemes	Employment Assistance Services

Community Care Endowment Fund Schemes
The Community Care Endowment Fund (ComCare) was established in July 2005. Under ComCare, there are three pillars - ComCare Grow, ComCare Self Reliance and ComCare EnAble. The social assistance schemes under these three pillars are listed below:

I. ComCare Grow

*Information extracted from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports website

Programme

Eligibility Criteria

Assistance Provided

Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC)

CFAC helps parents who need to put their children in a childcare centre because they have to work, but have difficulties paying the fees.

A child who is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident of Singapore (PR); at least one of his/her immediate family members (i.e. parents or siblings) must be a Singapore citizen

The child is below 7 years and attends a licensed childcare centre

The child is in the first, second, third or fourth birth order

The household's net income is $1,800 per month or below

The child's mother is working
or preparing for work (e.g. seeking employment or training)

Borderline cases can be considered on case by case basis

CFAC provides a subsidy for applicant�s child�s childcare fee every month, up to the maximum amount shown in the table below. This subsidy is given in addition to the government childcare subsidy.

Monthly Household Income	Maximum CFAC subsidy per month per child
Less than or equal to $1000	Up to $340
$1001 - $1500	Up to $300
$1501 - $1800	Up to $200

� A one-off assistance (Start-Up Grant) to meet the start-up costs of placing the child in a childcare centre may also be provided.

Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS)

Parents who want to place their child in a kindergarten, but cannot afford the fees, may apply for help under KiFAS. KiFAS is available at eligible nonprofit kindergartens. Parents who qualify for the scheme will receive a fee subsidy every month.

The child is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident of Singapore (PR). If the child is a PR, at least one of his/her immediate family members must be a Singapore citizen

The child is enrolled in a K1 or K2 programme (at least 3 hours long) or a nursery programme (at least 2 hours long) which meets the Ministry of Education's (MOE) curricula guidelines. The programme is conducted in an eligible, secular, non-profit kindergarten.

The household's net income is $1,800 per month or less

Borderline cases can be considered on case by case basis

KiFAS subsidizes up to 98% or 70% of the monthly fees, depending on your family's household income and the programme type your child is attending. The subsidy rates are shown below:

Monthly Household Income	Percentage	Dollar Cap
Less than or equal to $1,000	98%	$98 (for kindergarten) $75 (for nursery)
$1,001 - $1,500	95%	$95 (for kindergarten) $75 (for nursery)
$1,501 - $1,600	90%	$90 (for kindergarten) $70 (for nursery)
$1,601 - $1,700	80%	$80 (for kindergarten) $60 (for nursery)
$1,701 - $1,800	70%	$70 (for kindergarten) $55 (for nursery)

For example:

(i) For families that earn a monthly income of $1,000 and below, if the child's kindergarten fee is $110 per month, the KiFAS subsidy is $98 (98% of $110, capped at $98) and parents pay the remaining $12. (ii) For families that earn a monthly income of $1,701 - $1,801, if the child's kindergarten fee is $110 per month, the KiFAS subsidy is $70 (70% of $110, capped at $70) and parents pay the remaining $40.

For the very needy families earning $1,000 or less, a start-up grant of up to $200 per child may be provided, to help them pay for their child's deposit, registration fee, uniforms and insurance at the beginning of the year.

Student Care Fee Assistance (SCFA)

Student Care Centres (SCCs) provide before- or after-school care for children aged 7 to 14. If parents need to put their child in a student care centre but cannot afford the fees, their may apply for help under SCFA.

The child must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident of Singapore (PR). If the child is a PR, then at least one immediate family member of the child must be a Singapore citizen

The child is between 7 and 14 years of age and is attending a MOE-registered school

The mother/single father is working full-time or part-time regularly

The family's monthly household income is $2,500 or below

SCFA subsidizes your child�s Student Care Centre fees. The amount of subsidy will depend on your household income.

Wef 1 July 2009, children in school-based and non school-based Student Care Centres will receive the same fee subsidy.

II. ComCare Self-Reliance

*Information extracted from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports website

Programme		Eligibility Criteria	Assistance Provided
Work Support Programme Applicants who require assistance to tide over a difficult period, and together with their household members, they are prepared to do their best to help themselves, may be eligible to participate in the Work Support Programme	Work Support Employment (WSE)	Singapore citizen or permanent resident (PR). If the applicant is a PR, then at least one of the immediate family members must be a Singapore citizen Applicant is work-capable Gross household income is below $1500 per month Satisfy a needs test Little or no family and community support Little or no savings Demonstrate the willingness to take steps to become self-reliant	Depending on the household�s situation, one or more of the following types of assistance may be provided: Job matching services Rental, utilities, PAYU vouchers (if applicable) and/or service and conservancy charges vouchers Monthly cash grant to meet basic needs Childcare and student care subsidies Training grant for approved courses Educational assistance Medical assistance The responsibilities of the applicant placed on the Work Support Programme include: Following the Action Plan that the CDC officer have worked out for the applicant and applicant�s household members to achieve self-reliance. The Action Plan may include the following activities: - Finding and keeping a job - Increasing work hours - Upgrading the applicant�s skills - Reducing unnecessary expenses Attend all the appointments that the CDC officer makes with the applicant. This will enable the CDC officer to keep in touch with the applicant to ensure that he is on track with the Action Plan.
	Work Support Self-Reliance (WSSR)	Singapore citizen or permanent resident (PR). If the applicant is a PR, then at least one of the immediate family members must be a Singapore citizen Applicant / one family member is work-capable At least one family member is gainfully employed Gross Household income <$1500 Satisfy a needs test Little or no family and community support Little or no savings Demonstrate the willingness to take steps to become self-reliant
ComCare Transitions Scheme (CCT) CCT assists those who are temporarily unable to work due to old age, illness, disability or extenuating circumstances and have little or no family support.		Singapore citizen or permanent resident (PR). If the applicant is a PR, then at least one of the immediate family members must be a Singapore citizen All members of CCT household must be temporarily unable to work. Gross Household income <$1500 Applicant must be financially needy (a) Must have no savings (b) No other sources of income (b) Reasonable expenditure must exceed household income Satisfy a needs test Inadequate family and community support	Depending on the household�s situation, one or more of the following types of assistance may be provided: Rental, utilities, PAYU vouchers (if applicable) and/or service and conservancy charges vouchers � Monthly cash grant to meet basic needs Educational assistance Medical assistance - Free outpatient medical care at polyclinics and government hospitals for: (a) Elderly family members (62 years and above) (b)Family members with chronic illness (Note: the amount of assistance will be assessed by the CDC on a case-to-case basis) The CDC officer, will work out an action plan for applicants and their household members to follow, where they deem necessary.
Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) HOPE is a targeted incentive scheme to help young low-income families keep their families small so they can concentrate their resources on their children and help them to break out of the poverty cycle.		Married couples with one or two children. Either husband or wife must be a Singapore citizen, and the spouse must either be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore (PR). Have a monthly household* income of $1,500 or below. Age of the wife is 35** years or below. Husband is employed. This scheme will also be extended to widows. As of 1st April 2009, divorced mothers with two or fewer children are allowed to come onboard the scheme. * For families where at least one spouse has post-secondary education, neither spouse earns more than $1,000 per month each. ** For families where at least one spouse has post-secondary qualification, the wife must be aged 30-35 years old.	Educational bursaries for the children from pre-school up to university-level education. The annual bursaries for the various educational levels are as follows: - Preschool - $2000/- per annum - Primary - $400/- per annum - Secondary - $800 per annum - Junior college / polytechnic / ITE - $1,200 per annum - University - $2,000/- per annum - Special education - $600 per annum A housing grant of $50,000 to help the family pay for the home mortgage. The grant will be disbursed in annual installments into the mother's CPF account. A training grant of up to $10,000 per family to enable the parents to attend skills training. This grant will be divided equally between the parents in order to encourage the mother to acquire new skills and enhance her employability. A one-off utilities grant of $1,000 to help the family offset utilities bills upon joining the scheme. Mentoring and family support from a social service agency to guide and follow-up on the family, and link them to other community resources if required. Cash incentives of $9,000 - $20,000 to help the couple with family planning.

III. ComCare EnAble

*Information extracted from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports website

Programme

Eligibility Criteria

Assistance Provided

Public Assistance Scheme (PA) / Special Grant (SG)

PA / SG assists those who are unable to work owing to old age, illness or disability and have no means of subsistence and no one to depend on

PA beneficiary must be Singapore citizen. SG beneficiary must be Singapore Permanent Resident.
Applicants must satisfy the following criteria:
Are unable to work owing to old age, illness or unfavourable family circumstances;
Have no means of subsistence and little or no family support.
Elderly with grown children to be on PA if children have household income of less than $1,000/mth and have their own families to support

Cash Grants - Monthly cash grants to help with basic living expenses.
Medical Assistance- Free treatment at polyclinics and government/ restructured hospitals.
Education Assistance - Education assistance for your children to help with schooling expenses. The school-going children will be referred to the Ministry of Education (MOE) for assistance under the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme.

Social assistance schemes outside comcare umbrella: Home ownership plus education scheme

*Information extracted from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports website

Scheme

Description

Type of Assistance

Criteria

Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme

HOPE is a targeted incentive scheme to help young low-income families keep their families small so they can concentrate their resources on their children and help them to break out of the poverty cycle.

(i) Educational bursaries for the children from pre-school up to university-level education.

(ii) A housing grant of $50,000 to help the family pay for the home mortgage. The grant will be disbursed in annual installments into the mother's CPF account.

(iii) A training grant of up to $10,000 per family to enable the parents to attend skills training. This grant will be divided equally between the parents in order to encourage the mother to acquire new skills and enhance her employability.

(iv) A one-off utilities grant of $1,000 to help the family offset utilities bills upon joining the scheme.

(v) Mentoring and family support from a social service agency to guide and follow-up on the family, and link them to other community resources if required.

(vi) Cash incentives of $6,000 - $9,000 to help the couple with family planning.

The annual bursaries for the various educational levels are as follows:-

Preschool - $250 per annum

Primary - $400/- per annum

Secondary - $800 per annum

Junior college / polytechnic / ITE - $1,200 per annum

University - $2,000/- per annum

Special education - $600 per annum

(i) Married couples with one or two children.

(ii) Either husband or wife must be a Singapore citizen, and the spouse must either be a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore (PR).

(iii) Have a monthly household* income of $1,500 or below.

(iv) Age of the wife is 35** years or below.

(v) Husband is employed.

This scheme will also be extended to widows.

* For families where at least one spouse has post-secondary education, niether spouse earns more than $1,000 per month each.

** For families where at least one spouse has post-secondary qualification, the wife must be aged 30-35 years old.

Other assistance scheme available : Government Scheme

Programme	Eligibility Criteria	Assistance Provided
Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS)	Singapore citizen 65 years old and above and/or with disabilities Per capita income of $800 and below	Cardholders will be able to visit participating private general practitioners (GPs) and dentists and pay polyclinic charges
Medifund	Singapore citizens who are unable to pay for their medical treatment in approved hospitals and medical institutions on or after 1 April 1993 Assessed and recommended by Medical Social Workers (Govt and Restructured hospitals)	Assist patients to pay / subsidize their medical bills

Employment Assistance Services

The CDCs provide free and customer-centric employment assistance services to residents of their Districts who may be retrenched or unemployed. These services include:

(a) Job matching to help you look for suitable jobs;
(b) Career coaching / counselling to enable you to be more confident in your job search; and
(c) Training opportunities to upgrade your skills, broaden your job options and improve your chances of securing a job.

The CDCs also work closely with employers to meet their recruitment and manpower needs. For more details on the employment assistance services, please contact the CDC of the District you live in. You may use the CDC Search to find out which CDC you belong to.