Masagos Zulkifli B M M
Singapore
“Coordination between Early Intervention (EI) centres, families and preschools is important for the continuity of support for children with developmental needs.”
“The Taxi Subsidy Scheme supports persons with disabilities (PwDs) who are unable to take public transport, by providing means-tested subsidies to offset the cost of taxi travel to school, work and employment-related training supported by SG Enable.”
“The Skills and Salary Guidelines published by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) guides social service agencies (SSAs) to pay their employees fair and competitive remuneration and maintain the sector's attractiveness. The Guidelines are adjusted so that salaries remain competitive with comparable roles in competing markets.”
“Staff turnover rates vary across social service agencies (SSAs). An individual's decision to leave an organisation is influenced by a myriad of factors, of which pay is only one.”
“Beyond the requirement of a structured daily programme, community-based SCFA administrators have the flexibility to offer programmes and additional enrichment activities that meet the needs of their students. MSF does not track staff salaries and turnover of SCCs in general nor those that administer SCFA.”
“Male preschool educators comprised about 1% of the early childhood workforce in each of the last five years. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has not issued guidelines pertaining to the rules set by preschool centres specific to the conduct of male preschool educators.”
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“Besides issuing LOA to children or staff staying with household members placed on HQO or SHN, preschools must also issue LOA to children or staff staying with household members who have to serve QOs at a Government Quarantine Facility (GQF), until their household member receives a negative test result on entry. Preschools will also issue a LOA if the child or staff is undergoing mandatory testing, for example, testing for all residents of a particular HDB block or workplace cluster due to potential exposure to COVID-19 cases. All preschools must now inform all parents in a class if a child or staff in the class is placed on QO and encourage parents to keep children at home until the Person under Quarantine (PUQ) receives a negative entry test result. If the PUQ was recently unwell, all children or staff who are in the same class as the PUQ will be issued LOAs. To complement safe management measures in preschools, vaccination for staff in preschools has also been prioritised and progressively offered since early March 2021. This is so that preschool staff can better protect the children under their care, who are not yet eligible for vaccination, as well as better protect themselves and their families. As at 19 June 2021, about 85% of preschool staff have completed both doses or received their first dose. Under Phase Two (Heightened Alert), from 16 May to 13 June 2021, preschools had remained open to support parents who need to work. Parents were encouraged to keep their children at home during this period where possible.”
“The safety and wellbeing of children and staff in preschools is of utmost importance. To ensure this, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has enhanced safe management measures in preschools, in consultation with MOH. ECDA requires all preschools to observe strict safe management measures. These include: (a) Tighter measures to restrict entry of persons that pose transmission risks such as by restricting visitors, more frequent health checks for staff and children, and disallowing entry of persons who are unwell. As an added precaution, ECDA also introduced a Leave of Absence (LOA) policy for children or staff staying with household members who are on Home Quarantine Order (HQO) or SHN1. (b) Enhanced personal and environmental hygiene practices such as more frequent handwashing and cleaning of high touch points. (c) Tighter measures to reduce transmission across groups in preschool by ensuring that children and staff are cohorted by class and do not mix across classes. During Phase Two (Heightened Alert), we had further tightened safe management measures in preschools: (a) To further reduce transmission across groups in the preschool. The enhanced measures included reduction of group sizes for outdoor activities and suspension of large group activities and activities at external venues, such as field trips. (b) To further enhance environmental hygiene practices. Preschools have been directed to enhance ventilation of indoor premises. This includes working with facility managers to ensure that ventilation systems are adequate and in good order, and installing fans and opening windows and doors as frequently as possible. (c) To further restrict entry of persons that pose transmission risks. Since 8 June 2021, ECDA has also tightened the LOA policy.”
“Key initiatives that the STT have worked on include expanding more support to social workers through SASW’s Supervision Service, facilitating associate professionals in taking on some social work tasks to address issues of high workload contributing to professional attrition and burn-out.”
“MSF and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) are committed to developing and strengthening a strong core of professionals in the social service sector and have various initiatives in place to support and retain our social workers. The overall annual resignation rate of social workers is 17% (as at March 2019), down from 20% in 2015. Social Service Agencies (SSAs) play an important role in supporting and retaining their staff. MSF and NCSS work closely with SSAs to strengthen their Human Resource (HR) practices and policies1, in areas such as Recruitment and Selection, Compensation and Benefits, Performance Management and Career Development. MSF and NCSS also publish sector salary guidelines that provide a reference for SSAs to keep pace with competing markets and general wage movements. SSAs are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines to reward and retain good staff. In-sector social workers can apply for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme supported by NCSS and the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF). The Sabbatical Leave Scheme provides seasoned social service professionals, including social workers, with paid leave and a Professional Advancement Sponsorship, to recharge themselves and develop their professional competencies. MSF also works closely with the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) to support social workers in various ways, for example, through recognising their contributions at the annual Social Work Day and Outstanding and Promising Social Worker Awards. MSF and NCSS will continue to work with our tripartite partners in the social service sector, through the Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce (STT), to support the development and retention of our social workers.”
“After we lift the restrictions for gatherings that we cannot now have because of COVID-19, we can have more of this.”
“I would like to thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Indeed, the problem that I see, is not so much the lack of programmes. First, how do we get these programmes to the people who need them most. Sometimes, we have to be very creative, we have to find ways to make it attractive for them to come. I will give one example. A group of lawyers under M3 (Lawyers at M3) came together and said they wanted to educate our community about the same issues that the Member has raised. I said, "Go ahead, tell me what you want to do." But they knew that if they just did it themselves, call it LPA, call it Faraidh, I do not think anyone would turn up. But what they did instead was, they brought in an ustaz, a religious teacher, they brought in a popular personality and an artiste. They put together a panel and said, "Come and talk to us". The programme attracted a full house; a total of about 600 people came. We had to keep putting in chairs because people were still coming in to see what this was about. At the same time, these lawyers also agreed to stay back after the programme, in case there were still questions that need to be answered. The session went on quite light-heartedly. Although some of the questions raised were really heart-wrenching, they were addressed in a very proper and enlightening way. At the end of the session, because the lawyers agreed to stay back to hear other issues, there were long queues because people do have issues to clarify. We do really need to do more of such programmes. I think these programmes that I have talked about have been successful. We want to replicate it to as many towns as possible in M3. We call upon our successful lawyers who have done this or have done this successfully, to come forward again.”
“ECDA and MOH monitor the incidence of HFMD cases in pre-schools closely and assess the need for additional follow-up measures to be taken for each outbreak. If warranted, pre-school closures may be mandated on a case-by-case basis and this is dependent on, but not limited to, the severity of the HFMD cases, the circulating strain of virus, and the disease transmission dynamics. In the last five years, that is, 2016 to 2020, ECDA, in consultation with MOH, has mandated the temporary closure of two pre-schools due to HFMD. Apart from temporary closures, ECDA can also take other regulatory actions, for example, financial penalties, against pre-schools that are found to have breached requirements relating to the prevention of infectious diseases, including HFMD.”
“The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and MOH work closely to monitor cases of infectious diseases in pre-schools, including HFMD. Pre-schools are required to inform ECDA and MOH promptly of any clusters of infectious diseases, including HFMD. In the last week of 23 to 29 April 2021, 78 cases of HFMD were reported. As of 29 April 2021, there were six clusters of more prolonged transmission of HFMD in pre-schools being closely monitored. HFMD is a common childhood infection that is generally mild and most children can recover on their own without treatment. In general, MOH has assessed that the closure of pre-schools affected by HFMD has a limited effect on containing the spread of HFMD as the virus is present in the community and can be reintroduced once the pre-school reopens. Instead, early detection and isolation of cases, as well as maintenance of good personal and environmental hygiene in the pre-school, home and community, are key to minimising the risk of transmission and, hence, the risk of large HFMD outbreaks. Preventive measures are in place in pre-schools to minimise the transmission of HFMD and other infectious diseases, and pre-schools are required to follow guidelines for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. These include daily health and temperature checks of children upon arrival at pre-schools, ensuring good personal hygiene practices by staff and children and maintaining good environmental hygiene, such as wiping down and disinfecting high-touch areas. Parents are strongly advised to inform the centre as soon as possible when their child is unwell, and to keep children who are unwell away from the pre-school until they have fully recovered, to mitigate the spread of HFMD.”
“ComCare Long-Term Assistance (LTA) is provided to those who are permanently unable to work due to old age, illness or disability and have little or no means of income and family support. Applicants who are receiving some income, such as CPF-related payouts, may qualify if their monthly income is lower than the prevailing LTA rate for the respective household type, for example, $600 for a single-person household. The number of households on LTA who received CPF-related payouts between 2016 and 2020 is summarised in Table 1. LTA beneficiaries with some monthly income, which would include any CPF payouts, will have their LTA cash payouts adjusted, albeit the sum of their monthly income and the LTA payout will still be higher than the LTA payout that a beneficiary with no CPF payout or other forms of income would receive. In addition to cash assistance, LTA beneficiaries also receive free medical assistance at public healthcare institutions and additional assistance for recurring and one-off essentials, such as hygiene consumables and household appliances, respectively. Social Service Offices can also connect LTA beneficiaries with other assistance schemes and community organisations that can provide additional support to help them address any other needs.”
“Family Service Centres (FSCs) serve low-income and vulnerable individuals and families who need help addressing their social needs. The average social worker to caseload ratio over the past five years was 1:20 in FY201, 1:19 in FY19, 1:25 in FY18, 1:23 in FY17 and 1:22 in FY16. There is no single optimal social worker to case load ratio, as the cases managed by FSCs vary in complexity and intensity of effort required. FSCs are funded based on their caseloads, with more funding provided for clients with more complex and higher risks or needs. This enables FSCs to have the resources and flexibility to hire more staff when needed.”
“All zakat authorised centres are also audited to ensure that they abide by the rules and regulations set by MUIS. With the introduction of online zakat collection, the scope of amil has expanded to include providing religious advice on zakat and guiding the community on zakat calculation and online payment. Overall, MUIS has been disbursing more than 95% of the zakat collected, with the balance set aside as cashflow reserves. This is to ensure that there is continuity of programmes and disbursements year on year.”
“From 2018 to 2020, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), collected an average of $47.4 million in zakat from the Muslim community. Details of zakat collection and disbursements to the various asnaf, or zakat beneficiaries, over the past years are publicly available in the MUIS Annual Reports. MUIS disburses zakat to the eight asnaf, in consultation with the Zakat & Fitrah Committee. The Committee, which comprises community leaders and religious scholars, considers disbursing zakat for various purposes, such as social development and assistance for the poor and needy, religious programmes in mosques and madrasahs, asatizah development, youth engagement and amil management. MUIS and our mosques provide financial assistance to families and individuals under the "fakir miskin" asnaf, which refers to the poor and needy, or the "gharimin", which refers to those who are in debt and require assistance to meet basic needs. Applicants with per-capita-income of $400 or less would qualify for zakat financial assistance. Of the total zakat collected, more than 45% was provided to these asnaf, benefiting about 7,000 households each year. MUIS does not have a specific scheme to help persons who are bankrupt but refers them to relevant organisations, including the Debt Advisory Centre by AMP, Credit Counselling Singapore and Legal Aid Bureau. The appointment of amils is authorised by the Zakat & Fitrah Committee on a yearly basis and they generally refer to our mosques that administer the zakat. Prior to the appointment process, all zakat authorised centres must submit an application form to nominate at least two zakat officers to handle the collection of zakat and undergo training programme organised by MUIS.”
“We are currently working out further details and aim to launch the programme in the fourth quarter of this year.”
“The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) also provides family-centric programmes, such as the Social Skills Training Programme and the Family Reintegration Programme, to equip both the inmates and their families with useful skills to foster better relationships. In the past two years, SPS provided about 9,900 programme places to the inmates. SPS also works with other community partners, including The Salvation Army, Centre for Fathering, The Singapore Children’s Society, Industrial & Services Co-Operative Society Ltd, Singapore After-Care Association, Mendaki and SINDA, on programmes and services aimed at addressing the impact of parental incarceration. These include the provision of counselling, tuition assistance, parenting and family bonding programmes. The Member also asked for details of the mentoring pilot programme which was recently announced at MSF’s Committee of Supply debate. It is part of our efforts to build a preventive support system for our youths and is targeted at students who leave ITE prematurely. The pilot programme will adopt an interest-based approach, with the aim of empowering youths to achieve their aspirations, by helping to broaden their exposure to opportunities and guide them to explore their interests and career options. We will factor in various considerations in the matching of mentors and mentees, including the gender of the mentors and mentees. Mentors will also be trained to equip them with the skills to engage the youths, develop and manage the mentoring relationship, and support them in addressing the unique needs of their mentees, regardless of gender. We hope the mentors will serve as positive role models and trusted adults their mentees will feel comfortable reaching out to.”
“Making sure every youth gets to maximise their potential in life: this is our commitment to our young ones. The findings of the study on the intergenerational transmission of criminality in Singapore highlight the importance of early and upstream support to help break cycles of offending and reduce negative outcomes that persist in families across generations. The Government works closely with community partners to support families and children impacted by incarceration. Under the Yellow Ribbon Community Project, or YRCP, grassroots volunteers reach out to the families of incarcerated persons through home visits and assist those who need support by linking them up with social service agencies or community programmes for professional help. In the past two years, the YRCP has assisted around 2,700 families. Five hundred and fifty of these were families with children below 18 years old. Financial, accommodation and social assistance are also rendered to incarcerated persons and their families by the Prisons Family Resource Centres, or FRCs, which operate from the Prison Link Centre in Changi. Close to 4,000 families have received assistance in the last two years. Of these, 150 families received assistance for their children. Where necessary, families are referred to the Family Service Centres, or FSCs, for further casework support within the community. Besides the FSCs, referrals can also be made to youth agencies to provide support services for children and young persons who exhibit behavioural issues or those who could benefit from constructive engagements, such as interest-based activities and mentoring programmes.”
“These include the National CARE Hotline and 24-hour crisis hotlines by Samaritans of Singapore and the Institute of Mental Health. Mindline.sg also provides an online repository of free resources and tools to improve mental well-being. To provide greater mental health support in the community, MOH, together with the Agency for Integrated Care, works with community partners, such as the SSAs, to provide mental health services under the Community Mental Health Masterplan. This includes expanding community mental health services, such as the community outreach teams and community intervention teams, to support persons with mental health needs in the community. In addition, a new inter-agency platform on mental health and well-being will be established by mid-2021 and co-led by MOH and MSF. The platform will oversee mental health and well-being efforts, focusing on cross-cutting issues that require multi- and inter-agency collaborations. The Government is committed to uplifting lower income families and households, including supporting their mental health needs. My Ministry will continue to work closely with other Government agencies and community partners to ensure the availability of mental wellness services to all who require such support.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has provided fresh impetus to pay heed to the importance of mental health and well-being. We are committed to ensuring that all Singaporeans can access mental health services, regardless of their income level. We have several schemes and initiatives in place, many of which provide additional support for lower income groups. Today, mental health services are subsidised at public healthcare institutions. Under the Chronic Disease Management Programme, the Community Health Assist Scheme provides each patient with subsidies of up to $500 per year for the management of mental health conditions, and patients can also use their MediSave to defray the cost of treatment at polyclinics, public Specialist Outpatient Clinics and participating private general practitioner and specialist clinics. MediFund is also available at public healthcare institutions as a safety net to assist needy Singaporeans who are unable to afford their medical care, including for mental health. There is a variety of social services providing mental health support. Counselling programmes offered by Social Service Agencies (SSAs) and funded by the National Council of Social Service are either free-of-charge or subsidised, with subsidies and corresponding out-of-pocket fees varying according to clients’ income levels. Low-income and vulnerable families can also approach any of our 48 Family Service Centres (FSCs). FSCs provide counselling and case management support for those with socio-emotional needs and bring in the relevant mental health services to provide specialist support where needed. Individuals of all income levels may also access free mental health support through platforms, such as helplines and online services.”
“There are 4,945 asatizah recognised under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS). About 60% of the ARS-recognised asatizah have degree or diplomas in Islamic studies, while the remaining 40% are Quranic reading teachers with qualifying certificates. Female asatizah comprise about two-thirds of all ARS recognised asatizah. About half of the asatizah are aged 36 or below, while just over 10% are above 65 years of age. Currently, about 40 of these asatizah are financially assisted through zakat. During the COVID-19 period, an additional 500 asatizah received financial assistance from Pergas' Gracious Package, which was supplemented by MUIS. The ARS ensures our asatizah, as certified religious teachers, have proper religious qualifications and meet the ARS Code of Ethics. Since ARS was made mandatory in January 2017, 33 Tier 1 and Tier 2 asatizah have been disciplined. Out of these, 18 asatizah have been removed from the ARS due to ethical misconduct and/or doctrinal issues.”
“As of 10 May 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has yet to announce the arrangements for Haj 2021. It is unclear whether the Haj pilgrimage will be opened to Singaporeans and other international pilgrims. Should Haj be allowed for international pilgrims, MUIS, in consultation with MOH, will assess the public health risks of sending a delegation for Haj this year. Given the on-going challenge of bringing the pandemic under control globally, public health must be a priority. MUIS has instituted measures to mitigate the financial risks for pilgrims. These include requiring Haj General Service Agents (GSA) to provide bankers’ guarantee to safeguard pilgrim deposits and mandating a progressive payment schedule, instead of a lump sum collection by the Haj GSAs. In special circumstances such as the deferment of Haj last year, MUIS worked closely with Association of Muslim Travel Agents Singapore (AMTAS) and the GSAs to recover most of the deposits paid by the pilgrims for the travel. The deposits collected by the GSAs was necessary to reserve airline tickets and accommodation, which was originally intended to be brought forward for Haj 2021. MUIS is working with the GSAs to provide refunds to pilgrims who made payments for Haj 2020, subject to some administration fees. MUIS will provide further updates to pilgrims in due course.”
“Family Service Centres (FSCs) serve low-income and vulnerable individuals and families who need help addressing their social needs. The FSCs’ services are funded almost entirely by MSF, Tote Board and the Community Chest. Each FSC receives funding for case-work based on the actual number and complexity of cases. Additional funding is provided for headcount to conduct group work and community work. Each FSC may internally re-allocate funding across its casework, group work and community work, according to its assessment of needs. We do not have readily available data on how individual FSCs allocate resources across their casework, group work and community work. For community work, FSCs are also encouraged to leverage the SG Cares Community Network which brings together community and government agencies in identifying and meeting local community needs, and providing comprehensive, convenient and coordinated help to persons who need help. In the past five years, the total amount of funding disbursed to FSCs has increased steadily from $84.3 million in 2016, to $114.7 million in 2020, details in Table 1 below. This is due to factors such as an increase in cases handled by the FSCs, an increase in the number of FSCs and also an increase in funding norms.”
“A person who experiences violence by a family member may apply for a Personal Protection Order (PPO) under the Women’s Charter. When granting the PPO, the Court may order the parties involved in the PPO application and their family members to attend the Mandatory Counselling Programme (MCP). The MCP aims to keep families safe by addressing the perpetrator’s use of violence, helping family members learn more respectful behaviours to resolve conflict and reducing the risk of violence recurring. It also provides family members with the necessary support and skills to ensure their safety. Other than attending the MCP, which is conducted by trained social service professionals, perpetrators and victims of family violence may voluntarily seek support from Family Violence Specialist Centres and Family Service Centres. The aim is to rehabilitate perpetrators of violence so that the family is safe and functioning. While re-integration of perpetrators with their families is generally desirable where possible, this may not always be the best outcome or feasible for every family. Social work professionals partner families, and the Courts where applicable, to determine the most appropriate interventions and safety plans for them depending on the specific circumstances.”
“Children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned are placed in alternative care such as with foster families. This is usually a temporary arrangement, until it is safe for the children to return home to their families. MSF and social service agencies (SSAs) work with the children and their families towards safe reunification wherever possible. The proportion of foster children who aged out of MSF’s fostering scheme and were not reunified with their birth families or adopted is low, accounting for less than 1% of foster children each year from 2011 to 2020. Of this handful of young adults, almost all of them would stay with their relatives or stay on with their foster parents. At present, while there is no dedicated research on children who age out of foster care, MSF and the National Council of Social Service collaborate on research on the outcomes of vulnerable children. Preliminary findings suggest that children impacted by certain negative life events, such as contact with the criminal justice system or child protective system, generally earn lower incomes in adulthood and are also more likely to be staying in rental housing, compared to those who did not have such experiences. In addition, individuals with a history of contact with the child protection and welfare systems are also more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system. If individuals have any specific needs for assistance, MSF together with other Government agencies and our SSA partners would provide the necessary support to them. These findings are consistent with overseas research and underscore the importance of MSF and SSAs’ efforts to intervene upstream and early to help children from at-risk families, so that they may achieve better outcomes in life.”
“The Development Support (DS) and Learning Support (LS) Programme is one of a suite of programmes which provides additional developmental support for pre-school children. The DS-LS Progamme is currently designed to support pre-school children aged five and six identified with mild developmental delays or learning needs. The DS-LS programme is currently offered at about 550 pre-schools. Children on the DS-LS programme are given the necessary support such as pull-out sessions with Learning Support Educators or therapists to address their developmental and learning needs. For the younger nursery children, there are issues of whether identifying children with mild developmental delays or learning needs at these earlier ages is appropriate and if intervention via the existing DS-LS programme is suitable. ECDA is studying these issues with agencies. For nursery children with clearer moderate to severe developmental delays, pre-schools can already identify and refer these children to KKH and National University Hospital as well as the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) where more intensive support can be provided. At the same time, ECDA is scaling up KidSTART to support more low-income families with the development of their children from birth. This will support the development of these children from these families, regardless of whether there are development delays. Taking ECDA’s KidSTART programme, DS-LS programme and the EIPIC programme together, these form the range of assistance available to provide additional developmental support for children of pre-school-age and their families.”
“The National Council of Social Service has also been working with partners to address the issue of stigma and promote help-seeking behaviours through the "Beyond the Label" movement. For youths who are at risk or require crisis support, schools and IHLs provide parents with timely updates on their child’s mental health state and potential risks, and work with them to ensure there is adequate safety and support. Schools and IHLs also tap on community agencies when necessary. Youths in crisis may also seek support from 24-hour hotlines by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). SOS has started a text-based service to provide an alternative help-seeking platform for youths in crisis. To enhance coordination of our multi-pronged approach to suicide prevention, an Inter-agency Research Workgroup on Youth Suicides led by IMH has been set up to work on various initiatives to prevent and intervene in suicidal behaviours in children and youths. MSF and MOE, together with MOH, also support the Youth Mental Well-being Network, which has brought together over 1,500 youths, parents, care-givers, and social sector and mental health professionals to discuss and implement ideas and initiatives to enhance youth mental well-being. There is no easy solution to suicide prevention. A whole-of-society approach is needed to prevent suicides among our youths. We will continue to strengthen our inter-agency and cross-sectoral efforts to support youths at risk of suicide. We also encourage everyone in the community to continue looking out for each other.”
“Every suicide is one death too many. MSF and MOE are committed to suicide prevention and enhancing the mental well-being of our youths. The causes of suicide are complex and multi-faceted, often involving family, social and mental health issues. We have therefore partnered with various Government agencies and community partners to adopt a multi-pronged approach to suicide prevention, based on the following key thrusts: building mental resilience, early identification and encouraging help-seeking, supporting at-risk groups and providing crisis support. To build resilience and support mental well-being in youths, MOE has enhanced upstream efforts through the refreshed Character and Citizenship Education curriculum in schools and mental resilience and well-being programmes in Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). There have also been efforts to raise parents’ awareness on mental health to help them better support the well-being of their children in schools. Additionally, individuals and families with socio-emotional needs may receive assistance from community touch points such as Family Service Centres for counselling and case management support. Early identification and encouraging help-seeking are vital for suicide prevention. School teachers and academic staff in IHLs are trained to identify students experiencing distress, provide timely support and refer students to counsellors or mental health professionals for further interventions when necessary. Promoting peer support also equips students to look out for one another and encourages help-seeking. All IHLs have established peer support structures, and all schools will have a peer support structure in place by 2022.”
“Some children are eventually adopted by their foster parents or other couples who provide a supportive environment that enables the children to realise their full potential. A small number of children remain in children homes, which prepare the children for independent living by providing guidance in key areas like education and employment, facilitating referrals to community agencies post-discharge and connecting them to rental or hostel options.”
“As at end-December 2020, there were about 1,100 children being cared for by foster families or in residential facilities. Such out-of-home care arrangements are made as a last resort when it is not safe for the children to continue to stay with their families, even with support from MSF and social service agencies. MSF endeavours to keep families intact, with safety plans in place to minimise the risk of harm. However, in serious cases of abuse or neglect where the home environment remains unsafe, MSF’s Child Protective Service will remove the child and look for an alternative family-based environment for the child. MSF will first explore kinship care arrangements before finding a suitable foster family. If these options are not available, MSF places the child in residential care. After out-of-home care arrangements have been made, MSF works with both the child and his or her family towards safe reunification wherever possible. MSF works together with community agencies to address the key concerns in the family that have led to the child’s removal, strengthen parent-child relationships through counselling and coaching on positive parenting, and psychological services to help the child heal from the abuse or neglect. We also arrange for the family to have supervised or unsupervised access to the child so that familial bonds are retained. However, when reunification is not possible despite our best efforts or is not in the best interest of the child, alternative longer-term plans are put in place to provide safety, stability and certainty for the children. Since 1 July 2020, the Court may grant Enhanced Care and Protection Orders, to enable caregivers such as foster parents to legally care for the children until they are 21 years old.”
“MSF has also worked with the casinos to enhance training for the Responsible Gambling Ambassadors, to guide them on educating patrons on the myths of gambling, to give them the necessary language and confidence to offer help to patrons at risk of gambling problems. Singapore Pools has also strengthened responsible gambling for remote gambling, which now include a self-assessment tool and an option to increase the betting limits temporarily for a specified period of time, for example, for the World Cup season, instead of permanently. We are also working with Fruit Machine Room operators to adopt Responsible Gambling Standards, including basic requirements such as providing information and assistance to patrons. MSF will continue to work with the various operators to strengthen their responsible gambling measures.”
“The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) also has powers under the Casino Control Act to limit the number of visits an individual can make to the casino each month, under the Third Party Visit Limit regime. If the individual has incurred debt due to gambling, NCPG may even bar the person from entering the casino by issuing a Third Party Exclusion Order. Many have also chosen the Self-Exclusion Scheme to voluntarily exclude themselves from the casinos or fruit machine rooms in private clubs, or from opening an online account with Singapore Pools. For individuals impacted by gambling directly or indirectly, they can contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1800-6-668-668 or webchat service to seek advice and e-Counselling anonymously, or request for face-to-face counselling with NCPG’s appointed agency. Within the community, there are also various Social Service Agencies running support groups for those with gambling problems. Responsible gambling measures are preventive efforts required of gambling operators. In 2019, we asked the casinos to move further upstream to encourage responsible gambling at the individual level by using technology to provide real time information on the amount of time and money spent directly to the patrons. Similar to the real time notifications available on Singapore Pools’ online betting service, this tool helps individuals make informed decisions on whether they should continue or stop gambling when their spending has reached certain pre-set levels. Both casinos are studying how best to implement this and their respective systems are at the trial implementation stage.”
“Singapore has stringent social safeguards for gambling. At the broad level, gambling operators are prohibited from extending credit to locals, with the exception of premium players in the casinos, all advertising and promotions are restricted and require approvals from the Casino Regulatory Authority. There are also minimum ages for all legal gambling products, in order to protect minors. You have to be 18 years old and above to place bets at Singapore Pools’ outlets and 21 years old and above to enter the casino, to enter the fruit machine rooms in private clubs and to bet remotely with Singapore Pools. To enter the casinos, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents are required to purchase an entry levy. It is $150 for a daily levy and $3,000 for the annual levy. This is to deter casual gambling and signal that casino gambling is only for those who can afford to do so. To bet remotely with the Singapore Pools, an account holder has to set monthly deposit and betting limits. The individual will be notified when the bet amount exceeds 50%, 75% or reaches 100%, and he is unable to deposit or place bets for the rest of the month. If he wishes to increase the bet limit, it will only take effect after 24 hours. This is to deter impulse betting. To protect vulnerable groups, we take a preventive approach for the most financially vulnerable. For example, undischarged bankrupts and those who are receiving financial aid or subsidies from the Government such as ComCare Short-to-Medium Term assistance or legal aid are automatically barred from entering the casinos, fruit machine rooms in private clubs and from betting online with Singapore Pools.”
“Of these, about 160 pre-schools, including all MOE Kindergartens, offer all three MTLs. Another 260 pre-schools offer two MTLs, and the rest offer one MTL. We have at least one pre-school centre offering Malay or Tamil language in almost all heartland planning areas. ECDA’s continued efforts with AOPs to have a good geographical spread of centres offering MTL, together with MOE’s planned increase in the number of MOE Kindergartens to about 60 by 2025, will offer parents a range of pre-schools that offer MTL learning. Parents may use the Pre-school Search Portal by ECDA to search for the nearest centre with their MTL of choice. To expand MTL teaching resources, ECDA has been working closely with training providers and operators to expand training capacity. Today, we have about 10,500 early childhood educators who meet the required language qualifications and could be engaged to teach Chinese Language, about 2,800 for Malay Language and about 700 for Tamil Language. But not all may choose to teach MTL. The Certificate in Pre-school MTL Teaching (CPMTL) for Malay and Tamil Language was launched in 2019 to enhance in-service early childhood educators’ pedagogical skills in the teaching of MTL. As of February 2021, close to 300 in-service educators have completed the CPMTL for Malay and Tamil Language and have been deployed as MTL teachers in the pre-schools. The national effort to strengthen the learning of MTL and keep our cultures alive has lasted decades and has been upheld as a cornerstone of our education policy. Thousands of educators have dedicated themselves to this mission and the hard work will continue, as we expand our intervention upstream to pre-school.”
“Before I answer the specific questions the Member asked, let me provide some background to set the context of Mother Tongue Language (MTL) learning in Singapore. Post-Independence, when the Government decided that English would be the common working language for all Singaporeans, we also made the learning of MTL compulsory from Primary school, with few exceptions. As families increasingly adopted English as their daily language, the education system and our teachers worked hard to keep the Chinese, Malay and Tamil Languages alive. This effort continues and is by no means an easy task. We introduced and expanded Language Elective Programmes at Junior Colleges, and then Secondary schools, to help students with the interest and talent in MTL to learn it at a deeper level. We introduced the Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools for students to not just nurture their skills in the language, but also acquire a deeper appreciation of Malay culture and literature. We set up the Umar Pulavar centre, to deepen the learning of Tamil Language. To help students weak in MTL, we are also implementing the Mother Tongue Support Programme in Primary school. While much has been done, we decided to bring the intervention upstream as language is learnt from young. MOE Kindergartens set the benchmark today, with all 36 MOE Kindergartens offering all three MTLs. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has also been working closely with the Anchor Operators (AOPs) to double their provision of Malay and Tamil language education to about 350 centres by 2022. But MTL teaching resources are limited, so the offer of different MTLs across centres is still expanding. Nationally, about 1,800 or over 90% of pre-schools offer at least one Mother Tongue Language.”
“MUIS sought the community's assistance for any new information and evidence in this case. Investigations are ongoing. MUIS will share its findings with the public when ready. In all such cases, MUIS and its Fatwa Committee took appropriate measures and dealt with such cases of false/deviant teachings through the issuance of fatwa, counselling, and public education. However, MUIS can only act based on strong evidences that can be furnished. MUIS as the highest religious authority for Islam in Singapore, has and will continue to provide religious guidance and advice to the community on the dangers of deviant teachings. MUIS also encourages the community to be responsible for their own religious learning and seek religious guidance only from credible sources and asatizah registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS).”
“On 9 November 2020, the Straits Times reported the case of an individual who allegedly promulgated deviant teachings. The report noted that the said individual was not a certified religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS), and that he described himself as a prophet. MUIS first received a complaint against the said individual on 6 October 2015. MUIS officers met the complainant, together with other individuals who had information on the complaint. Based on the information provided then, there was insufficient evidence for MUIS to take further action against the said individual. Between October 2015 and October 2017, MUIS continued to investigate the matter based on additional information provided by the same complainants. The matter was presented to the Fatwa Committee in November 2017. In early 2018, the Fatwa Committee invited relevant individuals to be interviewed by the Mufti and selected members of the Fatwa Committee. After further investigation, the Fatwa Committee ruled that some of the said individual's religious beliefs had no basis in religious sources and traditions. Hence, MUIS took the following actions: (a) MUIS issued a letter to the individual, instructing him to immediately stop rendering healing services; (b) The individual was instructed by the Fatwa Committee to cease propagating ideas and practices that were not taken from credible religious sources to members of the public; and (c) The Fatwa Committee also advised the individual to seek religious knowledge from credible and qualified asatizah. Following the Straits Times article in November 2020, where additional information on the case was reported, MUIS reopened the case for investigation.”
“In 2020, 23% of MUIS' workforce was rotated, deployed and posted within and outside of MUIS. This is part of MUIS's career development framework that supports MUIS' organisational needs while giving officers the opportunity to further develop their skills and knowledge. The deployment of a former Assistant Director in the Halal department to the Mosque Madrasah Wakaf Shared Services (MMWSS) was one of these overall staff movements in 2020. This officer was not promoted when he took on the appointment at MMWSS. On 15 December 2020, MUIS issued a media statement to inform the public that it had completed internal investigations into the allegations made against MUIS' recognition process for Foreign Halal Certifying Bodies (FHCBs). The investigations found that MUIS' processes are sound and the recognition and delisting of FHCBs have been carried out by its officers in a fair and impartial manner. These findings were also reviewed by MCCY. In the interest of accountability and transparency, MUIS subsequently referred the matter to the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB) and Police for further investigations, even though MUIS found no evidence to support the allegations of improper conduct or abuse of power by its officer in handling the FHCB cases. MUIS will fully assist in CPIB and Police investigations on this matter.”
“MSF does not specifically track the number of CSG or CRG applications that were rejected due to resignations by the applicant rather than retrenchments or contract terminations. However, less than 12% of applications were rejected due to the applicant not experiencing involuntary job loss, involuntary NPL, or income loss at the point of application. When assessing CSG and CRG applications, the Social Service Offices (SSOs) consider supporting evidence from the applicants, such as correspondence with or documents from their former employers, and will approve applications if there are grounds to show that the applicant was compelled to resign. If the applicants’ claims cannot be verified, the SSOs can still re-assess on a case-by-case basis upon appeal and provide financial support if appellants are facing extenuating circumstances, or link them to other assistance schemes if necessary.”
“The COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) supported lower- to middle-income resident employees who, as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, were: (a) Involuntarily unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination; (b) Placed on involuntary no-pay leave (NPL) for at least three consecutive months; or (c) Experiencing monthly salary loss of at least 30% for at least three consecutive months. Applications for the CSG closed on 31 December 2020. The COVID-19 Recovery Grant (CRG) supports lower- to middle-income resident employees and self-employed persons who, as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, are: (a) Involuntarily unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination; (b) Placed on involuntary NPL for at least three consecutive months; or (c) Experiencing monthly salary loss or net trade income loss of at least 50% on average for at least three consecutive months. Applications for the CRG are open from 18 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. As of 22 March 2021, MSF had received about 26,500 CRG applications, of which about 10,500 had been approved, about 2,000 were being processed, and about 14,000 were unsuccessful. MSF also received around 570 appeals, of which around 450 were successful. Two in three of unsuccessful applications were due to applicants not meeting the eligibility criteria for income loss, job loss, or no-pay leave, or exceeding the household income eligibility criteria. Other reasons for unsuccessful applications included employment details not being verifiable (e.g. caseworker is unable to verify declared information with employer), or the job search or training requirement not being met.”
“Residents facing emotional distress can be assisted by various touchpoints in the community, such as the Family Service Centres (FSC), counselling centres, and healthcare institutions. Typically, these agencies operate during office hours (some have extended hours on selected days), and residents can either walk in or contact them to schedule an appointment. After office hours, a resident who is emotionally distressed may call the National Care Hotline (Tel: 1800-202-6868, 8am to 12 midnight) or 24-hour crisis hotlines like Samaritans of Singapore (SOS – Tel: 1800-221-444) and the Institute of Mental Health’s (IMH) Mental Health Helpline (Tel: 6389-2222). Members of the public may call the Police when they come across an emotionally distressed resident who is posing a risk to the safety of self or others. Based on the facts and circumstances of the case, Police will provide the necessary assistance which may include referring the resident for social assistance and psychiatric examination.”
“The data on care and control outcomes for civil divorces is currently not coded for ready retrieval. As such, there is a need to read each divorce judgment, which is written in free text, in order to determine the care and control outcome, and then to extract, codify and verify the data for each case. There are about 27,000 cases for divorces finalised from 2016 to 2020. While we have been working closely with the Family Justice Courts to ensure that such data is extracted, the process is time-consuming and manpower-intensive due to the large volume of cases. We seek the Member’s understanding that MSF is unable to provide the statistics at this point in time as the data extraction process is on-going. We will share the statistics when ready.”
“When MSF comes across volunteers and donors who are interested to contribute in areas beyond MSF’s purview, we will link them up with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), or the SG Cares Office. MSF is committed to providing meaningful giving experiences for our volunteers and donors. We recognise that many Singaporeans have expressed their desire to be more involved in efforts – in caring for those in need. The Ministry is currently looking at ways to enhance the matching process for our volunteers and donors, and will provide more details once these initiatives are ready. In the meantime, we encourage all who are interested to volunteer in the social service sector to visit MSF’s page at volunteer.sg and NVPC’s giving.sg website. They may also physically approach any SG Cares Volunteer Centre for assistance. Those who would like to donate can also approach the Community Chest for the latest giving opportunities in the social service sector.”
“MSF partners volunteers and donors to serve the needs of our community. Our volunteers serve in various community initiatives such as ComLink and KidSTART, which were established to meet the needs of lower-income families with young children. They are also active in the Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS) network, and the Vulnerable-In-Community (VIC) network – which engage and support vulnerable persons such as rough sleepers, tissue sellers and cardboard collectors. MSF works with donors to channel their donations through Community Chest, which supports more than 200 programmes run by more than 80 social service agencies. Their contributions are matched to specific funding needs in the social service sector – covering areas such as children with special needs, youth-at-risk, adults with disabilities, lower-income seniors, families-in-need and persons with mental health conditions. Their efforts are vital as we work together to meet the needs of those who need help, and to build a caring society. There are three key steps that MSF takes to match volunteers and donors to the needs in the community. First, we engage our community partners and the clients we serve, to map out and identify specific community needs. Next, we speak with potential volunteers and donors to gauge their interest in working with MSF to address these needs. We will then proceed with the matching once there is alignment between the identified need and the volunteer’s or donor’s areas of interest. As new needs in the community arise, we will continue to engage and encourage potential volunteers and donors to contribute accordingly.”
“Of these, about 160 preschools, including all MOE Kindergartens, offer all three MTLs. Another 260 preschools offer two MTLs, and the rest offer one MTL. We have at least one preschool centre offering Malay or Tamil language in almost all heartland planning areas. ECDA’s continued efforts with AOPs to have a good geographical spread of centres offering MTL, together with MOE’s planned increase in the number of MOE Kindergartens to about 60 by 2025, will offer parents a range of preschools that offer MTL learning. Parents may use the Preschool Search Portal by ECDA to search for the nearest centre with their MTL of choice. To expand MTL teaching resources, ECDA has been working closely with training providers and operators to expand training capacity. Today, we have about 10,500 early childhood educators who meet the required language qualifications and could be engaged to teach Chinese Language, about 2,800 for Malay Language, and about 700 for Tamil Language. But not all may choose to teach MTL. The Certificate in Preschool MTL Teaching (CPMTL) for Malay and Tamil Language was launched in 2019 to enhance in-service early childhood educators’ pedagogical skills in the teaching of MTL. As of February 2021, close to 300 in-service educators have completed the CPMTL for Malay and Tamil Language and have been deployed as MTL teachers in the preschools. The national effort to strengthen the learning of MTL and keep our cultures alive has lasted decades and has been upheld as a cornerstone of our education policy. Thousands of educators have dedicated themselves to this mission and the hard work will continue, as we expand our intervention upstream to pre-school.”
“Before I answer the specific questions the Member asked, let me provide some background to set the context of Mother Tongue Language (MTL) learning in Singapore. Post-independence, when the Government decided that English would be the common working language for all Singaporeans, we also made the learning of MTL compulsory from primary school, with few exceptions. As families increasingly adopted English as their daily language, the education system and our teachers worked hard to keep the Chinese, Malay and Tamil Languages alive. This effort continues and is by no means an easy task. We introduced and expanded Language Elective Programmes at Junior Colleges, and then secondary schools, to help students with the interest and talent in MTL to learn it at a deeper level. We introduced the Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools for students to not just nurture their skills in the language, but also acquire a deeper appreciation of Malay culture and literature. We set up the Umar Pulavar centre, to deepen the learning of Tamil Language. To help students weak in MTL, we are also implementing the Mother Tongue Support Programme in primary school. While much has been done, we decided to bring the intervention upstream as language is learnt from young. MOE Kindergartens set the benchmark today, with all 36 MOE Kindergartens offering all three MTLs. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has also been working closely with the Anchor Operators (AOPs) to double their provision of Malay and Tamil language education to about 350 centres by 2022. But MTL teaching resources are limited, so the offer of different MTLs across centres is still expanding. Nationally, about 1,800 or over 90% of preschools offer at least one Mother Tongue Language.”
“However, the Management Committee of each JMS madrasah is required to audit their financial accounts and submit their financial statements to MUIS. In 2019/2020, the JMS Board of Governors conducted an internal investigation on staff matters at Madrasah Irsyad arising from a complaint. The complaint was not related to ITL or the former Senior Director of MUIS’ Madrasah department who resigned from MUIS in 2016.”
“There is currently no affiliation between Irsyad Trust Limited and Madrasah Irsyad. Irsyad Trust Limited – or ITL – was established as a separate company in 2006 by Madrasah Irsyad’s Madrasah Management Committee (MMC). The ITL was then known as Irsyad Foundation Limited. It was later in August 2008, that MUIS brought Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah into the Joint Madrasah System (JMS) – along with Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah and Madrasah Arabiah Al-Islamiah. Notwithstanding the formation of JMS, Madrasah Irsyad’s MMC continued to oversee Madrasah Irsyad’s fundraising efforts. These included international projects in training and education carried out by the Madrasah. Funds raised from these projects went towards supporting Madrasah Irsyad’s local operations. In 2014, Madrasah Irsyad’s MMC moved its international functions to ITL. However, during an annual audit done in 2016 of Madrasah Irsyad’s accounts, it was found that MMC had endorsed a transfer of S$2 million to ITL for its international operations. MUIS requested ITL to repay the monies to the Madrasah. ITL returned the S$2 million in full to the Madrasah in 2016. Following a review in 2020, Madrasah Irsyad decided to de-prioritise its international projects. Therefore, the Madrasah and ITL agreed that both institutions would no longer be affiliated with each other from January 2021, and ITL can no longer use Madrasah Irsyad’s branding for its international projects. MUIS has directed a review of the financial transactions between Madrasah Irsyad and ITL. That review is ongoing. Depending on the findings of the review, MUIS will consider whether further actions need to be taken. It is currently not the practice for madrasahs to publish their financial statements.”
“SG Enable works with various partners to enhance employment and employability for persons with disabilities (PwDs) through the Open Door Programme (ODP). Between 2014 and 2020, SG Enable and its job placement partners have helped to place over 3,000 clients in employment. More than 60% of clients placed into jobs through the ODP remained employed with the same employer after 6 months. MSF works closely with the Ministry of Manpower and SG Enable to review and improve existing schemes and programmes that help to enhance employment and employability of PwDs. For example, the ODP Training Grant was enhanced in July 2020 to provide more support for PwDs to upgrade their work-relevant skills. The ODP Training Grant now provides 95% course fee subsidies for PwDs, a training allowance of $6 per hour, and a training commitment award of $100 for PwDs who complete the training. MOM also introduced the Enabling Employment Credit in January this year to provide wage offsets of up to 30% for eligible employers of PwDs. Earlier this year, MSF launched three new programmes to enhance access to training and employment opportunities for PwDs amid the continued impact of COVID-19 on Singaporeans. The new customised Place and Train, Attach and Train, and Skills Development Programmes will complement existing efforts under the ODP, to support employment and training for PwDs. We will continue to monitor various existing measures, and explore ways to enhance the employment and employability of PwDs. MSF had set up a cross-sectoral workgroup in 2019 to better prepare and support PwDs for employment in the future economy as part of the Third Enabling Masterplan (EMP3). The workgroup has since concluded its work and will be releasing its recommendations shortly.”
“MUIS will continue to work closely with the mosques to ensure they remain financially stable and receive the necessary assistance during these challenging times. I thank the community for their support and encourage them to continue donating online, so that our mosques can serve the congregants in a safe manner.”
“Our mosques rely on donations from congregants to sustain their operations, including manpower costs. These donations are largely collected through donation boxes at the mosques. COVID-19 has affected the amount of donations that the mosques receive. During the Circuit Breaker last year, the community was unable to make physical donations due to the temporary closure of our mosques. This resulted in a drop in the donations received through the donation boxes. To address this issue, MUIS and the mosques turned to digital means to collect donations. (a) Our mosques stepped up efforts to facilitate donations through various online payment platforms. (b) MUIS and MuslimSG also launched OurMasjid.SG portal in April 2020, which raised about $4.4 million for mosques. Since then, mosques have gradually resumed congregational prayers and other religious activities, in line with the prevailing Safe Management Measures. This has led to an increase in physical donations, though not to previous levels. MUIS has provided additional funding to support mosques’ operations. This comes in the form of grants to offset the necessary expenses to ensure the safe resumption of religious activities. These expenses include the purchase of equipment for temperature screening, safe entry check-ins, as well as masks and other personal protective gear. Like other employers, mosques also receive wage support through the Jobs Support Scheme (or JSS), which totalled about $9.9 million in 2020. The support from MUIS and the Government, together with the increase in online donations, have helped to cushion the reduction in income and donations during the pandemic.”
“For FV victims who apply for public rental flats as their longer-term accommodation, HDB takes into account their circumstances as part of the assessment process, and may exercise flexibility to allocate rental flats to those who have no other housing options. Beyond providing shelter for victims, the Government has been working closely with our community partners to tackle FV through various means. The National Family Violence Networking System was established in 1996 to connect the Police, Courts, hospitals, social service agencies, and MSF in a tight network to provide support to families facing FV. The Taskforce on Family Violence, which I co-chair with MOS Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, has also done a recent stock-take of the landscape and possible causes of FV, so that we can intervene more effectively. The Taskforce is looking into various recommendations, along four broad thrusts: (a) Increasing awareness and strengthening societal attitudes against violence; (b) Making it easier for victims and the community to report violence, and to get immediate help; (c) Strengthening protection for victims to reduce their risk of being harmed again; and (d) Increasing the accountability of perpetrators and strengthening their rehabilitation. The Taskforce will provide further details after it submits its report to the Minister for Social and Family Development and the Minister for Home Affairs later this year.”
“Where the safety risk is high or there is no safe and suitable alternative accommodation option, victims of family violence may seek emergency shelter at MSF-funded shelters. For victims who stay in our crisis shelters, social service professionals work with the victims to address their safety, financial and emotional concerns, and assist them in securing longer-term and stable housing arrangements. Even though shelters are available for victims of family violence (FV), it is often better for victims to be supported in their usual places of residence by their usual support networks of family and friends with minimise disruption to their daily routine, wherever possible. They can and will still be assisted by Family Violence Specialist Centres and Family Service Centres as needed, to ensure that safety plans are in place and they continue to receive the necessary social support. To reduce the recurrence of harm, under the Women’s Charter, the Court may make a Domestic Exclusion Order (DEO) when granting a Personal Protection Order. The DEO aims to restrict the perpetrators from entering the shared residence, or parts of the shared residence. Some perpetrators also choose to leave the residence to temporarily stay with other family members or friends. This allows them the space and time to seek help to manage their emotions and tendencies, with the motivation of keeping their loved ones safe and their family intact. MSF and our social service partners can also provide the necessary support to help manage their emotions and tendencies.”