Enabling Master Plan for the Disabled

Sir, I will use the term "disability" interchangeably with the term "special needs", since "disability" is a historical label that many people are still using. I thank the Minister for commissioning and launching the second five-year Enabling Masterplan for the Disabled. The disability scene has certainly been more vibrant and responsive compared to 10 years ago when there were no masterplans of such scope and depth.

I wish to raise four points for Minister's consideration and response.

First, progress of the Enabling Master Plan. Many recommendations were made in the 2012-2016 Enabling Master Plan. But according to recent media report, many persons with disabilities and their families do not appear to know much about the Enabling Master Plan and how they can be helped. I would like to ask Minister if there had been any change in the mode and pace of communicating and updating this community since the last Plan expired. And since one year has passed since the latest Master Plan was launched, I also wish to seek Minister's update on the progress of this latest Plan.

Second, Special Implementation Team for Adults with Disabilities. Much focus has been placed on younger persons with special needs in the last six years, especially in early intervention and education, and that is good. As these children grow older, the demand for services to meet their changing needs had surfaced and become more urgent. Adults who are more severely disabled will need more support in the form of Day Activity Centres, respite care and residential living options. Those who are milder and are able to proceed to further studies require more education support in the higher institutions of learning.

Still, adults with disabilities who can be employed will need help in employability training, job placement, job support and continuous education and training (CET) so that they can be gainfully employed and be more financially independent. I have recently met a number of adults with various conditions such as hearing impairment, visual impairment, down syndrome who are either staying at home or taking on jobs that are much below their potential. There appears to be a need for greater focus, tighter support structure and resources to help them.

I urge Minister to form a Special Enabling Master Plan Implementation Team to specifically focus on addressing the needs of these adults with disabilities. Amongst other things, this team should look urgently into:

(a) identifying locations, funding and construction of much-needed Day Activity Centres for adults with more severe needs; and

(b) resource and expand the scope and reach of the three Job Centres - BizLink, MINDS and ARC's E2C - so that more adults can receive not only screening and job placement, but also employability training and CET.

Third, clarification of Service Delivery System. With the recent changes in the service delivery mechanism in the social service and special-needs sector, I seek Minister's clarification on how all the different organisations, such as the Centre for Enabled Living, NCSS, MSF, CDC, VWOs and the new Social Services Offices, fit into the entire service delivery map for the special-needs sector.

Fourth, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With Singapore's signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in November last year, there has been rising expectation that the rights expressed in this Convention will materialise sooner than later. I seek the Minister's sharing of what the signing means and how things might be different for the sector now that the Convention is signed.