Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts, 36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963. Tel: 3757794/5
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SPEECH BY MR ABDULLAH TARMUGI, MINISTER FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AT THE LAUNCH OF THE FSC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN '97 AT BISHAN JUNCTION 8 ATRIUM ON SATURDAY, 17 MAY 1997, 2.00 PM
Good afternoon
Dr Robert Loh, President NCSS
Mr Alex Lee, CEO NCSS
Ladies & gentlemen
It is my pleasure to be here at this launch of the Family Service Centre Awareness Campaign 1997. While many of us would have heard of the existence of your neighbourhood Family Service Centres and some may even have occasion to go to one of them, there are still others who are not aware of their role or of the range of services and programmes provided by these centres.
The concept of setting up accessible one-stop centres to reach out and cater to the varied needs and concerns of families in our community is not new. The first FSC was established more than 20 years ago in 1976 by the then Ministry of Social Affairs. Since that pilot project, MCD and NCSS, working closely welfare organisations (VWOs), have gradually extended the network of FSCs and improved the quality of their services and programmes. There are now 21 FSCs run by various VWOs and we plan to have a total of 34 FSCs by the turn of the century. This increase in the number of FSCs reaffirms the Government's commitment to strengthen our families as the basic unit of our society.
The FSC is an invaluable source of social and community support for our families. In fact, the potential clientele of each FSC extends beyond those with family problems. Besides providing counselling on family issues like marital disputes, juvenile delinquency and care for the elderly, some FSCs also provide child care and before-and-after-school care services. FSCs also serve as important first points of contact for families at risk who want to seek professional help.
I would like to commend NCSS for embarking on this massive 3-month long campaign to increase the public's awareness on the work of FSCs. I hope this campaign, the first of its kind will serve to inform Singaporeans how FSCs can be a ready source of help and support for them.
During this awareness campaign, the public can also find out more about FSCs through the FSC Helpline which links all existing FSCs on the Phonenet System. When a caller dials the FSC Helpline number, the Phonenet System automatically links the caller to the FSC nearest to his/her home. In other words, the public need only remember one telephone number. This will make it more convenient for the public to seek assistance and advice from social service professionals in the FSCs. It will also serve FSCs in ensuring that the correct referrals are made to them. This awareness campaign also aims to reassure the public that there will be absolute confidentiality between the FSCs and their clients. No one need to feel embarrassed about approaching an FSC for help.
Our families are important, and by and large families in Singapore are still strong and intact. But there are concerns over the erosion of values that could impact on the family structure and the strength of this institutions. I am therefore pleased to announce that at the end of this month, MCD will embark on a landmark national survey to study the state of families in Singapore. The study will provide benchmark information on our families, how different families function and provide a profile of family relationships in Singapore. The survey was one of the key recommendations of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Dysfunctional Families, Juvenile Delinquency and Drug abuse.
The survey will look at the pressures our families face, the state of health of dual career families, decisions on child care arrangements, care for the elderly and measures that can be taken by the Government to maintain and support the well-being of the family as well as help families in distress. The survey will involve a representative sample of 2700 citizens resident in Singapore. The interviews will be conducted over four months.
The survey would provide us with comprehensive hard data to enable us to formulate policies and design programmes which can help to strengthen and support our families. But policies and programmes can only work with the combined initiative of government and the community. The FSC programme is an example of this joint initiative. I wish the FSC Awareness Campaign every success.