Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether parents of infants enrolled in the Early Childhood Development Agency's Childminding Pilot are eligible for other forms of financial assistance beyond the use of Child Development Account funds; and (b) what further financial assistance schemes were available to the parents to defray the costs of enrolling in such services.
Answer
1 Besides the use of the Child Development Account funds, the Government provides subsidies to ensure childminding services under the Early Childhood Development Agency’s (ECDA) Childminding Pilot for Infants are affordable. For parents who use these services full-time, for five times a week for four weeks, they will pay around $700 a month in out-of-pocket expenses. This is lower than the usual cost of childminding services today, which can be around $1,200 to $2,800 a month.
2 Of all families enrolled, more than 80% have used their infant’s CDA monies to defray the out-of-pocket expenses of childminding services under this pilot.