Taskforce Unveils Three Key Shifts to Strengthen Support for Persons with Disabilities and Their Families Across Life Stages
The Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities has released its recommendations to strengthen support for persons with disabilities and their families across different stages of life.
2 Building on the Enabling Masterplan 2030, the Taskforce’s recommendations strengthen support across the life course through three key shifts:
· Planning for the Future – moving beyond a reactive approach towards proactive action across life stages;
· Finding and Growing in a Job – moving beyond job placement towards meaningful and sustained employment; and
· Living Well in the Community – moving beyond care towards meaningful engagement and belonging.
3 Since January 2026, the Taskforce has engaged persons with disabilities, caregivers, Special Education (SPED) schools, employers, community partners, and agencies providing disability services to better understand the aspirations, experiences and concerns of persons with disabilities and their families.
4 A common theme was the desire for greater assurance and confidence when navigating key life transitions, particularly after graduation from SPED schools and as circumstances changed over their life stages. Persons with disabilities and their families shared that planning ahead for employment, community participation, long-term care living arrangements and affordability of support could be challenging. The recommendations aim to better support them in these transitions.
Planning for the Future
5 Today, families often coordinate support for their loved ones only when circumstances change, which can cause considerable stress and anxiety for families. The Taskforce recommends moving beyond a reactive approach towards proactive action across life stages.
6 To help families plan proactively, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and SG Enable will put in place Future Care Planning support across adult disability services. This will build on the Individual Transition Plans (ITPs) developed in SPED schools for all students with disabilities. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will work closely with MSF and all relevant partners to ensure continuity in support and care planning from school to post-school services. Care planners will then work alongside persons with disabilities and their families to identify their short- and long-term goals, aspirations and needs, map out options to address these needs and possible contingencies, and connect with relevant services. Plans can be reviewed over time as needs and circumstances change, providing families with greater confidence and assurance as they look ahead.
7 To give persons with disabilities and their families greater assurance as they plan ahead, MSF will also reduce the fees after government subsidies for adult disability services by 2028. These enhancements will help ensure that support remains accessible as needs change across life stages. MSF will increase means-tested subsidies by 10 percentage points or more for most households, extend means-tested subsidies to more middle-income households and cushion the higher cost of key services catering to persons with severe disabilities. These changes will complement the earlier announced expansion of disability criteria for selected financial support schemes to support persons with intellectual disabilities or autism with significant care needs. Further details on the affordability enhancements are at Annex.
Finding and Growing in a Job
8 Persons with disabilities have diverse talents, strengths and aspirations. To support those on employment pathways in achieving their career goals, assistance should extend beyond securing a job to helping them build skills, grow in confidence, and sustain meaningful employment over time. The Taskforce recommends strengthening support throughout the employment journey from preparing for work in schooling years to developing and progressing in employment.
9 To support persons with disabilities to transition more smoothly from school to employment, MOE will strengthen students’ work readiness through the development of work-ready and soft skills and more work exposure opportunities in SPED schools, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and polytechnics. Students will also receive more targeted education, career and planning guidance, to help them make course selections and employment decisions that better align with their strengths and aspirations.
10 SG Enable will expand its suite of employment and career services through setting up an Employment Support Office as a one-stop touchpoint where persons with disabilities can access guidance and support throughout their employment journey. The Office will also engage employers to identify and redesign suitable jobs, including new opportunities arising from evolving business models and technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
11 SG Enable will strengthen employment support beyond job placement by extending the duration of job support for persons with higher work support needs in open employment, and providing continued assistance when challenges arise.
12 Employers will receive stronger support to hire, integrate, and retain persons with disabilities. Existing funding support will be streamlined and enhanced through a new Enabling Employment Grant, while the Ministry of Manpower will enhance the Enabling Employment Credit, with greater support for employers who hire persons with disabilities who have been out of work for a long period of time. MSF and SG Enable will also introduce a new Supported-Enterprise Enabling Grant to support enterprises that employ a significant proportion of persons with disabilities with moderate support needs. Further details on the employment measures are at Annex.
Living Well in the Community
13 Persons with disabilities aspire to lead fulfilling lives, live with greater independence in their own homes and neighbourhoods, remain connected to their communities and participate meaningfully in everyday life. The Taskforce recommends moving beyond care towards meaningful engagement and belonging, with stronger support for capability-building and community participation. In this way, persons with disabilities can pursue their aspirations, and experience a stronger sense of belonging within their communities.
14 To meet demand for adult disability services, MSF will expand the capacity of Day Activity Centres (DACs) and Sheltered Workshops (SWs) by a total of 2,300 spaces across Singapore by 2030. This includes the earlier 1,000 spaces committed.
15 MSF will also take significant steps to evolve the model of community care to place greater emphasis on capability, independence and community participation. Beyond providing care, the Enabling Skills for Life Programme (ESLP) proof-of-concept offers a more structured curriculum to develop skills for independent living, community participation, employability, and overall quality of life. Over time, DACs and SWs will progressively transition into Enabling Skills Centres, which will deliver the new programming.
16 Support for persons with disabilities and caregivers will become more accessible through the nationwide expansion of Enabling Services Hubs (ESHs), with nine additional ESHs to be established by 2028.
17 The Ministry of Health (MOH) will strengthen care access and better tailor healthcare, in particular for persons with intellectual disabilities and autism. Firstly, frontline staff across all polyclinics will be trained to provide better support. MOH will also collaborate with SG Enable to implement a Health Communication Passport (HCP) to facilitate sharing of individuals' communication and support needs with healthcare staff starting at selected polyclinics. Further, designated polyclinics will provide additional accommodations for those with higher care needs. Further details on the community and healthcare measures are at Annex.
Building an Inclusive Society Together
18 Building a more inclusive society requires the collective efforts of families, employers, educators, healthcare professionals, community organisations and the wider public. MSF and SG Enable will work with community partners to equip the general public with skills to interact meaningfully with persons with disabilities, strengthen disability inclusion in society including in schools and workplaces, build confidence and practical skills for meaningful interaction with persons with disabilities, and create spaces for persons with disabilities to participate more fully in community life. Further details on the measures to build an inclusive society are at Annex.
19 The relevant Ministries will work with SG Enable, the national agency for disability, community partners, employers and the wider disability sector to implement the recommendations. Together, these measures will strengthen support across key life transitions, enable persons with disabilities to pursue their aspirations with greater independence and belonging, and give families greater assurance that they will be supported as they plan for the future and navigate life’s changes.
Please find the link to the Annex here.
Please find the link to the Glossary here.
Please find the link to the Infographics for the Taskforce Recommendations here.
Please find the link to the full taskforce report here, and a version that is accessible to screen readers can be found here.