Investing in at-risk children pays off sevenfold in the future
It takes, on average, $20,000 over five years to get a child from a disadvantaged background to be on an equal footing with his more well-off peers.
This is done through the combined efforts of social workers, preschool educators, educational therapists and health specialists, who work on helping these children before they enter primary school.
This investment is likely to bear fruit later on, with a $136,000 boost in these children’s earning power over the 45 years they are likely to be in the workforce.
These were the findings of an independent study on Care Corner Singapore’s decade-long Circle of Care (CoC) programme, conducted by local think-tank Research for Impact between July 2022 and July 2023.
The study also found that over 85 % of the 146 parents in the CoC program agreed that their children have improved in their general academic, life and social skills after receiving CoC’s services.
There was also evidence to suggest that the parents had gained motivation, confidence and ability to support their children in reaching the parents’ aspirational outcomes.
But families which presented imminent risks such as family violence or child abuse were shown to benefit the least from the CoC programme and to require a different response to ensure that the children remained safe while these risks were addressed.
These findings were revealed at Care Corner Singapore’s Early Childhood Development Conference at Concorde Hotel on Nov 24.
Speaking at the event, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said that the early years of a child’s life are important for his development. However, in many disadvantaged families, children may not have a conducive environment to do so.
“The gaps in development between them and their peers can widen over the years unless something is done upstream to give them a better start,” said Mr Chua, adding that children are an important place to start when strengthening social mobility.
Chua, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development, said integrated support for disadvantaged families is another key factor to ensure that the assistance provided is effective.
“One organisation may interact with one family member, while another serves another family member when in reality, their issues are interrelated. We need to work together as one, to ensure that families are supported optimally and consistently,” he said, adding that these families may face complex and interlocking difficulties.
CoC began in March 2013 in partnership with the Lien Foundation, with Quantedge Foundation joining the scheme in 2018. It was meant to be an early intervention programme to help children from low-income families through holistic support from professionals from healthcare, social services and education. The programme aims to support children in their learning, health, and social and emotional well-being.
Elisha Tushara
The Straits Times
Asia News Network
