The delivery of welfare in Singapore rethought - A case study of Social Service Offices

Abstract

In 2013, the Minister of Social and Family Development announced the launch of Social Service Offices (SSOs). These SSOs were designed to make the provision of social assistance more accessible to Singapore’s needy. The Singapore government has traditionally been prudent with the provision of social assistance, fearing that it would erode the work ethic of her citizens. By launching the SSOs, the government has not shifted significantly from its emphasis; on self-reliance and individual savings, the family as the first line of support for the poor, the community as an important ‘helping hand’, and targeting state assistance at those that have no other means of support, but instead sought to overcome the cognitive limitations of Singapore’s needy.

This case study aims to understand the role played by SSOs in the delivery of social assistance to needy Singaporeans, and how it has deviated from the welfare delivery model previously adopted by the state.