Children from Low Income Families

General Guidelines

Cite credible sources (books, websites, reports, newspapers) where possible using the 'Cite' function once you click 'Edit'
You can also hyperlink to websites where relevant.
The table of contents on the right reflects headers that you can assign while editing. For example, clicking 'Definitions and Scope' below while in Edit mode shows that it is a Heading, while 'Target Population' is a Sub-heading 1.
- Every page should have the Headings and sub-headings (see below) by default
- Feel free to add more Headings and sub-headings where helpful.
See the pages on Disability or End of Life for examples of how pages should more or less look like

Definitions and Scope

Children from Low Income Families

Increasing Inequality

A static measure of inequality is the Gini coefficient, which has a value ranging from zero to one. When the income distribution is more unequal, the Gini coefficient has a larger value^[1]. Singapore has seen a steady increase in its Gini Coefficient throughout its development history. In 2017, the Gini Coefficient stood at 0.459 before taking into account Government transfers and taxes – little changed from 2016’s 0.458 which was the lowest in a decade. The 2 highest peaks in the past decade were 0.482 and 0.478 in 2007 and 2012^[2]. Based on Credit Suisse's estimate of Singapore's wealth distribution, 73 per cent of Singapore’s wealth is owned by the wealthiest 20 per cent.^[3]As a frame of comparison, the latest available figures are, before taxes and transfers, for the United States (0.506), United Kingdom (0.520), Canada (0.435), Denmark (0.444) and South Korea (0.341)^[4]. When Government transfers and taxes are taken into account, Singapore's Gini Coefficient in 2017 was 0.401.^[5]In comparison, the latest available figures for countries such as Canada, Denmark and South Korea, for example, were lower at 0.318, 0.256 and 0.295 respectively while those for the United States and United Kingdom were higher at 0.390 and 0.360 respectively.^[6]

A high level of income inequality could have implications for social and intergenerational mobility when accessibility to resources for the betterment of self and family in terms of work and education becomes stratified according to social and economic status. This leads inequality becoming sticky or entrenched where there are limited opportunities for one to move oneself or one's children from a lower socioeconomic rung to a higher one. Income growth has indeed slowed for less well-off families in Singapore^[7]. There is also an increasing number young Singaporeans in need and relying on government handouts.^[8]Inequality also results in divisions across social classes which again has the potential effect of cementing stratification. A study of social capital in Singapore reveals that there was strong evidence for socialisation to occur along class-based lines, reflecting clear social divide.^[9]

Poverty, Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty

We can analyse poverty using two basic stages – first, the identifying of who is poor, and second, summarising this individual-level information into a measure of poverty for the whole society.There is no official definition of what absolute poverty is in Singapore because this involves a clear poverty line through the identification of

Client Segments| |

Identify more specific types of clients where necessary from research or national guidelines, e.g. children from low-income families, children of single parent families, especially where each sub-type's needs are different

Size of Target Population| |

Ideally, it would be the total number of people in your target group, identified by national censuses, surveys or research
Often, such data isn't available - choose the best available proxy, e.g., children receiving services and those on waitlists

Desired Outcomes| |

State what are the ideal outcomes for this target group are, and what they mean.
- Outcomes measure actual change tangibly and are not the same as outputs - a programme serving a large number of clients (output) may not mean that all clients saythat they have benefitted from it (outcome).
For example, if an ideal outcome is that 'Children are resilient', look for research that defines what resilience entails (e.g., psychological resilience)
Knowing outcomes helps determine whether our policies and services are performing well.
Other examples include having a ‘good death’ for the terminally ill, ‘social inclusion’ of people with disabilities, or ‘engaged youth’.

Needs of (name of target group)| |

Need for (insert description)| |

A need should be defined from the perspective of the target group, and not others such as the people or services serving them.
Needs should not be identified in term of its specific solutions, e.g. youths need mentoring, seniors need hospice care, people with disabilities need day care. Instead, they should be defined in more ‘perennial terms’ because the solutions can change where needs remain
- For example, I don’t need a CD player, or even an mp3 player, I need ‘portable music’ and currently the best solution seems to be Spotify.
Where data is available, indicate the size of this specific need & projected demand, e.g., there is 1 million children, with 1.2 million projected in ten years time. You can locate such information through research, using proxies or getting inputs from key stakeholders where data is unavailable such as the government, community agencies, legislators etc.
Include a synoptic statement - a summary of how existing resources (if any) have been meeting the need, and gaps that still exist
- For example, "Even though there are 1,510 childcare centres across Singapore[1], 80% of low-income single mothers cannot afford them as they earn less than $1,500 a month.

STATISTICS 7,000 children aged 6 and below have developmental difficulties as of 2015[2] Between 2010 and 2014, KKH and NUS screenings show a 76% increase in children 6 and below with developmental issues such as development delays, speech and language delays, learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)[3]

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Existing services or programmes both private or public, including relevant policies and legislation, to meet the need. (e.g., Childcare Centres)	Find these out from relevant sources - newspapers, reports, surveys, interviews with key stakeholders etc. Some gaps could be due to: 1) capacity of solution to meet size & projected demand, 2) quality of solution (effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, scalability etc.), 3) accessibility (geographical, cost to client)]	Based on the specific gaps and reasons for those gaps, what might be solutions that can help? Insert existing but untapped resources, or new ideas that have not been considered yet.

Need for (insert description)| |

(Synoptic Statement)

STATISTICS (e.g., there are 1 million children in Singapore - please cite)

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Existing services or programmes both private or public, including relevant policies and legislation, to meet the need. (e.g., Childcare Centres)	Find these out from relevant sources - newspapers, reports, surveys, interviews with key stakeholders etc. Some gaps could be due to: 1) capacity of solution to meet size & projected demand, 2) quality of solution (effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, scalability etc.), 3) accessibility (geographical, cost to client)]	Based on the specific gaps and reasons for those gaps, what might be solutions that can help? Insert existing but untapped resources, or new ideas that have not been considered yet.

Need for (insert description)| |

(Synoptic Statement)

STATISTICS (e.g., there are 1 million children in Singapore - please cite)

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Existing services or programmes both private or public, including relevant policies and legislation, to meet the need. (e.g., Childcare Centres)	Find these out from relevant sources - newspapers, reports, surveys, interviews with key stakeholders etc. Some gaps could be due to: 1) capacity of solution to meet size & projected demand, 2) quality of solution (effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, scalability etc.), 3) accessibility (geographical, cost to client)]	Based on the specific gaps and reasons for those gaps, what might be solutions that can help? Insert existing but untapped resources, or new ideas that have not been considered yet.

Resource Directory| |

[insert organization name]| |

Insert web link

[insert organization name]| |

Insert web link

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Navigation menu

Children from Low Income Families

Contents

Definitions and Scope