Speech by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the 24th Outstanding Social Worker Award (OSWA) 2023 Ceremony

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health

Ms Tan Sze Wee, President, Singapore Association of Social Workers

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. I am delighted to join you today for the 24^th Outstanding Social Worker Award Presentation Ceremony – where we celebrate the exceptional contributions of this year’s award recipients, as well as recognise the vital role of social workers.

From income inequality to respect disparity

2. I recall vividly a dialogue I had with members of the Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) twelve years ago when I was chairing an initiative on social mobility. Our discussion ran deep into the challenges that vulnerable individuals and families face. And underlined the fact that I have observed through interactions with social workers over many years: the critical role of our social workers, their passion, and their professionalism.

3. You are often the first person whom those facing major difficulties turn to. For help and advice on everything from financial and housing assistance, to employment, to emotional support. You also played a key role supporting those impacted by the pandemic.

4. The Forward Singapore exercise has generated further major moves to strengthen our social compact. It includes shifts in government policies to further support social mobility, mitigate inequality, and strengthen safety nets in ways that support personal resilience. But Forward Singapore also goes beyond shifts in government policies.

5. A stronger social compact will have to be underpinned by a growing culture of solidarity and respect for all. Solidarity that is characterised by deeper mutual respect for each other, regardless of our backgrounds and what we each do for a career. Solidarity that breeds a compact of both personal responsibility to do the best for ourselves and collective responsibility for each other. It is that culture of solidarity and respect for all that ultimately gives us  resilience and confidence as a society.  

6. Developing that culture is a task for each one of us, in the thick of our everyday life. And as social workers, you do play a special role. Not only in helping the vulnerable and those in difficulty, but in helping to engender that culture of solidarity and respect for all. Enabling people to regain confidence in themselves when they have taken a fall, but also linking them up with voluntary groups and community initiatives that enable everyone to contribute -  enabling even those who have been through tough times to  contribute and be recognised for their contributions to a better community.  

Growing care economy and role of social workers

7. Let me say a few words too on the growing demand for skills in the social work profession, and in the broader care economy.    

   1. There are several dimensions to this. Most clearly, as Singapore gets older as a society, we will the need for more preventive and community care.

   2. Social workers will need to engage in a range of preventive and early interventions, besides the tertiary interventions that are needed to avoid problems that already exist from becoming larger or more complicated. It will require a greater focus on community partnership, family and caregiver engagement, and professional consultation to co-create solutions that empower the individuals and families in need. 

8. Through close partnerships with government and community, social workers will be able to provide better support and empower individuals and families, some of whom have complex, wide-ranging, and inter-connected needs.

   1. An example is KidSTART, where its practitioners, some of whom are trained in social work, partner healthcare and other social service professionals, work together  to build stronger foundations for children.

9. The Enabling Services Hub (ESH) is another example of how the role of social workers has expanded beyond providing direct intervention, to one of proactive community partnership. The ESH brings befriending services, courses, and social recreational activities closer to the homes of persons with disabilities and their caregivers. 

   1. To do this, ESH Social Workers mobilise community networks and assets to support persons with disabilities and their caregivers. In one such instance, an ESH Social Worker worked with the National Library Board to enable a person  with intellectual disability to sort books at one of its regional branches. This not only gave his caregivers some respite, but also provided the young man a chance to contribute to society.

10. We see another example of Social Workers’ evolving role in SASW’s recent partnership with Pro Bono SG, Community Development Councils, Institutes of Higher Learning, and Singapore Corporate Counsel Association’s Pro Bono Chapter for the Law Awareness Weeks@CDC initiative. Also known as LAW@CDC, this is an islandwide effort to promote legal awareness among residents by equipping them with basic and essential knowledge on common legal topics such as family law, Advance Care Planning, and protection from harassment.

    1. With SASW joining the partnership since October this year, social workers will conduct educational talks for the public, providing their unique real-life perspective on legal issues and educating the public on the various psychosocial and financial resources they may tap into for support.

This year’s outstanding social workers

11. Our three award winners today exemplify the qualities of partnership, innovation and dedication that everyone in the profession aspires to develop.

12. This year’s Outstanding Social Worker Award recipient, Associate Professor Peace Wong. Peace, who started out as a social worker in 1996, is now the Deputy Head at the Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore[1]. Over the past two decades, she has spearheaded initiatives to benefit the Social Work profession.

    1. One such initiative is the Social Work Supervision Guidelines¹ which set out the standards of social work supervision in Singapore.

    2. She also established a robust field placement system for social work students at NUS. Besides providing field placements for students, the system ensures that the network of field supervisors from social service agencies is well-trained to support the learning of about 300 students annually.

    3. Peace is highly sought-after for her professional expertise to provide consultations on various social service projects, including curriculum design, training, and programme development and evaluation. She was the Principal Consultant for Spectra Secondary School where she led the planning, development, and evaluation of an Integrated Student Hub by collaborating with school personnel, architects, and community partners. Today, the hub provides a safe afterschool environment for students to eat, exercise, and participate in recreational activities together.

13. I also congratulate our two Promising Social Worker Award winners, Ms Flora Tan and Ms Nisha Verma. 

    1. Flora is a Senior Social Worker at Care Corner Singapore. Since joining Care Corner in 2018, she has pioneered innovative and evidence-based programmes to promote positive youth development. One example is “MindBlown”, a four-year pilot programme which aims to enhance adolescents’ executive functioning skills. This involves adolescent and parent workshops, as well as home-based family coaching sessions involving board games to facilitate conversations between adolescents and their parents. The programme has since supported 29 adolescents and their families, and more than 50 educators.

    2.  Nisha, a Manager in the Child Protective Service at the Ministry of Social and Family Development, protects the safety and well-being of abused and neglected children. In supporting her clients, Nisha works with family networks, government agencies and community partners. She co-initiated the Child Sexual Abuse Practice Circle, which aims to elevate practice standards within the Child Protective Service in assessing and managing complex sexual abuse cases. The practice circle provides a platform for Nisha and other experienced supervisors to impart clinical knowledge and evidence-based practices to new Child Protection Officers. Nisha has also worked closely with the police and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital on the multi-disciplinary interview model, which reduces the need for child sexual abuse victims to recount incidents of abuse to different parties. 

14. Congratulations to Peace, Flora and Nisha, and to all our social workers. Even as you as help build and rebuild lives, you often face long hours and tight resources, carving out precious time from your heavy caseloads to grow and transfer your knowledge, and create new programmes to benefit our community.  

15. 2023 has been designated by the Ministry of Social and Family Development as the Year of Celebrating Social Service Partners, and aptly so. I encourage you to continue working with one another and with partners and stakeholders both within and beyond the social sector. Exchange knowledge. Share ideas. Leverage each other’s strengths. And help develop that broader culture of solidarity and respect for all that will underpin an inclusive and socially just Singapore.

16. I wish you all an enjoyable afternoon ahead.