Children and Youth Services |
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Vision |
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| To support children and youth in their development to be resilient and well-adjusted individuals. |
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Mission |
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| To develop key services and enhance effectiveness in service delivery for children and youths. |
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Programmes |
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| a. School social work services |
| b. Community-based services for children and youth |
| c. Cyber-counselling service |
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a.
School Social Work Services |
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| School social work helps students who face difficulties
in their developmental process and socio-emotional functioning. Students
in need are supported to improve functioning in their home/school
life and manage challenges in their lives. This enables students to
reap the maximum benefits from their schooling experience. |
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| School social work comprises of preventive, developmental
and remedial programmes, which is a holistic approach to help students
cope in school, at home and in the community.
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| The STEP-UP (School Social Work To Empower Pupils
to Utilise Potential) programme is an initiative, funded by the Ministry
of Community Development, Youth and Sports, that aims to build and
strengthen the socio-emotional resilience within students, in particular,
students at-risk, to enable them to cope better. It also aims to help
parents and teachers better manage and support at-risk students. VWOs
are expected to work closely with schools in customising a programme
for at-risks students. Each programme can take the form of workshops,
groupwork, individual casework and counselling, case consultation
with teachers, training for teachers and parents and outreach activities. |
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| For more information on STEP-UP, please access the
link : http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/youth_stepup.asp |
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b.
Community-based programmes for children and youth |
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Learning Support Services |
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| Learning support is a specialised
programme for children with learning difficulties who are in mainstream
schools. The integration of these children into the mainstream education
system is facilitated through a combination of intervention for the
child and support services for parents. |
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Mentoring Services |
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| Mentoring services typically target children and
youth who are disadvantaged or display at-risk behaviour. Mentoring
is a developmental relationship involving an older experienced guide
to help ease the transition to adolescence through a mix of support
and challenge. A mentor may also be a facilitator, role model, coach
and friend. |
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Out-of-School Youth Programmes |
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| Programmes for out-of-school youth provide support
to premature school-leavers to guide them to return to the mainstream
education system or transit to other meaningful pursuits, such as
enrolling in vocational training, employment, or early enlistment
in National Service (for males). |
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| These programmes conduct outreach to out-of-school
youth and upon enrolment in the programme, the youth is supported
through individual/family casework and counselling, groupwork/workshops
and/or mentoring. The programmes also explore vocational skills training,
educational opportunities and/or employment opportunities for the
youths. The programmes also work with the families to ensure that
the youths receive familial support. |
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| For more information on out-of-school youth programmes,
please access the link : http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/youth_nurture.asp |
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c. Cyber-Counselling Service |
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| Cyber-counselling uses the latest communication technology to reach out to youths who are internet savvy and who may find on-line counselling less threatening and easily accessible, with the aim of enabling youths to be more socially competent. A document library and search engine will enable a display of information posted by counsellors and clients. Safety features are incorporated to ensure client confidentiality. |
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