SPS took over the co-ordination of visits from CNB in 1999. Under the programme, schools, Institutes of Technical Education and National Servicemen agencies have been invited to bring identified high-risk youths on visits to Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRCs), including Selarang Park and Sembawang DRCs. The objective of the PDE DRC Visit Programme is to increase the participants’ awareness of the consequences of drug abuse and the strict regime they will undergo if arrested. The participants could experience for themselves the harsh realities of life behind bars through the visits and be deterred from abusing drugs. To date, more than 37,000 youths have benefited from the PDE DRC Visit Programme.

Owing to security reasons, the visits are conducted two times a week with a limit of 25 visitors for each visit and only 20 visits can be arranged per month per institution. During the visit, CNB officers deliver talks on drug abuse, its effect and consequences, and prisons officers will illustrate life behind bars. In an effort to constantly look out for ways to make the programme more effective within operational constraints, other than targeting high-risk youths, SPS plans to extend the visit to relevant VWOs working with delinquent or problematic youths likely to be at risk of drug abuse.

PROJECT CRuSH (Cyberspace Risk and where U Seek Help) (NYC) (2001)

Recognising the pervasiveness of the Internet in the lives of youths today and the potential risks in store if left unchecked, NYGR implemented a series of initiatives to promote the concept of cyber wellness. One of which was the launch of Project CRuSH on 11 September 2001.

Spearheaded by TOUCH Community Services Limited, the project is an effort to reach out to youths vulnerable to the risks of the cyberworld. The objectives are to inform youths of the benefits and risks of the Internet, mentor youths to adopt positive values and safe behaviour in the cyberworld, and develop youths to become positive influences to peers and juniors in cyberspace.

Components of Project CRuSH include CRuSH Roadshows which employ mass interaction and games to aid message recall and e-mentoring sessions to educate students on Internet safety. These sessions are typically targeted at Secondary 1 and 2 students.

With support and partnership from NYGR since 2001, Project CRuSH has reached out to more than 130,000 secondary school students through its roadshows, e-mentored around 15,000 students through its classroom e-mentoring programme and trained 800 e-mentors for the programme.

Mentoring was identified as an area of need for the development of Singaporean youth. NYGR recognises the value of mentoring in transforming the lives of at-risk youths to one filled with high self-esteem and hope for a bright future. To promote and support the development of mentoring programmes in the local community, NYGR initiated the formation of the National Mentoring Network Working Group in 1999 and initiated funding for VWOs that promote youth mentoring.

Two National Mentoring Camps were organised in 1998 and 2000 to promote the use of mentoring as a tool in helping young people. Some 500 youths were trained in the two camps, which were organised to equip youth mentors as well as youth developers in mentoring skills. They comprised a comprehensive training programme that offered an eclectic balance between theoretical grounding in fundamental mentoring principles as well as practical experiential learning to help youths be ingrained in mentoring practices.

NYC spearheaded the publication of the First Steps to a Mentor’s L.E.G.A.C.Y manual in March 2004, a comprehensive training resource for mentoring practitioners which aimed to provide a balance between a theoretical grounding in mentoring and experiential learning to hone practical skills in mentoring. In August 2004, NYC also commissioned a Survey on the State of Mentoring in Singapore, obtaining baseline information from 370 mentoring organisations in order to better understand the mentoring scene in Singapore

MCYS will be implementing a mentoring programme to support young offenders who are leaving residential care. Under this scheme, volunteer mentors will be assigned to residents in the juvenile homes prior to their discharge, and provide follow-up for up to six months after the youths leave the homes. The mentors will befriend the youths, teach them life skills and encourage them as they re-enter the community.

The Parenting Programmes by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) seek to preserve and uphold the concept of the family as the basic unit of society by nurturing strong relationships and to help parents understand the process of child upbringing so that they can become effective parents. MCYS co-ordinates parenting programmes that are organised by Family Service Centres, Voluntary Welfare Organisations, grassroots organisations, community clubs and schools. MCYS also provides support in terms of funding, publicity, resource materials and resource speakers.

For more information, please visit: http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/faml_supfaml.asp

The programme was initiated in 1996 to give students a better understanding of the juvenile justice system. Students get an opportunity to sit through proceedings at the Juvenile Court and in turn, gain perspectives on the severity of youth crime. Role plays, newsletters and assembly sessions are also part of the programme initiatives to help students translate their experiences into shared knowledge.

Students from selected secondary schools are also given a chance to attend and participate in Chambers discussions with the Juvenile Court Magistrate in his/her Chambers before orders are made in open court. The aims of the programme are to give the Juvenile Court a contemporary peer group perspective of the offending criminal act as well as to expose teachers and students from secondary schools to the juvenile justice process.

This preventive programme has been successful in educating students on juvenile justice thus far, raising the awareness of juvenile delinquency and issues relevant to teenagers today.

In 2005, the programme included six schools with 20 students per school. After going through the experience of observing court mentions and discussing cases with the Magistrate, students formed groups to discuss and analyse a final case. Their presentations to showcase their learning were judged by a panel and prizes were presented to the best case analysis. A change from the stage presentation of skits and dance for students in previous years, this programme is designed to more effectively engage them in discussions about their entire experience in the PGA programme.

The programme was introduced in secondary schools in 1996 to promote a culture of mediation and peaceful conflict resolution in schools. It aims to empower pupils to deal constructively and creatively with conflicts, and to improve the overall climate of the school by imparting practical life skills to students in the management and resolution of conflicts.

Selected students receive special training to enable them to act as third party mediators between two or more of their peers in the same school who are involved in petty quarrels and who are willing to have their disputes resolved constructively. The philosophy of the programme is that young people are able to take responsibility for resolving disputes among their peers.

In the mid-80s, NCSS saw the need to help students who were facing difficulties in their developmental processes and/or adjusting to their school life and started funding programmes to work with students in need. School social work brings social work right into the schools. Through this arrangement, school social workers become part of the support network for students in schools. Being part of the support network, school social workers have a responsibility to help schools balance the social development and academic achievement of individual students.

School social work engages the key aspects of the students’ lives, which are, the school, the home and the community. Apart from working with the students, school social workers also work with parents and school personnel, so they can better support the students and are better able to meet their needs.

The multi-pronged intervention mobilised by school social workers creates a holistic network of support for students. These programmes reach out to several thousand students a year and the intended outcomes are to maximise their learning experiences and improve functioning in their school and home lives.

Currently, these NCSS-funded agencies serve a total of 23 schools.

Student Care Centres (SCCs) provide care and supervision to school-going children aged 7 (Primary 1) to 14 years (Secondary 2). It aims to supervise homework, play, enrichment and recreational activities for school-age children before or after school. This will enhance their wholesome development, including physical, intellectual, emotional, social and moral development. SCCs help working parents by providing care for their school-going children while they are at work.