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Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) and Development Support Plus (DS-Plus)

EI centres progressively offer a continuum of early intervention (EI) services that are better tailored to the varied developmental needs of our children, and the changes in a child’s developmental needs over time.

More places added to the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) and EIPIC-P in 2024

In March 2024, the Ministry of Social and Family Development announced plans to add 1,500 places to EIPIC and EIPIC-P in 2024. This will ensure more children with developmental needs can receive timely support.

A new pilot programme, EIPIC-Care, will also be launched in the 2nd half of 2024. EIPIC-Care is a six-month training programme for caregivers of two to three-year-old children with developmental needs. Caregivers will learn from professionals how to support their children’s development at home, through group workshops and individual sessions. More details of this pilot will be announced later in 2024.

 

Overview

The EIPIC programme, comprising of EIPIC Under-2s and EIPIC@Centre, is delivered at EI centres by a team of EI Professionals and Allied Health Professionals. It supports children who require medium to high levels of early intervention (EI) support, and aims to increase the developmental growth potential of the child, minimise the development of secondary disabilities, and maximise integration into mainstream settings. 

The continuum of EI services include the following:

a) EIPIC Under-2s: This programme is targeted at children under 2 years old. It emphasises the training of parents/caregivers so that they can effectively carry out intervention strategies in the child’s daily routines at home. Such intervention strategies will help the child learn through his/her daily activities, and lead to early and more effective intervention. The EIPIC Under-2s programme requires the parent/caregiver to accompany the child. At 2 years old, the child will transition to the EIPIC@Centre programme.

b) EIPIC@Centre: This is a programme that provides both therapy and educational intervention services, typically in small groups. The child’s progress will be assessed regularly and the intervention goals and strategies customised to the child’s individual requirements.

c) DS-Plus: This is a programme that is provided in preschools targeted at 2 years old to 6 years old children requiring low levels of EI support, and are attending preschools. Children can only join this programme via recommendation by an EI professional once they have gone through the EIPIC@Centre programme, and cannot be directly referred into this programme. As part of regular progress reviews, the child’s EI professionals will use the Early Intervention Benchmarking Framework 1 to identify children who are suitable for transition to DS-Plus. DS-Plus aims to support children in the transition into a mainstream classroom. EI professionals from the EI centre will work with the child in his/her preschool for an average of 2 to 4 hours per week, co-teaching the child alongside the preschool teacher. 

1This is a framework comprise a standard combination of tools used to assess children in EI services, at entry and exit, and periodically throughout the programme.

 

Table 1: Overview of the Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) and Development Support Plus (DS-Plus) programmes

 Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) Development Support Plus (DS-Plus)
 EIPIC Under-2sEIPIC@Centre
Age groupChildren under 2 years old Children aged 2 - 6 years old Children aged 2 - 6 years old
Level of EI support requiredMedium to high levels of EI supportMedium to high levels of EI supportLow level of EI support, after making sufficient progress in EIPIC @ Centre
SettingEI Centre, or at home (advised by EI Centre)EI Centre, or at home (advised by EI Centre)Preschool
Programme structure and requirements
  • 2-4 hours per week
  • Parent/caregiver's presence is required
  • 5-12 hours per week
  • Parent/caregiver's presence is required
  • 2-4 hours per week
  • Attending a preschool
Areas of focus
  • Increased emphasis on upskilling parents/caregivers
  • Training of parents/caregivers to carry out intervention strategies in the child's daily routines at home
  • Embeds learning opportunities throughout in the child's daily life, leading to more sustainable outcome
  • Improved motor, communication, social, self-help and cognitive skills
  • Provides transition support for parents with children who will be due for entry in primary school (special education or mainstream primary school) e.g., providing information on post-preschool placements and providing school readiness assessment
  • EI professionals from the EI Centre will work with the child in his or her preschool, through co-teaching the child alongside with the preschool teacher or individualised session (if required by the child)
  • Supports the child to adapt to the preschool
  • Equips child with the skills necessary to interact and learn within a larger class setting
  • Shares strategies with preschool teachers and parents
  • Provides transition support for parents with children who will be due for entry in primary school (special education or mainstream primary school) e.g., providing information on post-preschool placements and providing school readiness assessment

 

The EIPIC Under-2s and DS-Plus programmes have been implemented across all 21 centres in phases since July 2019. For more information on the implementation of these two programmes at the EI centres, please refer to the Annex.

SG Enable provides referrals to government-funded EI centres in Singapore, based on parent’s preferred choice of EI centre. The EI centre will assess your child periodically to determine the suitable programme for them as well as the appropriate intervention goals and strategies.


Who is Eligible?

The Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) are for children who are:

Read More EIPIC-P - Subsidy scheme that offers more choices of early intervention programmes for children
  • From birth to 6 years old2;
  • Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents;
  • Assessed by a paediatrician3 to be at risk of a developmental, intellectual, sensory or physical disability, or a combination of disabilities; and
  • Not concurrently enrolled in any other ECDA-funded EI programmes (i.e. DS-LS, DS-Plus programmes).

Meet other specific programme criteria as per Table 1.

2Please see Table 1 for the respective age criteria of the specific EIPIC and DS-PLUS programmes. To ensure meaningful intervention for the children, please note that children aged 6 years old and above can only be referred to EIPIC until 1 March annually, unless the child has an approved P1 deferment application from the Ministry of Education (MOE). 

3The paediatrician should be registered with the Singapore Medical Council.


How to Apply?

Please have a doctor at any polyclinic refer your child for assessment at the Department of Child Development (DCD) at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) or Child Development Unit (CDU) at National University Hospital (NUH). The hospital will recommend EIPIC if your child is assessed to be suitable. Alternatively, you may approach a private paediatrician for assessment and recommendation for EIPIC.

Once your child has been assessed suitable, the hospital or private paediatrician will submit the application to SG Enable upon your consent.

Submission of applications to SG Enable by Doctors or Medical Social Workers (Online or Hard copy)

  1. Online submission (Recommended)
    Log into Social Service Net - Enabling Services (SSNet-ES) using your CorpPass
    corppass-icon

  2. or

  3. Hard copy submission
    Download the application form, print and send together with the required documents
    download-icon

  4. By Email
    CD.services@sgenable.sg

    By Post
    SG Enable - Child Disability Service
    20 Lengkok Bahru
    #01-01
    Singapore 159053

Upon receiving the referral, SG Enable will contact you to provide you the information to help you make an informed decision on your choice on EI Centre.

Your selected EI Centre will contact you within two weeks of referral to arrange an interview and assessment of your child.

Enrolment into a suitable programme at the preferred centre is subject to the availability of vacancies at the centre and approval of the respective centre management.


Application Processing Time

Upon receiving the completed EIPIC referral forms from the hospital or private paediatrician, SG Enable will contact you within 10 working days.


More Information

To learn more about the organizations that participate in EIPIC, please download the following:

To enhance the affordability of EI services, MSF has broadened the income criteria for means-tested subsidies and lower fee caps for these services. Fees for EIPIC have been revised downward since 1 April 2019. For more information on the enhancements to affordability for EI services, please refer to MSF’s Press Release here. Parents may also consider EI programmes at selected private intervention centres and apply for the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children – P (EIPIC-P) scheme.

For more information about the Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) and Development Support Plus (DS-Plus) programmes, please refer to the following documents:

Have additional enquiries? Contact SG Enable or call 1800-8585-885.