2009/2010 - MINDS

ANNUAL
REPORT
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PRESIDENT’S REVIEW
PRESIDENT’S
REVIEW
When the 2009/11 Executive Committee started its
term in September 2009, we reviewed and set out
the following strategic directions for MINDS over
the next two to three years.
• Increasing the capacity of our Training & Development
Centres (TDCs), including finding alternative solutions
for an increasing demand by families of persons with
severe intellectual disability for value-added day activity
centres. Our three TDCs are currently running at full
capacity and we are expecting another 42 students who
will need TDC services to graduate from the schools at
the end of 2010. There is an urgent need to create
additional capacity or find alternative services for these
students soon. We continue to provide feedback to and
work with the Ministry of Community Development
Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the National Council of
Social Service (NCSS) towards this end.
• Setting up sustainable and scalable Social Enterprises
so as to create more job opportunities for our adult
clients. With the mean of the age profile of our
clients moving beyond 18 years of age, there are more
clients than jobs suited for those who need to work
in a sheltered environment. More than 100 students
graduate from our four schools each year, and the
main social enterprise where we recycle SIA or SATS
headsets cannot provide sufficient job placements.
There is also the threat of technology change that will
make this enterprise a twilight one.
We thus need to build new social enterprises and build
upon our existing ones. We need to manage social
enterprises more like businesses than as training
centres, with Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)
and trainers functioning more as support units. We
should hire managers with business experience and
across disabilities, including the aged retired. This
is a paradigm shift that requires changes in mindsets
and processes and will take time. There is however no
doubt that we will need to make this change.
• Building management, developing talent, nurturing
passion. With more than 70% of MINDS’ budget spent
on manpower, it is very important that we manage our
human resource effectively by building upon the depth
and strength of our management and leadership,
putting in place a succession plan for all critical
functions, improving productivity through training and
better processes and tools, attracting, identifying and
developing talent, and nurturing the culture of passion,
dedication, energy and drive across the organisation.
• Building professional knowledge and expertise to
raise the quality of services. This will have to start with
building the depth, seniority and leadership of our
AHPs and reviewing the internal structure and delivery
of AHP services to our clients. We want to enhance the
knowledge and expertise of our AHPs and teachers so
that we become a centre of excellence for intellectual
disability. This will also complement the need to prepare
for the impending Bill on AHPs that will establish a new
regulatory framework for AHPs and Approved Centres.
• Better engagement of all our stakeholders. We need
to build platforms and programmes to better engage
and communicate with members, caregivers and
donors, and to attract, manage and retain volunteers.
All these stakeholders are critical to meeting our Vision
and Mission. If we do it right, we add immeasurably to
the delivery of tangible outcomes for our clients and
their integration into society.
We are making incremental progress in the above areas
and we are confident that we can achieve real tangible
outcomes from the above strategic thrusts.
OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
I am pleased to highlight some of the outcomes and
achievements for FY2009/20.
Official Opening of Woodlands EDC and WGS
We were honoured to have Mr Khaw Boon Wan,
Minister of Health as our Guest of Honour to grace the
opening of Woodlands Gardens School and Woodlands
Employment Development Centre on 9 October 2009.
The co-location and sharing of common space between
the school and workshop significantly maximises
resources and reduce transition adjustments.
MOE-NCSS Outstanding SPED Teacher
Award
Two of our teachers, Ms Jenny Lim, Vice Principal of Lee
Kong Chian Gardens School, and Ms Ernie Noorhaidah
Ahmad, Teacher of Woodlands Gardens School came
out tops among the many nominations across all SPED
schools in Singapore to win the MOE-NCSS Outstanding
SPED Teacher Awards in November 2009.
MINDSville@Napiri Thriftshop
In November 2009, caregivers Ms Linda Poh and Ms
Carolina Chan set up a new thriftshop at MINDSville.
This is the first cross-sector collaboration where
caregivers, EDC, TDC and the Residential Home come
together to contribute their resources to benefit the
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