Singapore Association of Social Workers Refreshes Annual OSWA into Outstanding Social Work Awards

The Singapore Association of Social Workers (SASW) has unveiled a refreshed edition of its long-running Outstanding Social Worker Award, marking a new chapter for one of the profession’s most established honours. Now renamed the Outstanding Social Work Awards (OSWA), the revamped accolade retains its well-known acronym while expanding its scope to better recognise excellence across practice and research in Singapore’s social work landscape.

For the past 25 years, the award has stood as a symbol of pride and professional identity within the sector. The refreshed framework introduces two categories, OSWA (Practice) and OSWA (Practice Research), preserving the award’s legacy while highlighting impactful social work initiatives and research-driven innovation.

Beyond recognising individual and organisational excellence, the renewed awards aim to raise public awareness of social work as a profession, deepen understanding across various fields of practice, and spotlight the sector’s role in generating new knowledge and innovation.

Recognising Excellence in Practice

The OSWA (Practice) category honours outstanding social worker-led initiatives that embody the profession’s purpose, values and measurable impact. This year’s three recipients reflect the breadth of social work in Singapore, from youth outreach to dementia care.

Fei Yue Community Services was recognised for pioneering Singapore’s first dedicated outreach and intervention programmes for “hidden youth”, young people experiencing prolonged social isolation. Some of these youths withdraw from their external environments, including their own families, for months or even years.

Adopting a whole-of-society approach that integrates remedial, preventive and advocacy strategies, the organisation currently serves 100 hidden youths. More than 70% of socially withdrawn youths have been successfully engaged through sustained outreach efforts. In addition to direct intervention, the team actively advances sector advocacy and professional capability-building to strengthen Singapore’s response to this growing issue.

SHINE Children and Youth Services was honoured for Youth COP, a leadership development programme that reimagines youth crime prevention. Moving away from conventional identification methods that often create stigma, Youth COP adopts a strengths-based approach, empowering youths to serve as crime-prevention ambassadors.

Through a tri-partite partnership involving schools, families and the Singapore Police Force, the programme has empowered more than 1,600 youths. Over the past five years, 98% of participants have remained offence-free and 100% completed their secondary education. Youth COP leaders actively contribute to community outreach patrols and youth-led initiatives, establishing the programme as a scalable model across schools and police divisions.

Meanwhile, Ren Ci Hospital received recognition for Re²Ignite, an interdisciplinary psychosocial programme tailored for elderly persons living with dementia and their caregivers.

The initiative provides bespoke interventions within institutional settings, helping participants reconnect with identity, relationships and purpose. Re²Ignite has supported over 200 persons with dementia, 95 caregivers and 247 care staff, achieving an average 12% improvement in wellbeing scores and a 98% caregiver satisfaction rate. The programme also strengthens workforce capability through structured training and interdisciplinary collaboration, offering a sustainable and replicable dementia care model.

Honouring Research that Advances Practice

The OSWA (Practice Research) category celebrates research that has led to tangible improvements in social work practice.

Care Corner Singapore was recognised for “Building Pathways to Potential”: Uncovering What Works from the MindBlown Pilot. The study focused on adolescents from lower socio-economic backgrounds, strengthening executive function skills and generating local evidence that adolescence represents a second critical developmental window of opportunity.

The research identified five mutually reinforcing “Gears” essential for meaningful adolescent engagement: Relevant, Useful, Stimulating, Room for Experimenting and a Supportive Environment. Insights from the study have since shaped organisational strategy, programme design, supervision practices and practitioner training.

In a separate recognition, Care Corner Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Institute of Technology and Associate Professor Ingrid Wilson on the study titled “Leaving is just the start of ending the relationship.”

Addressing a gap in Singapore-based research, the study examined women’s decision-making processes following separation from an abusive spouse. It identified key considerations such as safety, identity and envisioning a future, and translated findings into a structured toolkit now used by caseworkers at Care Corner Project StART. The research has strengthened trauma-informed support and contributed to broader sector learning and advocacy on post-separation family violence.

Celebrating Social Work Day 2026

The five OSWA winners will receive certificates, commemorative plaques and cash grants sponsored by SASW’s long-time partner, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., which has supported the awards for 25 years.

The awards will be presented at Social Work Day on 27 March 2026 at Gardens by the Bay, held in conjunction with World Social Work Day.

Under the theme “Co-building Hope for a Shared Future,” the annual event will gather social workers, partners and community stakeholders for a panel discussion and award presentation ceremony, celebrating professional excellence and the collective impact of Singapore’s social work community.