Since the implementation of the Caregiver Subsidy Pilot Scheme in November 2020, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) has approved barely more than 51 applications out of a total of 196. Such a large number of applications awaiting approval may leave those under great financial pressure hanging for a long time, lawmaker Sulu Sou said.
In a written query submitted to the government, Sou said that the scheme has set its application threshold too high. An added problem is that the scheme’s outline and parameters are too vague for the public to fathom.
These intrinsic problems have led to a large number of applications still being reviewed or not reviewed at all.
The IAS launched the Scheme in November last year, with its application period set to last until November 2021. The project is intended to offer financial relief — a monthly subsidy of MOP2,175, for each caregiver.
However, Sou said the bar for potentially eligible applicants is set too high. According to the IAS, only the two types of caregivers — who are tending to either long-time bedridden patients or people with serious intellectual disabilities — can be granted the allowance. Moreover, their household finances will be factored in as one of the assessment standards.
These narrow definitions, Sou asserted, have excluded the families with children in need of special education needs (SEN), and double-aging families with seniors as both caregivers and patients. These two groups have long called on the government for help.
“Up to now, the bureau (IAS) has still not clarified whether the Scheme is positioned as an alleviation policy to help take the edge off of some households based on their financial situation, or if it is a supporting measure to complement other policies to strengthen caregivers’ social status and contribution in the long run,” the lawmaker said.
Earlier, the IAS confirmed that it would review the direction of the scheme after its conclusion in November this year. However, Sou said there is a clear lack of transparency of how the authorities gauge the efficiency and success of the pilot project.
The unclear and uncertain factors have left many caregivers and their family members waiting without a light at the end of the tunnel.
As such, the lawmaker urges the government to re-clarify their intentions for the scheme and provide information for those who have been rejected and are appealing their applications.
More importantly, he called for the IAS to clearly list out the project’s evaluation criteria and ask the authorities to conduct a full assessment as soon as possible, so that the pilot scheme can be extended to benefit children with SENs and senior caregivers as well.
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