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The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:
The Community Care Fund (CCF) announced today (November 30) the extension of three assistance programmes implemented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), i.e. the Training Subsidy for Children who are on the Waiting List of Subvented Pre-school Rehabilitation Services, the Subsidy for Elders who are on the Waiting List of Integrated Home Care Services (Ordinary Cases) for Household Cleaning and Escorting Services for Medical Consultations, and the Special Care Subsidy for the Severely Disabled, to benefit more eligible persons. Details are as follows:
Training Subsidy for Children who are on the Waiting List of Subvented Pre-school Rehabilitation Services
Launched in December 2011, the programme aims at providing a training subsidy for pre-school children from low-income families and in need of rehabilitation services, so as to enable them to receive necessary services as soon as possible to facilitate their learning and development. Eligible children will receive subsidised training services for not more than 12 months i.e. training/therapy services provided by special child care workers, psychologists or occupational therapists/physiotherapists/speech therapists and family support services from service providers approved by the SWD.
The programme will be extended to continue providing subsidised training services for existing beneficiaries, and to invite a new round of applications from November 30, 2012. All eligible children will receive subsidised training services up to March 31, 2014, at most. Beneficiaries must be on the waiting list for subvented pre-school rehabilitation services on or before November 30, 2012, and their monthly household income should not exceed the prescribed income limit.
Children who are existing beneficiaries of this programme are not required to make new applications. The SWD will issue notification letters to the parents/guardians of the children concerned to confirm their children's eligibility for continuing to receive the subsidised services.
For children who have not applied for this programme but may be qualified, the SWD will issue letters to invite applications from their parents/guardians. Applicants have to submit the completed application forms together with all necessary documents by post or by hand to the CCF Team of the SWD on or before February 28, 2013. It is expected that eligible children who newly apply for this programme will start to receive the services from December 2012 at the earliest.
Subsidy for Elders who are on the Waiting List of Integrated Home Care Services (Ordinary Cases) for Household Cleaning and Escorting Services for Medical Consultations
Launched in October 2011, the programme aims at providing subsidised services to elderly people from low-income families who are living at home and on the waiting list of Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS) (Ordinary Cases) for household cleaning and escorting services for medical consultations so as to enable them to maintain a hygienic home environment and attend medical consultations as scheduled.
The programme will be extended to continue providing subsidised services to existing beneficiaries and to invite a new round of applications from December 31, 2012. All eligible elderly people will receive subsidised services up to March 31, 2014, at most. Beneficiaries must be aged 65 or above, on the waiting list for IHCS (Ordinary Cases) on or before October 31, 2012, currently living at home and without receiving any community care services for the elderly subvented by the SWD, and their monthly household income should not exceed the prescribed income limit.
Elderly persons who are existing beneficiaries of this programme are not required to make new applications. The SWD will issue notification letters to the elderly people concerned to confirm their eligibility for continuing to receive the subsidised services.
From December 2012, the SWD will start to issue letters to invite applications from those elderly people referred by IHCS teams who have not applied for this programme but may be qualified. Applicants have to submit the completed application forms together with all necessary documents by post or by hand to the CCF Team of the SWD on or before March 31, 2013. It is expected that eligible elderly persons who newly apply for this programme will start to receive the services from January 2013 at the earliest.
Special Care Subsidy for the Severely Disabled
Launched in September 2011, the programme aims at providing severely disabled persons who need constant care living in the community and whose families are having financial difficulties with a special care subsidy for not more than 12 months, to enable them to acquire the necessary support.
During the extended period, the programme will provide eligible persons with subsidy for a maximum of 12 months. The eligibility criteria will also be relaxed, including raising the income limit and revising the definition of family members. The beneficiaries must be, as at July 31, 2012, below the age of 60, living in the community and receiving the Higher Disability Allowance under the Social Security Allowance Scheme, and their monthly household income should not exceed the prescribed income limit.
Starting from December 2012, the SWD will issue letters to the persons concerned, inviting them to submit applications. Applicants are required to submit the completed application forms together with all necessary documents by post or by hand to the CCF Team of the SWD on or before February 28, 2013. Upon completion of the required procedures, notification of the application result will be issued by the SWD to the applicants. The payment of the subsidy is expected to be made to the eligible persons from late December 2012 at the earliest.
For detailed information on the above three assistance programmes, please visit the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) or the SWD website (www.swd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the CCF Team of the SWD at 3422 3090 during office hours or the SWD hotline at 2343 2255 during non-office hours.
Ends/Friday, November 30, 2012
Issued at HKT 16:01
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