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The next question should be...are they PRs or SC?
As at 31 Jul 2012, the number of households on short and medium term assistance has shot up by 81% from 5,471 a year ago to the current 9,911.
This was disclosed by Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Major-General (NS) Chan Chun Sing in his reply to a question from MP of Jurong GRC Ang Wei Neng in Parliament.
A total of 3,033 households are also on long-term assistance under the Public Assistance scheme as at end Jul 2012, an increase from 2,992 households a year ago.
And a total of 18,997 beneficiaries are receiving childcare, kindergarten and student care subsidies, compared to 18,039 beneficiaries a year ago.
MCYS had revised the PA criteria on 1 April 2012 to allow more needy elderly to be assisted under the scheme and on 1 April 2012, the household income gap for short and medium-term ComCare assistance was also raised.
The requirement for seeking short and medium-term ComCare assistance is that the monthly gross household income should be less than or equal to $1,700.
If the gross household Income is more than $1,700 per month and the household has a large family, the per capita household income should then be $550 and below.
The person seeking assistance must have little or no savings and little support from family and the community.
Assistance provided includes:
Rental, utilities and/or service and conservancy charges vouchers
Monthly cash grant to meet basic living needs
Educational assistance
Medical assistance
Referral to other agencies such as hospitals, HDB, schools and Family Service Centres (FSCs) for casework and counseling and/or placement on the School Pocket Money Fund for school-going children.
Employment assistance and training-related services
The period of assistance will depend on the circumstances of the household; assistance may be provided for up to a period of 12 months in the first instance for medium-term assistance. For short-term assistance, the period will be up to 6 months at a time with the maximum duration of 24 months.