7
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1994
THERE IS A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION THAT THE STANDARD RATE IS ALL THAT A CSSA CLIENT CAN GET. THE FACT IS THAT CSSA PAYMENT COMPRISES NOT ONLY THE STANDARD RATE BUT ALSO SPECIAL GRANTS, LONG-TERM SUPPLEMENT AND DISREGARDED EARNINGS TO MEET THE BASIC AND SPECIAL NEEDS OF OUR CLIENTS.
A WIDE VARIETY OF GRANTS IS IN FACT AVAILABLE ΤΟ ELDERLY CLIENTS TO DEFRAY THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS. LET ME GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES, THEY INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE, RENT ALLOWANCE, RENT DEPOSIT, WATER CHARGE ALLOWANCE, SPECIAL DIET ALLOWANCE, TELEPHONE INSTALLATION FEES, TELEPHONE CHARGE ALLOWANCE, COSTS OF DENTAL TREATMENT, GLASSES, REHABILITATION AND MEDICAL APPLIANCES, DEPOSIT FOR WATER, FOR GAS FOR ELECTRICITY, AND IN THE CASE OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT, EXPENSES ON FAX MACHINES.
AND
FOR ELDERLY CLIENTS WHO HAVE RECEIVED CSSA FOR NOT LESS THAN 12 MONTHS, THEY WILL ALSO RECEIVE AN ANNUAL LONG TERM SUPPLEMENT TO HELP THEM REPLACE HOUSEHOLD WARES AND DURABLE GOODS. FOR THOSE CLIENTS WHO ARE WORKING, THEIR EARNINGS FROM EMPLOYMENT ARE DISREGARDED UP TO $835 A MONTH. THE AMOUNT OF DISREGARDED EARNINGS WILL BE RAISED TO $1,115 PER MONTH BY NEXT APRIL.
THE CSSA PAYMENT FOR AN ELDERLY CLIENT NOW AMOUNTS
ON TO
AVERAGE $2,400 A MONTH.
IS AS OUR CSSA SCHEME
TAILORED TO THE INDIVIDUAL CLIENT'S CIRCUMSTANCES BASED ON NEEDS, THE MORE NEEDS THERE
THE
THIS MORE OUR CLIENTS WILL GET. 30, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE, PAYMENT IS
AND $2,690 A MONTH FOR THOSE WHO ARE DISABLED MONTH FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF CARE AND ATTENDANCE.
AVERAGE
$4,220
A
OUR CSSA SCHEME HAS DEVELOPED OVER MORE THAN TWO DECADES. HAS EVOLVED
SCHEME WHICH FROM PROVIDING FOR BASIC SUBSISTENCE TO A
THE NEEDS OF THE AVERAGE CLIENT BUT ALSO MEETS NOT ONLY
INDIVIDUALS AS WELL.
THAT WE RECOGNISE
A CIRCUMSTANCES OF WHICH PROVIDES SPECIAL GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS IS, BY ITS VERY OFTEN DIFFICULT FOR BOTH THE RECIPIENT AND THE
то GENERAL PUBLIC MANY PROBLEMS FACED BY UNDERSTAND.
CLIENTS ARISE FROM THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR ENTITLEMENTS.
IT
SPECIAL
SYSTEM NATURE,
LOOKED
ELDERLY THEIR
THE
A
OUT OF THE 74,000 ELDERLY PERSONS WHO ARE ON CSSA, ABOUT 21,000 ARE RECEIVING INSTITUTIONAL CARE WITH THEIR NEEDS BEING AFTER BY THE INSTITUTIONS CONCERNED. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT
OF CSSA
AWARE RECIPIENTS LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY ARE FULLY ENTITLEMENTS TO SPECIAL GRANTS. WE HAVE STEPPED UP PUBLICITY ON SCHEME TO HELP RECIPIENTS UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS.
THE HANDBOOK ON
THE RIGHTS OF CSSA RECIPIENTS HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT. IT SETS OUT IN DETAIL THE RIGHTS OF A CSSA RECIPIENT, INCLUDING THE TYPES AND LEVELS OF GRANTS WHICH HE OR SHE IS ENTITLED TO
AND UNDER THE SCHEME, THE COMPLAINT/APPEAL PROCEDURES OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION. THE HANDBOOK WAS PUBLISHED IN JUNE AND WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL CSSA RECIPIENTS, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS, CONCERN GROUPS, DISTRICT BOARDS AND THE MEDIA. ADDITION, AN AUDIO TAPE AND A VIDEO TAPE ARE BEING PLAYED
SECURITY AT THE RECEPTION AREAS OF ALL SOCIAL
FIELD UNITS TO PUBLICISE THE ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.
INTERCHANGEABLY
1994
IN
/AS MEMBERS