The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced yesterday that it has launched a scheme for families facing financial hardships to apply to use free day-care services for their children provided by government-subsidised privately-run nurseries, with the application process to start next Monday.
The bureau announced the scheme, officially known as “Free Nursery for Children from Vulnerable Families”, in a statement yesterday.
The scheme will cover more than 30 privately-run nurseries the operations of which are subsidised by the government, according to the statement.
Only children who are local residents and aged under three are eligible for the scheme.
According to the statement, families meeting any of the five following criteria will be eligible to apply for the free day-care services for their children, namely 1) single-parent families; 2) families with at least one member with disabilities; 3) families with at least one member with a chronic illness; 4) grandparent-grandchild families (families with the children living only with their grandparents); and 5) families receiving IAS regular subsidies issued to financially disadvantaged households.
In addition to meeting any of these five criteria, applicants’ eligibility is also subject to a household income threshold.
According to the statement, the total monthly income of the applicants’ households must not exceed the prescribed limits, which vary according to household size, ranging from 19,975 patacas for a two-member household to 50,675 patacas for households with eight or more members.
Eligible families wishing to apply for the free services must fill in application forms on the IAS website between 9 a.m. next Monday and 6 p.m. on January 22. After completing the application forms on the website, the statement said, the applicants must print and sign the form and submit it together with the copies of the required supporting documents to the bureau’s headquarters, or one of its service centres across the city by 6 p.m. on January 23 at the latest.
The statement said that when the applicants submit their applications at one of the venues, they must also present the original documents for verification.
Details of the scheme and application requirements are available on the IAS website (www.ias.gov.mo). Enquiries can be made by contacting the bureau’s Children and Youth Service Division on 8399 7783 during office hours.
This poster provided by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) yesterday promotes the recently launched “Free Nursery Scheme for Children from Families in Vulnerable Situations” with the registration process starting next Monday.
