Care Dependency Grant

The Care Dependency Grant for 2009 is R1010 a month and the government paid out a total of R1.3 billion in the 2008/09 budget cycle for this type of grant. You can be paid a Care Dependency Grant if you are the parent, guardian or foster parent of a child under the age of 18 years who needs full-time care because of physical or mental disability.

How do I know if I am able to claim this grant?

• You are a South African citizen or a permanent resident
• You live in South Africa
• You are the legal guardian of the child, if you are not the parent
• You have permission to look after the child (such as a court order), if you are not the parent
• The child is under 18 years
• You have a medical report confirming proof of the child's disability
• You can provide the child with adequate accommodation and sufficient food and clothing, and make sure he or she receives necessary medical care and treatment
• The child remains in your care and is not permanently looked after in a government hospital or treatment centre
• You are not receiving any other kind of grant for the child (this does not include the Foster Care Grant
• You, your spouse and the child meet the requirements of the Means Test (foster parents do not need to pass a Means Test)

If you are not the child’s biological parent (you are not the birth mother or father of the child), you will need to fill in information about your relationship to the child. You will need to explain that you are the legal guardian of the child, and that you have permission to look after the child. If the child’s parents have died or disappeared, you will need to write this on the application form, and provide proof of their deaths (death certificates) or disappearance (police reports).

The child must be tested at the age of six years to find out whether he or she can attend a specialised school. The Care Dependency Grants are reviewed once a year and when the child reaches 18 years, he or she will become eligible for a Disability Grant.

The Means Test

To meet the requirements of the Means Test, if you are a single parent you must not earn more than R112 800 per year of if you are married your joint income must not exceed R225 600 per year. Any income that the child may receive must be less than R15 000  a year. Foster parents do not need to pass a Means Test.

Before you go to the Welfare Office make sure that you have the following documents with you:

• Your Identity Document (ID) book (with the 13-number bar code)
• The birth certificate or ID book of the child (with the 13-number bar code)
• Papers that give you permission to look after the child, if you are not the parent
• A government hospital medical report for the child, explaining the child’s disability
• Papers about your financial situation for the Means Test. You need to take bank account statements for the last three months, wage slips or pension documents. You also need to take proof of any income or assets belonging to the child. If you are single, you need to take proof that the other parent cannot help pay for the support of the child
• Your UIF book or certificate, if you are unemployed
• Proof of your marital status. If you are single, you need papers to say that you are single (these papers are called affidavits); if you are married, you need your marriage certificate; if you are divorced, you need your divorce order; if you are a widow or widower, you need the death certificate of your partner

If you do not have all of these papers, contact your social worker, local advice office or one of the NPOs in the AIDSbuzz Directory that help with Social Grants. You can also phone the Department of Social Development’s free hotline number 0800 601 011 or go to www.sassa.gov.za