1

Care Of Sick and Infirm aka DPB CSI

Canterbury West Coast Branch – March 2008

2

Who can get it?

Single Parents

Married couples. The main caregiver

may qualify to receive the CSI payment.

. It is income tested.

. Your combined income needs to be less than $669.00 gross per week (before tax) to qualify.

Care of Sick and Infirm means:

Caring full-time for someone who would otherwise require hospital care, rest home care or extended care provided for a severely disabled child or young person, or care of a similar kind.

This benefit can apply to caring for your parents or other family members who have high needs but does not apply when caring for your own partner/spouse.

Can parents apply for caring for their own child? Yes

Domestic Purposes Benefit

Care of Sick and Infirm (CSI)

3

From Liz Jones Deputy Chief ExecutiveWork and IncomeOct 2007

“We have recently become aware that some parents may not have been receiving their correct entitlement. We are right now working on a solution to address this issue”.

“In the meantime, we encourage parents who think they may be entitled to DPB – CSI to contact us on 0800 559 000”.

In 2004 Work and Income New Zealand’s interpretation of the policy was clarified and confirmed.

This allowance can be paid and should have been paid to a parent who is required to provide full time care and attention for their high needs child.

If you believe you might have qualified in the past you can request a retrospective assessment of your case.

This can go as far back as 1991. Before 1st April 1991 all the sole parent benefit rates were the same.

Why are we only hearing about it now?

4

Call the CSI Helpline to see if you qualify now or might have qualified in the past.

Ask for a one hour appointment as you need to go through both the CSI application process and the retrospective review.

Ask Work and Income to send you the relevant paperwork required so you can gather the information required to assist your claim.

If your child/young person receives or received the Disability Allowance or Child Disability Allowance, you may already qualify and these medical certificates will be on file at Work and Income.

What to do when applying to Work and Income

CSI Helpline 0800 559 000

CHECKLIST TO TAKE WITH YOU TO WORK AND INCOME

A DPB Care of Sick and Infirm Application Form.

A Carer’s Statement (see pg 6) – for the retrospective review.

Documentation about your child’s condition, disability and the care and support required e.g detailed Paediatric reports.(For more details on the retrospective process please see the next 4 pages)

5

You will need to show that caring for your family member (excluding your partner/spouse) requires care over and above normal care.

Things to consider:The full time carer of a child with significant needs such as Cerebral Palsy or a family member that has become impaired due to a stroke may qualify for this allowance.

However the full time caregiver of a child with Down Syndrome who has no other medical/behavioural issues may not qualify, but a child with Down Syndrome and Autism might.

Support Documentation that may be required

Examples of support needs that are over and above normal care:

Support and/or supervision in personal cares over and above what a child that age would usually manage e.g. getting dressed, bathing or showering.

Special equipment required e.g. for poor mobility.

Regular medications.

Can not care for themselves safely.

6

RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATIONS There are 4 stages in the assessment process

STAGE 1

A Carer’s Statement is filled out and requires the following information:

. Documentation indicating the level and type of care provided by the carer and the hours of care required in a 24 hour period.

. Consent to contact child’s specialist if no existing Work and Income records

. Dates the decision is to go back to:

i.e. from the child's birth or diagnosis or when a parent first applied for the DPB, for the disability allowance or Child Disability Allowance (Previously known as the Handicapped Child Allowance).

7

STAGE 2

. Information is sent by the Work and Income Caseworker to Wellington for review.

. When a decision is reached, Work and Income send the information to IRD to assess for any Child Support back payments – please see page 12 for more details on Child Support.

STAGE 3

. IRD process and make their decision on any child support that may be owing and then send everything back to Work and Income.

RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATIONS There are 4 stages in the assessment process

8

STAGE 4

. Work and Income call the client to let them know if and when the capital payment (one off lump sum) will be made and how much the payment will be.

. IRD also call to let the applicant know if any Child Support is owing and when it will be paid and the amount.

. Work and Income and IRD will co-ordinate and will contact the applicant within a couple of weeks of each other.

To find out which stage your claim is up to

Call the CSI Helpline TEL: 0800 559 000

RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATIONS There are 4 stages in the assessment process

9

Some of the back payments families have received are enough to make a real difference.

Back payments are ranging from $1,000 to $30,000.

Will a back payment affect my benefit?

Yes a lump sum (even a capital payment) will affect the year’s family assistance based on the family's income for that financial year. But then next year everything will go back to normal.

It is still well worth having the money.

You may only get $1,000 but you may get enough to replace that old car or even a small deposit towards your own home.

So yes! .. It really is worth a bit of paperwork and one or two appointments to find out.

Capital Payments – a one off lump sum

10

IN SUMMARY

Feel free to contact your main service provider for advice and/or support in applying for the Care of Sick and Infirm.

Take everything you need to back up your application at the time of your appointment with Work and Income.

Too much information is always better than not taking enough with you.

!!! IMPORTANT !!!!

Anybody receiving a capital payment (one off lump sum) should keep at least a 1/3 of the lump sum amount, until the end of the financial year which is 1 April – 31 March.

A capital payment is not generally classed as income but IRD consider child support as income for Family Assistance entitlements.

Overpayments of Family Assistance may need to be paid back.

You will receive a letter from IRD stating if you need to repay anything by the 31st June.

IRD – VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ?

11

WORK AND INCOME WEBSITE INFO LINKS

Care of Sick and Infirm Introduction

Clients Circumstances

Retrospection when caring for your own child

Capital payments

Care of Sick and Infirm Rates back to 1998

DPB – CSI Rates Net (after tax)

Single 16 -17 180.54

Single 18+ 223.10

Sole Parent 293.08

Half Married 185.92

Hospital Rate 32.69

Current DPB - no CSI

Sole Parent 255.65

Work and Income Website Information

Rates are from the Work and Income Website Mar 2008

12

If you application for CSI is successful you will begin to receive the child support from IRD once a month that your ex-partner pays.

Child support is paid until your child turns 19 or changes over to the Invalids Benefit or leaves your care.

Single Parents and Child Support

Child Support, which IRD collect, is paid to Work and Income and is included in the normal sole parent Domestic Purposes Benefit rates.

However the DPB – Care of Sick and Infirm is different and is not classed as a normal benefit so IRD pay the Child Support directly to the parent who has custody of the child.

Because of this IRD - Child Support back payments can be double or triple the amount of the CSI back payments from Work and Income.

IRD - Child Support and possible back payments

13

What is the best option?

Weigh up the difference between the child support you should be receiving regularly versus the board your child would pay a week if on the Invalids Benefit.

You may need advice to see which option will leave your young person and the family the least stretched financially.

Ask your Work and Income Caseworker or a benefit advisory service.

If your high needs child changes over to the Invalids Benefit at 16, the child support payments will, of course, stop. This is not compulsory until your young person reaches 18.

In some cases a young person living at home on the Invalids Benefit and paying board to the main caregiver, enables not only the young person but the family to be better off financially.

In other cases it is more beneficial for the family to retain the child support payments until the young person reaches 18.

Invalids Benefit versus Child Support