Special Assistance Fund |
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| About the Special Assistance Fund |
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| Scope |
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| Eligibility |
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| Application |
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About the Special Assistance Fund |
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| The Special Assistance Fund was set up by NCSS in 1991. The objective of this fund is to provide financial assistance to persons with disability from low-income families to purchase assistive equipment or technical aids for mobility or rehabilitative purposes. |
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Scope |
| The Fund is for the purchase of assistive equipment or technical aids for mobility or rehabilitative purposes. |
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Eligibility |
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| Applicants should be Singapore citizens or permanent residents of Singapore and referred by a voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) or a medical social work department in the hospital. |
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| Applicants should be from low-income families who, because of financial difficulties, could not afford to purchase the equipment or retrofit homes for mobility or rehabilitative purposes. |
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| Examples of equipment include: |
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- walking aids (crutches, walking stick, walking frame)
- wheelchairs (manual, motorised)
- special mattresses (to prevent bed sores)
- special seats (inserts for wheelchair) *
- commodes (raised toilet seats for those who have knee injuries)
- prostheses
- breathing apparatus
- other assistive devices for daily living
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| For special seats, NCSS had worked with the VWOs to develop a Special Seating Assessment Tool to ensure appropriate prescription of special seats for better user functional outcomes. |
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| Applications for equipment which involve seating modifications and seats costing above $250 need to submit the Special Assistance Fund application form (found below) along with the seating self assessment tool. Therapists and Orthotists from the VWOs and seating service providers can administer the assessment tool. Funding would be given for equipment / retrofit of not more that $10,000 per individual. The funding cap may be adjusted based on the applicant's need, as justified by the social worker and / or the therapist from the VWO or hospital. The amount of subsidy to be approved would be based on the nett household income. |
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| Funding would not cover cases that have qualified for the Assistive Technology Fund (ATF), or any other fund administered by NCSS for the same purpose. |
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| All applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. |
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Application |
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| Applications should be made through a VWO or a hospital's medical social work department using the Special Assistance Fund application form (pdf). Referring agencies must ensure and verify that all information is true and correct. |
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| Receipts must be submitted as proof of purchase for the equipment, which has already been bought and paid for. NCSS and the referral agencies reserve the right to re-access the application based on the suitability of equipment that had been purchased prior to approval. For equipment that have not been purchased at the time of application for subsidies, but which subsidies are subsequently granted, receipts (proof of purchase) should be sent to NCSS within one month of the date of the purchase. |
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