Hardship Funding for Low-income Families Raising Children with Disabilities and Serious Illness

Descriptions

To procure a service to support low-income families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people by providing them with grants and support to improve their quality of life and ease additional daily pressures, on top of their statutory entitlements. We expect the service to: help families identify the additional support they need, including signposting other services or entitlements; provide them with grant funding to pay for or otherwise provide specific goods and services to meet key needs; expand outreach in disadvantaged areas to ensure families who need support most are receiving it; and provide research and evaluation to the department on the needs and experiences of families.This recognises that some families of children and young people with disabilities face additional costs. The Government has provided funding for such grants and support since the 1970s as part of its overall package of support for families raising children with disabilities and serious illness.