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New Brunswick is a great place to start a family; still, hardships can appear. Single parents know precisely how challenging it can be to raise children on a single salary. Indeed, the medium salary in New Brunswick is competitive, and bills are lower than in other parts of Canada. Even so, many families living on a single income struggle.
Single parents usually face multiple challenges. Raising a child includes a wide array of expenses that cannot be avoided and add to your monthly household budget.
The good news is that New Brunswick's government provides multiple programs that offer assistance to single parents and families that need help handling the essential expenses. We will take a close look at each one to see what they offer and how you can qualify.
• Community-Based Services for Children with Special Needs
• Daycare Assistance Program
• Housing Assistance
• New Brunswick Preschool Autism Program
• Social Assistance Program
The Community-Based Services for Children with Special Needs program aims to support single parents and families who cannot cover all the necessary expenses in caring for a child with special needs.
The program is now called Family Supports for Children with Disabilities to underline the idea that the whole family needs to create a stable and healthy environment.
To qualify for the program, these are the requirements your child must meet:
• They must have an impairment that limits their activity and restricts them in functioning and performing the normal daily functions, or their impairment prevents the family from managing to care for them.
• You must have a medical document issued by a professional stating that your child has medical limitations to their everyday activities; the medical practitioner can have different specialties, depending on the impairment your child is living with.
• They must be a New Brunswick resident for at least three months before applying for the program.
• They need a valid New Brunswick Medicare card.
• They must be younger than 19 years.
The parent or guardian also needs to fulfill a few conditions; they need to be New Brunswick residents and have a Medicare card and go through an assessment of how they can meet their child's need to determine the exact type of support they need.
To apply for the program, the parent/guardian needs to contact the Department's local office. They will create a care plan based on the initial assessment, and the family will have to participate actively. They will meet with a social worker to complete the application process and offer all the necessary information.
The available services depend on the family's particular situation, including reimbursement of relief care, extra child care, support for medical transportation, and medical or rehabilitation equipment.
Those who depend on disability payments can also apply for short term loans and receive financing quickly. Click here to learn more.
The Department of Social Development created the Daycare Assistance Program to help families cover daycare costs for children up to 12 years old.
To be eligible for the program, parents or guardians need to meet the following requirements:
• They have a preschool-aged child whom they registered in a licensed Early Learning and Child Care Centre
• They have a school-aged child whom they registered in a licensed Early Learning and Child Care
• They are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents
• They are New Brunswick residents
• They are either working or enrolled in a training program or have particular circumstances that don't allow them to work
• The net family annual income must be lower than $55,000
As for the amount of the subsidy, it depends on individual factors. But you can estimate it using the Daycare Assistance Program Calculator or by registering on the Early Childhood Services Portal.
It's important to know that the program won't pay the full daycare cost; the difference between the subsidy and the total cost is the parent's responsibility. In case your family doesn't have access to a licensed daycare facility, you may be eligible for the Alternative Child Care Program.
When it comes to housing assistance, you have several programs to help you with different aspects of providing shelter for your family.
Rental assistance programs can help you find decent rental options. Here are the programs you may qualify for:
• Public Housing is a program that offers subsidies for rental accommodation. It's designed to help people living on a low income that doesn't allow them to find rentals in the private sector. Eligibility is determined if your family income must be lower than the established income ceiling. That level depends on many factors, like your family's size or whether you live in a rural or urban area. If you qualify, you will benefit from having your rent reduced to 30% of your adjusted household income.
• The Rent Supplement Assistance Program helps people find affordable rental accommodation suitable for their family's size. You are eligible if your current rent is less than 30% of your adjusted income, but the space you live in is too crowded, and a suitable dwelling would be too expensive. You can also qualify if rental takes more than 30% of your income or if you need special-purpose accommodation.
• The Non-Profit Housing Program assists private non-profit organizations in finding suitable and affordable rental dwellings for people in need.
• The Rural and Native / Basic Shelter Rental Program can reduce the rent to 30% of the adjusted income for families in rural communities, both for off-reserve native and non-native households.
Rental Construction, Acquisition, and Repair Programs assist landlords and entrepreneurs upgrade the properties they are renting by making the necessary repairs so that the dwellings can respect the standards. These programs can cover the following:
• Mandatory repairs when it comes to the structure, the heating, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as fire safety
• Converting non-residential properties into suitable and affordable rental housings
• Rehabilitation of emergency shelters
• Support for entrepreneurs in building or rehabilitating rental housing projects
• Necessary modifications required so that the dwelling can be suitable for a person living with a disability
Home Repair, Completion, and Purchase Programs help low-income families buy or even build their first home. Even improve their home if it's substandard, complete their home if they only managed to build it partially, or make changes to their dwellings to make them suitable for persons with disabilities.
In case you need extra funds for home or appliance repairs, you can take out a loan from private lenders. These small loans can help you cover unexpected expenses when financial emergencies pop up.
The New Brunswick Preschool Autism Program provides services for preschool children diagnosed with ASD through the Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), which uses behavioral analysis principles. Families receive financial assistance so that their children can benefit from up to 20 hours of EIBI every week.
To qualify, your child needs to meet a few requirements:
• They must be a New Brunswick resident (First Nations communities are included)
• They must have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder set by a qualified physician
• They must receive their diagnosis when aged between 0 and 5 years, and they don't attend school yet
The application process has three steps:
1. The physician must diagnose your child.
2. They must send a written confirmation of the diagnosis to the Department.
3. Finally, you will be contacted and introduced to the services, and once you give your consent, your child's enrolment process begins.
The interventions aim at increasing your child's learning possibilities, and they can take place in your home, in an educational childcare facility, or, if necessary, in an autism agency.
The Social Assistance Program provides financial aid for people who have no means of paying for necessities like food, clothes, and shelter, meaning they have no income. This program must be considered the last resort, and the amount you can benefit from depends on any other form of payment your family may receive, including benefits.
Your household income must be lower than the rate applied to qualify for the program, which is calculated according to the number of family members and whether they can work.
It's important to know that child tax benefits aren't considered when setting the amount you can receive; only child support payments are deducted. Also, if you get social assistance, it's still possible to qualify for other benefits.
Overall, New Brunswick has varied programs that provide help with the most frequent challenges that single parents and low-income families face. Even if one of your children has special needs, you can still manage the monthly expenses as long as you stay informed and apply for all the available programs.
On the other hand, a time may come when you still cannot handle a financial emergency, like an urgent medical bill not covered by insurance even with your assistance. A private lender like iCash can provide you the funds even if your income comes from social benefits.
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