0-16 Childhood Fund bolstered to reach more families
The budget for the 0-16 Childhood Fund grows from 12 to 15 million euros, with changes to the rules designed to make funding reach more vulnerable families with minors, helping to cover the basic needs of children and teenagers up to the age of sixteen. Subsidy applications can be submitted online via the Virtual Procedures Office until 21 April.
Besides the 25% increase to the budgetary item, the minimum income threshold has also been raised to enable people to access the 0-16 Childhood Fund. Specifically, families entitled to the subsidies can have a household income of up to 1.8 times the minimum income indicator for Catalonia (IRSC), compared to 1.5 last year.
The intention is to respond to the social effects of inflation, which particularly affects the price of energy and food. For a family with two people, the threshold for entitlement to the subsidy will rise from 11,951 euros to 14,341 euros a year, with quantities gradually rising according to the number of family members.
Broader criteria have been added to the rules, for instance to include minors who turn 16 in 2023, regardless of their date of birth. Families will be required to have been openly attended to by municipal social services at some point in 2022 as well, regardless of the level of support given.
Families on the register of residents in the city at the time of their application will be able to receive the subsidy but will not necessarily have to remain on the register for the full year of the call.
The new requisites also seek to reduce red tape and improve communication with citizens, making it more transparent and understandable. In this respect, the Municipal Institute of Social Services will proactively notify all families who, according to the database, meet the requisites for requesting the subsidy. Measures will be kept to ensure equal access to funding, with procedural support units again activated.
Applications can be made via the Virtual Procedures Office up to 21 April, using the idCAT Mòbil or any other digital signature. They can also be processed face-to-face (without a digital certificate) at the Office for Social and Economic Benefits at C/ Aragó, 344, and the Citizen Help and Information Office (OAC) Monumental, at C/ Sicília, 216.
Twenty-five points all around the city will also provide help with completing applications, with specialised staff on hand to help people with the procedure.
The 0-16 Childhood Fund helped 18,589 minors from 10,667 different families last year, of which 2,801 were single-parent families. The total investment was 11.15 million euros.
