Social assistance application goes digital
(CNS): A new online form has been launched for clients of the Needs Assessment Unit to apply for financial assistance as part of government’s overhaul of the country’s welfare system. The new website and online application process is expected to reduce the number of times people need to visit the NAU office in George Town, and a unique application code will enable users to save the form and complete it at a later time. Minister André Ebanks, who has committed to creating a modern social infrastructure, explained the need for the new digital approach.
“It is government’s intention to reform the system of financial assistance, and this online form is one of many steps in that process,” he said. “From a governance and accountability perspective, the form will also benefit the government, and ultimately the clients of the Needs Assessment Unit, by yielding additional metrics that can provide the basis for more effective future planning and decision-making. It will also allow for greater collaboration within government, such as with Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman.”
Ebanks added that this new streamlined, swifter digital system for Caymanians in need will reduced physical interactions and increase efficiency for everyone involved.
The development, testing and launch of the new form and its underlying processes was spearheaded by the eGovernment Unit, in partnership and full collaboration with the Needs Assessment Unit and with expertise by the Computer Services Department – all within the Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development.
Officials said that the NAU clients will find that the new application form has been designed for their ease of use and convenience. Similar to the unit’s new website, the form can be used from a variety of internet-enabled devices, including mobile phones and tablets.
NAU Director Tamara Hurlston said this online application form will make it easier for clients to interact NAU staff and, in turn, it will be easier for staff to review and process applications for financial assistance.
“We are grateful for the extensive work and collaboration within the ministry which has yielded a thoroughly robust and convenient system,” she said. “The NAU earnestly anticipates further improvements to be delivered soon for the benefit of our clients.”
The NAU continues to host district visits, including one in West Bay on Friday, where staff guide users who require assistance. Those who qualify for financial assistance can still apply using the PDF form that can be sent by email, and paper forms available at the NAU offices in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
Visit the NAU website and access the application portal here.
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Category: Government Administration, Local News, Politics
I think this should really help although I wish the radio ad would be updated to remind people they can access free public computers at their district library.
I was told previously people were taking buses (with money they can’t afford to spend) only to get to the NAU and not get in to see anyone or have done the process incorrectly.
Hopefully this easier process will make it less of a battle for the people who need benefits to really get them. And at the same time, help them get back to work for the long term.
Order some money from your iPad. Lol. No doubt there are some people who truly need help, but the social assistance genie is clearly now out of the bottle, and there’s no way of putting her back.
Or the public computers in the district library, saving a bus ride to Town.
Poor Pact can’t do anything right. Sitting ducks.
I thought the plan was to uplift and educate and train people out of social assistance, not make it easier to apply ? Another PACT brain storm
Why do they call people on benefits clients. Its so weird.
Also – wouldnt being a customer entail me to… customer service?!?
How do you digitalise the overriding premise of the NAU that it all depends on who you know?.
Hopefully the private sector will follow the Government’s mandate and employ as many Caymanians as possible.
It would help if the Government consistently shared the private sector and the immigration law’s definition of who is Caymanian.
Hopefully they employ some expats to make it functional unlike travel Cayman, and the many other Caymanian only enterprises across the island that continually fail because of lack of skill and experience. Just saying.
Their assessment criteria for accepting that someone is Caymanian is wrong. It is different from the requirements of the Immigration Law and will continue to result in ineligible persons receiving assistance. Why can’t they just ask immigration if someone is Caymanian?
Oh good, now they can all apply from their iphone15’s
Wait will that work from my Hatteras 34?
Sorry, no. Only the 55’