Tag: Needs Assessment Unit
Housing trouble rolls on for NAU
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin, who is responsible for community affairs and the social welfare provision for those in need, has said that the ongoing refusal by many landlords to work with the Needs Assessment Unit is compounding the problems it faces. In a press release from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) about […]
Woman admits defrauding NAU
(CNS): A 65-year-old woman who was charged with fraudulently obtaining around $30,000 from the Needs Assessment Unit admitted on Monday to false accounting, just as her trial on two counts of obtaining money by deception was due to begin. The crown accepted Hermine Stoney’s admission to false accounting after she had failed to admit on […]
Demo uses royal visit to raise social concerns
(CNS): A small silent demonstration was held at the airport on Wednesday evening as around a dozen concerned citizens used the opportunity of the royal visit and the arrival of the British press to attract attention to the struggles that many Caymanians are going through, despite all of the news of economic growth. The activists […]
NAU identifies trend of ageing customers
(CNS): The director of the Needs Assessment Unit, Tamara Hurlston, told the Public Accounts Committee that her team had noticed a trend of increasing numbers of elderly people coming to them for help, especially indigent medical support, as meagre private sector pensions fail to stretch to the costs of health insurance.
Social welfare plan taking shape, say officials
(CNS): The Ministry of Community Affairs has said that the work it has been doing over the past year or more is beginning to inform a strategic plan for the country’s social welfare programmes. Just days before officials from the ministry and various departments, such as the Needs Assessment Unit, are due to appear before the […]
Report shows 250% jump in welfare support
(CNS): A new report from the ESO documenting a variety of statistics in the Cayman Islands for 2017 has revealed a massive jump in the number of people seeking assistance from the Needs Assessment Unit last year, with a 254% increase in “miscellaneous supplements” given to people receiving some kind of government welfare, officials said. The […]
Poor Persons (Relief) Law under review
(CNS): Government has confirmed a review of the Persons (Relief) Law (1997 Revision), which governors the current social welfare support provided to people by the Needs Assessment Unit. Responding in a ‘government minute’ to the findings of the Public Accounts Committee on a report by the Office of the Auditor General, which found a number […]
Premier admits conundrum of poverty
(CNS): Despite what appears on paper to be a growing economy and falling unemployment rates, in Finance Committee on Tuesday the premier accepted that more people are seeking support from the Needs Assessment Unit, as he asked the members for almost $2 million more in supplementary appropriations. In his role as community affairs minister, Alden […]
Woman charged with falsely claiming welfare
(CNS): The police have charged a 64-year-old George Town woman with obtaining property by deception and providing false information to a public officer after she allegedly falsely claimed some $30,000 in welfare payments. In a press release revealing the charges, which were laid on Tuesday, the RCIPS said the woman was accused of deceiving the […]
NAU clients need review as benefits increase
(CNS): Payments to those on social assistance are due to increase by $100 this month, from $550 to $650, following a government commitment in the 2018/19 budget. But some clients of the Needs Assessment Unit receiving monthly poor relief must be reassessed before they can get the increased allowance if they have not been assessed […]
NAU will need to be ‘creative’ with cash, says new chief
(CNS): The new acting chief officer in the community affairs ministry has been turning her attention to the Needs Assessment Unit and recently met with staff recently to brainstorm solutions to the challenges the department faces. Almost since its inception, the NAU has been beset with problems, ranging from under-funding, an incredibly heavy workload and, […]
