Page 142 - 2022 Taiwan Health and Welfare Report

households with bank savings and income below 1.5 times of the lowest living expenses in the area). 372,657 applications were approved totaling NTD 4,981,455,000. Furthermore, the "2021 Expansion of Emergency Relief Implementation Plan in Response to the Pandemic" was approved by Executive Yuan on June 2, 2021. 881,568 applications were approved totaling NTD 16,563,090,000.
3. Additional allowances for disadvantaged groups from the Executive Yuan: From April to June 2021, an additional NTD 1,500 (a total of NTD 4,500) in living allowances were given to people with disabilities, low- and middle-income elders, those receiving assistance for disadvantaged children and teenagers, emergency assistance for children and teenagers from disadvantaged families, subsidies for children from low-income households, school subsidies for people from low-income households, living/education subsidies for children (including grandchildren) from families with special circumstances, and youngsters qualified as low-income or middle to low-income households. 839,395 cases were approved amount to NTD 3,741,118,500.
▏Section 5 Assistance for the Homeless
Counseling and Shelter Service for homeless people provides three-stage services including "emergency service, transition service and stabilization service," and to help homeless people rebuild and adapt to their life on the premise of respecting their basic human rights and considering regional differences.
There were 2,910 homeless people registered with the local governments at the end of 2021. Over 70% were located in 6 municipalities including Taipei City. In contrast, there were 5 counties/cities with less than 50 homeless people. Furthermore, there were no homeless people in Kinmen County, Lienchiang County and Penghu County, which shown a great difference between various places in the number of homeless people.
According to Article 17 of the Public Assistance Act, the local government shall for mulat autonomous regulations or methods of the homeless training according to the number of homeless people, the homeless assistance scale and needs within its jurisdiction. The existing measures are as follows:
In 2021, services for 750,333 homeless people was provided, including giving caring service to 710,808 homeless people, helping 344 homeless people return home, welfare referral to 3,345 homeless people, recommending employment opportunities to 9,264 homeless people, helping 617 homeless people lease a house, settling down 2,889 homeless people, and medical services 22,875 people.
▏Section 6 Savings Accounts for Future Education and Development
of Children and Youth
Under the "Savings Accounts for Future Education and Development of Children and Youth" program, through the cooperation between the government and poor families, parents of eligible children can deposit up to NTD 15,000 a year, and the government contributes the same amount. Besides encouraging families in poverty to make long-time savings (18 years), education of financial management and family services are provided. During the saving process, social workers will accompany and provide guidance for these families to reduce the risks that families or children or youth may encounter. After the program began on June 1, 2017, the president promulgated the "Act Governing Savings Accounts for Future Education and Development of Children and Youth" on June 6, 2018 to optimize the program's legality.
As of the end of 2021, a total of 21,924 people applied for account opening, with an application rate of 56%, as shown in Figure 10-1, including 7,482 children and youth from low- income families (34.1%), 13,669 children and youth from middle-low-income families (62.3%), and 773 children and youth from long-term placement (3.5%). In terms of deposit amount, 4,629 people (21.1%) deposit NTD 500/month, 3,680 people (16.8%) deposit NTD 1,000/month, and 13,615 people (62.1%) deposit NTD 1,250/ month. The amount of savings accumulates NTD 1,012,964,554.
As of the end of 2021, social workers visited 2,753 people who have not saved money in account for 6 months. Major services provided by social workers included care visits and psychological support, follow-up guidance, consultation services, and administrative assistance.
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