 AAOF (NL) |
Autism Association for Overseas Families Parents and professionals |
AAOF (NL) |
Autism Association for Overseas Families Parents and professionals |
Budgets and Benefits that may be claimed from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (Notes prepared by the AAOF) Certain budgets and benefits that can help with looking after a special needs child or adult may be claimed from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB). The forms and procedures that must be gone through in order to claim these budgets can be quite daunting and complicated and it is recommended that you approach an organisation such as the SPD (the Sociaal Pedagogische Dienst ) to help you through the procedure. Not only will they be able to help you understand the form and the procedures involved – but they also have experience of how exactly one must fill out the form and know the right words to use in a request for help – for instance you won’t get help for “extra teaching” at school or in the home – but you will for “extra begeleiding” (or ‘help’). It is vitally important to know HOW to fill the forms in!
The PGB Personal Budget A PGB personal budget enables individuals to buy the care and services that their child needs themselves and decide themselves how, when and by whom, the care is provided. Care and services can take the form of that given by recognised medical professionals (in which case the money is paid directly to the professionals involved) or less formal care such as respite or regular child care (in which case the Budget Holder administers the monies). The central administration point for the PGB for the whole of the Netherlands is located in Utrecht: Kantoor PGB In order to help understand the complicated procedures involved, the account below is taken from a personal experience of applying for the PGB budget: (1) Contact the SPD and arrange for a home visit to discuss what help you need and what is available. (2) The SPD Social Worker will help you to fill in a very large form which will then be sent to the RIO (Regionaal Indicatie Orgaan) / Regional LGIC (Landelijk Centrum Indicatiestelling Gehandicaptenzorg) which is the national body that assesses help to be given to the handicapped. The address for Zuid-Holland is as follows: LCIG Zuid-Holland It is important that you send as much relevant information as possible with the form, over-estimating rather than under-estimating the amount of help required, as it will decide how much money you get. For instance, you would like one or two hours specialist help per week to help with social integration/behaviour modifiction - you should therefore ask for example 12 hours, to be divided between at school and at home. The likelihood is that you will get money for 8hrs, or even, 12 hrs, but probably at a lower rate than the specialist is asking. Therefore, by asking for more than you need, you will ensure that there is sufficient money in the "fund" to be able to pay this worker. Plus, should you wish to increase the hours because the therapy is going well, you will not then need to re-apply, saving a lot of time and hassle. Any money that is not 'spent' will revert back to the 'Zorgkantoor' (see below), who holds the money, so it is not fraudulent, but playing the system. (3) The LCIG will decide if you are eligible for any monies, and for how much. They will then refer you to the local Zorgkantoor. For Zuid-Holland Noord this is in Leiden (tel 071-5825942). (4) The Zorgkantoor will confirm your budget, and you will deal directly with them from now on. They will have received information from the LCIG, and any additional information and/or corrections can be added at this point. Monies can be paid in two ways: (i) In “Natura” – which means that the monies are paid directly to the carer. This is very useful if you have to pay large amounts for residential schooling for example – or if you cannot deal with the administration side – but it also means that you have no flexibility to use the money how you want. (ii) PGB monies – this is where you become the administrator of the monies and buy in whatever help you want regardless of what you have officially got the money for. This suits most people as you can then buy in occupational therapy, remedial teaching or whatever. However the declaration (bill) will need to state that the help being given is that to support or assist the child in vague terms, and not the exact therapy being given, because remedial teaching is not covered by the PGB and occupational therapy should be classified under you health care scheme etc. It is therefore necessary to be able to know how to 'play' the system. (iii) It is also possible to ask for the monies to be split into 2 parts: one part to be paid "in natura" – so that large bills to an institution for example can be paid direct, and the rest of the monies can then be paid directly to you to administer as you want as PGB. (5) If you choose to administer your own monies as a PGB budget you will have to go through the following procedures: In order to be able to buy your "zorg" (care), and will need to register the specialist(s) or carer(s) you are using. In order to do this, you will be given special Care Contract Application Forms (which are available in English) - different copies of the forms need to be filled out depending on what type of care you want. In order to claim the monies you personally must have a Sofi (or tax) number. A Sofi number can be obtained from your local tax office – although you will have to go along in person to obtain it. The child needing the care also has to have a Sofi no. In The Netherlands a child is sent a Sofi number, via the post, when they are 10 years of age – so if your child is younger than that – then you will have to ask for a Sofi number for them from your local tax office. (6) Once 'registered', by means of the Care Contract Application Forms, you can now start employing people. A lump sum will be paid into your bank account and you will pay the bills yourself – whilst keeping a good track on the administration! Any money left over at the end of the contract year goes back into the central system – but you are allowed to keep 10% of the left-over budget to go over into the next year. It is extremely important to remember that the system is very complicated and it is highly recommended that help is sought (ie from the SPD). Not only can they help you get the best from the system – but they can help advise you of changes which are constantly taking place (for instance, up until very recently the PGB bills were not paid for out of a lump sum by the parent or carer personally, but were sent to the PGB in Utrecht for payment). It is also understood that the forms have changed over the Summer 2003. As this is a very complicated procedure and also one that is constantly changing – the AAOF would appreciate any comments – especially any amendments that you might have to this document. Please send your comments to mail@aaof.info.
The TOG Care Allowance (Tegemoetkoming onderhoudskosten thuiswonende gehandicapte kinderen). The TOG care allowance is intended to help people with the expenses of looking after a handicapped child at home. To qualify for a TOG care allowance, you must
live in the Netherlands and be the parent or carer of a handicapped child who is at least
3 and no older than 18. A child is considered to be handicapped for the purposes of the
TOG scheme if he or she: To apply for a TOG care allowance, contact the TOG department of the SVB office in Roermond: Sociale Verzekeringsbank If you go to the webpage of the SVB on
www.svb.org and access the site in English – it is possible to download a leaflet on
TOG in English.
Any further enquiries, or a request to be added to our mailing list, can be directed to mail@aaof.info .
|
|
| Top |
Updated on: 13 November 2003 |