APPEAL # I . PART C -Decision under Appeal The Decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation, (ministry) Reconsideration Decision, dated March 25, 2014, which denied the appellant a crisis supplement to buy a bed for herself and one of her dependent children. The Ministry determined that the appellant was not eligible for a crisis supplement under sec. 59 of the Employment and Assistance Regulation as the beds were not an unexpected item or expense, there was no evidence of imminent danger to the family's health or the removal of a child from the home by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, (MCFD), and alternative resources may be available to the family to obtain the beds. PART D -Relevant Legislation EAR Employment and Assistance Regulation -Sec 59 EAAT 003(10l06/01)
I APPFAI JI l PART E -Summary of Facts The evidence before the ministry at reconsideration was that the appellant was a recipient of income assistance, (IA), with three dependent children. In Sept. of 2013 she moved into a new residence. In March of 2014 she applied for a crisis supplement for a mattress for herself and another for one of her children who had outgrown a toddler bed. The appellant provided a prescription note from a doctor indicating she needed an orthopedic mattress for mid-back injury. In the Request for Reconsideration the appellant stated she has had a back problem from a work injury which is worsened by sleeping on her couch. Her doctor advised her to only sleep on an orthopedic mattress. She has checked thrift stores and they have no such mattresses. In relation to the child bed, one of her children had outgrown her bed and this bed would now be used by her youngest. She could not afford to pay for these items as all her money goes to food, clothing and other essentials for her growing children, she has no ability to save for these items and struggles as a single mother of three to meet all their needs from cheque to cheque. She previously had lost a number of items after a prior landlord had put her belongings outside, including beds. On March 25, 2014, the Ministry provided its Reconsideration Decision. The appellant appealed, stating the decision had wrong dates and she would explain her situation at the hearing. The Appellant did not attend at the hearing. After confirming that the Appellant was properly notified of the hearing, the matter proceeded under section 86(b) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation At the hearing the Ministry relied on the reconsideration decision. The Ministry stated that the appellant may have been without a bed for several years and there was no explanation from the appellant about what the actual cause of this was. It may have been that she lost it when a prior landlord put her belongings outside. There was no evidence that the need for her bed was unexpected. In relation to the child's bed it was not unexpected as children do outgrow beds. As the client had not provided any evidence of any other unexpected expense the ministry could not find she qualified under this criterion. In relation to imminent danger to any of the family members or removal of a child from the home, there was no evidence of this. There was a note from a Doctor indicating an injury but nothing to say the impact of the injury. Regarding alternative resources, the ministry will usually ask a person to check other known charitable resources for such items to see if they can assist. In the area where the appellant lives there are a number of community resources that can be canvassed and there are resources that will provide refurbished beds for free on pick-up or for a delivery charge. EAAT003(10/06/01)
P A R T F R e a s o n s f o r P a n e l D e c i s i o n T h e i s s u e t o b e d e t e r m i n e d i n t h i s a p p e a l i s w h e t h e A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r t h e c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t E M P L O Y M E N T A N D A S S I S T A N C E R E G U L A T I O N C r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t S 5 9 ( 1 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y p r o v i d e a c r i s i s s u p p l e m a s s i s t a n c e o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e i f ( a ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t o r a p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t r e q u e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n a n i t e m u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d a n b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n o r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e f a m ( b ) t h e m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s t h a t f a i l u r e t o m e e t t h e e x ( i ) i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o f a n y p e ( i i ) r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d u n d e r t h e C h i l d , F a m i l y a n d C ( 2 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y b e p r o v i d e d o n l y f o r t h r e q u e s t f o r t h e s u p p l e m e n t i s m a d e . ( 3 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y n o t b e p r o v i d e d f o r t h e ( a ) a s u p p l e m e n t d e s c r i b e d i n S c h e d u l e C , o r ( b ) a n y o t h e r h e a l t h c a r e g o o d s o r s e r v i c e s . ( 4 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t p r o v i d e d f o r f o o d , s h e l t e r o ( a ) i f f o r f o o d , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e p r o i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t , ( b ) i f f o r s h e l t e r , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e ( i ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t ' s a c t u a l s h e l t e r c o s t , a n d ( i i ) t h e m a x i m u m s e t o u t i n s e c t i o n 4 o f S c h e d u l e A f a m i l y u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h e f a m i l y u n i t ; ( c ) i f f o r c l o t h i n g , t h e a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d m ( i ) $ 1 0 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n t h e 1 2 a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t , a n d ( i i ) $ 4 0 0 f o r t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n t h e 1 2 c a l e n d a r m o n t h c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . ( 5 ) T h e c u m u l a t i v e a m o u n t o f c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t s t h m u s t n o t e x c e e d t h e a m o u n t c a l c u l a t e d u n d e r s u b s e ( 6 ) I n t h e c a l e n d a r m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n ( 5 ) i s c a l c u l a t e d b y m u l t i p l y i n g b y h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e t h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d f o r t h e m o u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h e f a m i l v u n i t . E M T 0 0 3 { 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I r t h e M i n i s t ry r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t h e t o p u r c h a s e b e d s . e n t t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t i s e l i g i b l e f o r i n c o m e i r e s t h e s u p p l e m e n t t o m e e t a n u n e x p e c t e d d i s u n a b l e t o m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m i l y u n i t , a n d p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t , o r o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e A c t . e c a l e n d a r m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o r p u r p o s e o f o b t a i n i n g r c l o t h i n g i s s u b j e c t t o t h e f o l l o w i n g l i m i t a t i o n s : v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s $ 2 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n p r o v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s t h e s m a l l e r o f o r T a b l e 2 o f S c h e d u l e D , a s a p p l i c a b l e , f o r a u s t n o t e x c e e d t h e s m a l l e r o f c a l e n d a r m o n t h p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g t h e d a t e o f p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g t h e d a t e o f a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t i n a y e a r c t i o n ( 6 ) . r r e q u e s t f o r t h e s u p p l e m e n t i s m a d e , t h e a m o u n t 2 t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t o f i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o r n t h u n d e r S c h e d u l e A o r S c h e d u l e D t o a f a m i l y
( 7 ) D e s p i t e s u b s e c t i o n ( 4 ) ( b ) o r ( 5 ) o r b o t h , a c r i s i u n i t f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g : ( a ) f u e l f o r h e a t i n g ; ( b ) f u e l f o r c o o k i n g m e a l s ; ( c ) w a t e r ; ( d ) h y d r o . [ a m . B . C . R e g . 1 2 / 2 0 0 3 . ] S e c . 5 9 ( 1 ) s t a t e s t h e m i n i s t e r m a y p r o v i d e a c r i s i s s p e r s o n r e q u i r e s t h e s u p p l e m e n t t o m e e t a n u n e x p e n e e d e d , i s u n a b l e t o m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h t o t h e f a m i l y u n i t , a n d t h e m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s t h a t f a r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o f t h o m e . T h e r e i s n o q u e s t i o n t h e A p p e l l a n t i s e l i g i b l e t o c l a i H o w e v e r , t h e m i n i s t r y s t a t e s t h e A p p e l l a n t h a s n o t s i s u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d , a n d t h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c e f d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o f a p e r s o n i n t h e f a m M i n i s t r y a l s o s a y s t h e r e a r e o t h e r r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m a t e r i a l s i n t h e a p p e a l p a c k a g e s t a d o e s n o t r e c e i v e e n o u g h I A t o b u d g e t a n d s a v e f o r s o m e o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s a n d p r o v i d e a n e v i d e n c e o r e x p l a n a t i o n . I n r e l a t i o n t o u n e x p e c t e d i t e m o r e x p e n s e , t h e p a n e f o r t h e i t e m s i s u n e x p e c t e d . T h e A p p e l l a n t h a s n o t e v i d e n c e a s t o t h e a c t u a l l e n g t h o f t i m e . A s t h e m i n c o u l d b e a f e w m o n t h s . I n e i t h e r e v e n t i t a p p e a r s r e f o r e s e e a b l e . A g a i n , w i t h o u t f u r t h e r e v i d e n c e f r o m t h e x p e n s e u n e x p e c t e d , t h e p a n e l d e t e r m i n e s t h a t t h e r e a s o n a b l e . I n r e l a t i o n t o w h e t h e r t h e r e a r e o t h e r r e s o u r c e s a v a A p p e l l a n t ' s e v i d e n c e i s t h a t s h e h a s n o s a v i n g s . T h c o v e r d a i l y l i v i n g e x p e n s e s , s u c h a s f u r n i t u r e a n d p o r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e t o s u p p l y s u c h i t e m s . T h e r e i s m s h e l o o k e d a t s o m e t h r i f t s t o r e s , b u t w e d o n o t k n o w a p p e l l a n t t o u s e o t h e r r e s o u r c e s . W i t h o u t e v i d e n c e r e s o u r c e s a n d w a s u n s u c c e s s f u l , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h e m a y h a v e h a d o t h e r r e s o u r c e s t o p a y f o r t h e b e d s . E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # '. s s u p p l e m e n t m a y b e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u p p l e m e n t t o a n e l i g i b l e p e r s o n o n I A , i f t h e c t e d e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n a n i t e m u n e x p e c t e d l y e i t e m b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n o r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e i l u r e t o m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m w i l l h e f a m i l y u n i t , o r r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d f r o m t h e m t h e s u p p l e m e n t a s s h e i s c u r r e n t l y o n I A . h o w n t h i s i s a n u n e x p e c t e d e x p e n s e o r t h e i t e m a i l i n g t o o b t a i n t h e b e d s w i l l r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n t i l y u n i t , o r r e m o v a l o f o n e o f t h e c h i l d r e n . T h e l e t o o b t a i n t h e i t e m . t e s h e c a n n o t a f f o r d t o p a y f o r t h e s e i t e m s a n d s u c h i t e m s . S h e a d v i s e d t h a t s h e w o u l d e x p l a i n i o n w a s w r o n g , b u t s h e d i d n o t a t t e n d t h e h e a r i n g l f i n d s t h a t i t c a n n o t b e s a i d t h e e x p e n s e o r n e e d h a d a b e d f o r s o m e t i m e . I t i s n o t c l e a r f r o m t h e i s t ry p o i n t e d o u t i t c o u l d b e s e v e r a l y e a r s o r i t a s o n a b l e t h a t t h e s e e x p e n s e s w o u l d b e e a p p e l l a n t t h a t s o m e t h i n g o c c u r r e d t o m a k e t h e m i n i s t r y ' s f i n d i n g o n t h i s c r i t e r i o n w a s i l a b l e t o t h e a p p e l l a n t t o p u r c h a s e t h e i t e m s , t h e e m i n i s t r y a r g u e s s o m e o f t h e I A i s m e a n t t o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f c o m m u n i t y i n i m a l e v i d e n c e f r o m t h e A p p e l l a n t w h o a d v i s e d w h a t a t t e m p t s , i f a n y w e r e m a d e b y t h e f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t t h a t s h e t r i e d t h e s e o t h e r m i n i s t r y w a s r e a s o n a b l e i n f i n d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t
In relat ion to imm inen t danger, t here is no evid enc ph y sical h ealth of t he app ellant. Th e a ppellant sa y by slee pi n g on t he couch. We h ave no evi denc e a imminent d anger to her health. It is un d e rst andable t he re is no evide nce about imminent da nger e i ther i n formati on from a docto r in this type o f situation. W about the cond i tion and its ef fect o n her the panel th i s issue. Th e pan e l no tes as wel l t her e i s no e v i d hom e and as such this portion of the re c onsider atio As the panel find s that the M inis try' s decisi o n wa s se c. 59, a nd th at t he Re c onsider at ion Decision wa re aso n able applica tion of the le g islation based on the De cis ion is confirmed . T he A p pe llant i s n o t s ucces EM T 003(10/06/01) I A PPEAL# e in this m at ter th at th e re i s i mm i n en t danger to th e s sh e h urt her back at wo rk and i t is g e tt ing worse s to t he extent o f t he pr oble m or th at it is causi n g tha t thi s m a tt er may not be c omfortable, b ut . The pa nel notes tha t i t i s n o t u nusual to see some ithou t furthe r i nf ormati on f rom the app el lant find s the decision of the minist ry is rea sonable on en ce th at any child w o uld be r emoved from th e n decision is reas o na ble. reasonable in re lati o n to t h e requirement s und er s re aso n ably s up po r t ed by th e evidence a nd is a e vidence. As such, the Re c on sid e ration sfu l in he r app eal.
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.