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The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has designated January 6 and 7, 2025 for administering Disability and Child Support Grants — starting with disability on Monday, followed by child support grants (Child Grant and Foster Child) on Tuesday.
On Monday, January 6 (2025), SASSA will process the first payment for the elderly, providing the much-needed relief as the New Year begins.
When it comes to supporting the little ones, as listed below, there are essentially three types of child support: the Child Grant, Care Dependency and the Foster Child Grant. Additionally, there is a top-up option available for orphaned children (see below info).
- Child Support Grant: it’s given to children whose parents or primary caregivers are not able to provide sufficient support due to unemployment or poverty.
Parents and primary caregivers qualify for the child support grant if their child is under the age of 18. The child support grant was only increased from R510 by R20 last year, and now amounts to R530.
- Care Dependency Grant: this special grant is meant to take care of a child who has a severe disability and is in need of full-time and special care. The applicant must be s South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee permanently residing in South Africa. Furthermore, both the applicant and child must be resident in South Africa; child must be under the age of 18 years. The caregiver or applicant must provide the child’s clinical information or a referral form as clinical baseline for an assessment; the referral form duly completed by a treating facility or practitioner if the application was previously rejected on medical grounds;
The child must undergo a medical or functional assessment confirming disability. The Care Dependency Grant was increased by only R10 in October from R2, 180, bringing it to now R2, 190.
- Child Support Grant Top-up: SASSA has included a further top-up to help carers meet the basic requirements of orphaned children. The top-up payment per child was increased by R10 from R260 to R270 in October 2024, making the total grant amount for each orphaned child R800 monthly.
Note: School uniform may be additionally provided to children whose primary caregivers experience undue hardship and therefore cannot afford school uniform or in instances where school uniform is lost or destroyed due to disaster.
- Foster Child Grant: this provided to a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee permanently residing in South Africa. Both the applicant and child must be resident in South Africa. The applicant must provide a court order indicating foster care status. The Foster Child Grant was increased by R50 from R1,130 in April 2024, which now brings the amount to R1,180 per month.
Meanwhile, payments for Covid-19 Relief of Distress (SRD) clients who were approved for the month of January 2025 will be processed from January 25 to 31.
*For more info on how to apply for a grant, visit www.https://sassacheck.co.za/.
