Social development ministry conducts house visits
Published:Friday | May 22, 2020 | 12:13 AM
PORT OF SPAIN (CMC):
Officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services are currently undertaking house visits to applicants who have requested social assistance grants, to help them through the COVID-19 crisis.
According to a news release, the ministry said that this is in a bid to weed out justified claims from fraudulent ones.
Following the implementation of stay-at-home restrictions on April 1, the ministry has received in excess of 900 applications for rental support in Trinidad.
The ministry reports that 90 per cent of these applications are actively being processed and verified via telephone and house visits by staff. It says the house visits have become necessary in an attempt to counter fraudulent claims for assistance, which are being encountered daily.
The ministry has appealed to applicants to be honest in their declarations, as well as mindful of the impact of untruthful or questionable claims on the overall system and timeline for rental assistance approvals.