This Act is enacted to assist those families suffering hardship, providing emergency care, helping them to stand on their own feet and improving their living environment.

The Act of Assistance for Families in Hardship includes emergency assistance for livelihood, the children living allowance, children education allowance, medical subsidy, children nursery allowance, subsidy of litigation and career development loan.

The “competent authority” as referred to in this Act: The Ministry of Health and Welfare in Central Government, the City Government in Special Municipality and the County (City) in County (City) Government.
The “affairs” as referred to in this Act are handled by government agency that acts as the regulatory authority.

“Family in hardship” as referred to in this Act is the family of which the income divided by the number of family member is less 2.5 times of minimum living expenses per person per month announced by government the current year, less 1.5 times of expenditure per person per month in Taiwan and family property less than a certain amount published by the central competent authority. Besides the family is under one of the follow situations:
1. Below 65 years old with a spouse deceased or missing and undiscovered after 6 months of search by the police authority.
2. Abandoned with malice of abuse by a spouse as well as divorced by judicial decree or completion of voluntary divorce.
3. Victim of family violence.
4. The unmarried woman is pregnant; the pregnancy is within three months and two months after accouchement.
5. Single parent raising any child under 18 years old due to divorce, loss of spouse, childbirth out of wedlock or grandparent raising any grandchild under 18 years old due to inability of the parent, without working ability or with working ability but unable to work due to serious injury, illness or caretaking of any child or grandchild under 6 years old.
6. Spouse is subject to imprisonment of one year or longer or security measure restricting physical freedom of one year or longer, which is under execution.
7. Other living and economic difficulty due to serious incident during the past three months other than due to personal liability, indebtedness or voluntary unemployment, as determined by municipal, county or city government.
The status of such family under the previous paragraph shall be identified every year for the purpose of applying for a children’s living allowance, children’s educational allowance and childcare allowance.
Assistance received by applicant in accordance with this Act for the applicant’s grandchild shall be limited to the grandchild under 18 years old who cannot be supported by the parent in accordance with Subparagraph 5, Paragraph 1.
“Parent’s inability to support the child” referred to under Subparagraph 5, Paragraph 1 means both parents are unable to support the child due to death, involuntary employment without unemployment benefit, serious injury or illness, imprisonment or disappearance.

Article 5-1 and Article 5-3 of the Social Assistance Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to the total family income and inability to work referred to under Paragraph 1 of the previous Article.
Family property referred to in the first paragraph of the previous Article includes movable property and real property, the amount of which shall be calculated separately. Article 5-2 of the Social Assistance Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Family population referred to in the first paragraph of the previous Article should include the following:
1. Applicant.
2. Direct subordinate family members with supporting obligations and the spouses thereof.
3. Other than the previous subparagraph, family members under support as included for tax exemption under consolidated income tax declaration.
If any person under Subparagraphs 2 or 3 of the previous paragraph has any of the following events, the person should be excluded from the population:
1. Direct subordinate family member who has no income, does not live with the applicant, has no supporting ability and is married.
2. Serving military duty or alternative duty.
3. Student with scholarship.
4. Serving imprisonment or detention due to a legal case or in accordance with law.
5. Missing and undiscovered after 6 months of searching by the police authority.

The application for subsidy items stated in Article 2 is not limited to only one. If the family who has acquired the subsidy for livelihood, benefit or placement in accordance with other decree cannot apply for this assistance other than the difference between the subsidy for livelihood, benefit or placement and this Act.
The subsidy under this Act may be stopped by the municipal, county (city) competent authority and the subsidiary received may be claimed if the beneficiary under this Act has any of the following events:
1. Provision of false information.
2. Omission or refusal to provide information required by municipal, county (city) competent authority.
3. Acquisition of family support through fraud or other improper means.

The woman who is qualified for emergency life assistance shall be subsidized double the amount of the lowest living expense per person per month of low-income family by current year. The subsidy term is for three months and same case for the same reason is limited to one subsidy.
In applying for emergency life assistance under Paragraph 1, Article 4, the applicant shall file the application enclosing the copy of household certificate and other related certificates to the local municipal, county (city) competent authority within 6 months from the occurrence of the fact or the application can be transferred by township (city, district) house or social welfare units. If it is difficult to acquire the certificate, the case can be evaluated with the site visit documents written by social workers.
After the approval of emergency life assistance, the authority of special municipality and county (city) shall send someone to visit the case periodically. If the life of the case is improved substantially, the assistance shall be halted.

The family who fits the situations described in Subparagraph 1 to 3, 5 or 6 of Paragraph 1 to Article 4 and has children or grandchildren below 15 years old can apply for a living allowance for children.
The amount of living allowance for children or grandchildren is 1/10 of the minimum wage of the current year for every child; the application shall be filed once a year.
The first application for children’s living allowance can be filed any time, but the application of extending subsidy shall be filed two months before the beginning the fiscal year.
The authority of special municipality and county (city) shall send staff to visit the case of extending subsidies. If the situation of the case has improved substantially, the allowance shall be halted.
In applying for the children’s living allowance, the applicant shall file the application enclosing the copy of household certificate and other related certificates to the local authority or the application can be transferred by township(city, district )house or social welfare units.

The family that fits the situation described in Paragraph 1 of Article 4 and the children or grandchildren are studying in public or registered private senior high school can apply for children education allowance, provided that no duplication applications shall be filed if any subsidy of the same nature is provided under other legislations.
1. 60% of tuition and miscellaneous fee will be reduced for high school and vocational high school.
2. 60% of tuition and miscellaneous fee will be reduced for college and university.
To seek a reduction of tuition and miscellaneous fee under the previous paragraph, relevant justification documents should be submitted at the time of registration and reduction will be granted after review and confirmation by the school. For private schools, the educational administration authority of jurisdiction will be asked to provide subsidy after the reduction is granted by the school.
The application procedure, method and other compliance matters of educational subsidy under the first paragraph shall be determined by the educational administration authority of jurisdiction.
The first paragraph is amended on 18 December 2012 and shall be implemented from 1 August 2012.

The family that fits the situations described in Article 4 and is under one of the follow situations can apply for medical subsidy:
1. The applicant and his/her children or grandchildren over 6 years old & less 18 years have joined the national health insurance program and cannot afford the medical expense over NT$30,000 the last three months, furthermore did not obtain any other subsidy or insurance benefit.
2. His/her children or grandchildren under 6 years old have joined the national health insurance program and cannot afford the partial medical expense born by patient.
The criteria of medical subsidy are as follows:
1. For the children or grandchildren over 6 years old and less 18 years old: The excess part of NT$30 thousand of partial medical expense born by patient shall be subsidized 70% and the maximum subsidy is NT$120 thousand yearly per person.
2. For the children or grandchildren less 6 years old: The maximum subsidy of partial medical expense born by patient is NT$120 thousand yearly per person in accordance with the Article 33 and Article 35 of National Health Insurance Act for the expense of out-patient service, emergency treatment and hospitalization in NHI contracted medical institutions.
For applying the medical subsidy, the applicant shall file the application enclosing the related documents within 3 months from the occurrence of the injury/illness, one copy of both side of heath card, diagnosis certificate and original receipts of medical expenses to the local authority; the application for medical subsidy certificate of less 6 years old children or grandchildren shall be filed to the domiciliary township (city, district) house and then the applicant can go to the NHI contracted medical institution, the medical institution shall compile register by month apply the medical subsidy to the competent authority of special municipality or county (city).

Children or grandchildren less 6 years old shall have the precedence of getting admission to a public nursery institution; if the children or grandchildren are in the private nursery institution, the applicant can apply for a children nursery allowance of NT$1,500 monthly per person.
For applying the children nursery allowance, the applicant shall file application within six months of deed to the domiciliary authority.
The authority of special municipality and county (city) shall send someone to visit the case of extending subsidy. If the situation of the case is improved substantially, the allowance shall be halted, but the children who are admitted to the public nursery institution can continue to stay in the public nursery.

The woman who fits the situation described in the Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1 to Article 4 and cannot afford litigation expense can apply for the litigation subsidy. The maximum subsidy is NT$50 thousand.
For applying the children nursery allowance, the applicant shall file application enclosing the related certificates, original receipts of lawyer’s fee, copy of litigation and judgment within three months of deed to the domiciliary authority.

The family who fits the situations described in Subparagraph 1 to 3, 5 and 6 of Paragraph 1 to Article 4 and is an adult may apply for career development loan, the qualification, procedure, subsidy amount, quota , term of time and another regulation shall be enacted by central competent authority.

To apply for children’s living subsidy or childcare subsidy in accordance with Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 1, Article 4, it is required to have a civil protective order granting the exercise of rights and obligations for minor children or substantial proof of facts that the applicant raises the child alone.

The expenditures needed for the assistance stated in the Act shall be budgeted by government at every level.

The right to claim each payment or subsidy in cash according to this Act shall not be detained, transferred, or used for guarantee purposes.
Applicants seeking payment of cash or subsidy under this Act shall open a specific bank account in a financial institution with the identify documents provided by the municipality and county (city) competent authorities. The name and address of the financial institution, the name of the account, and the household’s registered name shall be detailed and reported to the municipality and county (city) competent authorities for approval so as to properly use the account for saving each payment of cash or subsidy.
The savings in the account described above shall not be detained, transferred, or used for guarantee purposes.

(Deleted)

As for the application of family assistances stated in this Act, the required documents, format, evaluation criteria, evaluation procedure and approach of distributing subsidy shall be decided by the authorities respectively.

With to assistance under this Act, the competent authority may ask relevant authority (institution), organization, corporation or individual to provide required necessary information and the requested party shall not refuse.
The competent authority shall exercise due care as a good administrator with regard to the information received in accordance with the previous paragraph and duly perform information security audit procedure. The maintenance, processing and use thereof shall be in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act.

This Act shall come into force from the date of promulgation.
The implementation date for the provisions of this Act amended on 12 January 2009 shall be determined by the Executive Yuan.