Topic: Needs Assessment Unit
NAU transitions to Department of Financial Assistance
The Needs Assessment Unit, the government agency which delivers monetary help to those in need in Cayman, will transition this week into the Department of Financial Assistance.
André Ebanks dismisses rumours of rift with premier
Deputy Premier André Ebanks has laughed off suggestions of a spat with Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, telling the Compass, “I’m not aware of any issues between us.”
Rent, food and internet benefits increased amid cost-of-living crisis
Large increases to benefits payments for rent, utilities and food as well as new stipends for phone, internet and transport have been pushed through to help Cayman’s most vulnerable cope with the rising cost of living.
Needs Assessment Unit Launches New Systems to Transform Client Service Experience
The Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development (MIISD) is pleased to announce the launch of two initiatives at the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU), that will have a meaningful, direct impact and lay the groundwork for commencement of the Financial Assistance Act (2022) later in the year.
Financial assistance reviews extended to November
Caymanians who are due a reassessment to determine their eligibility for government financial support now have until 10 Nov. to submit their application forms.
The $685 million question: Could Universal Basic Income work in Cayman?
An expensive social programme that rewards laziness or a necessary investment in people in an age of spiralling costs and diminishing job security? The Cayman Compass examines the arguments around Universal Basic Income.
Gov’t approves extra cash for seafarers and recipients of long-term financial assistance
Government has increased the seafarers and veterans ex gratia benefit as well as long-term financial assistance by $300, taking monthly benefits to $1,250.
Hope for the Sanders family: Mum, kids head to Canada
After spending sleepless nights on the beach worrying over what lies ahead, Olivia Sanders now has hope for the future after leaving Cayman with her kids to complete her studies.
Urgent issues need to be addressed
It has recently come to my attention that our government has finally managed to get officers from the Needs Assessment Unit to visit our...
‘Degrading’ and ‘unfair’: Support for people with disabilities mired in red tape
For people with disabilities already facing day-to-day challenges, being forced to navigate a web of red tape to seek vital support through the Needs Assessment Unit has proven to be a heartbreaking and frustrating reality for a number of Caymanians in need.
Gov’t eyes April end for tourism stipend, transition to grant programme
Deputy Premier Chris Saunders has said government is moving to end the tourism stipend by April and transition displaced workers who are not up to full employment by then to a recovery grant programme at a smaller sum in some cases.
Thompson Development and TechCayman partner with NAU
Thompson Development Ltd. and TechCayman have partnered with the NAU to assist the less fortunate this holiday season.
Website launched to simplify applying for NAU aid
The Needs Assessment Unit has launched a new website to make it easier for people to determine if they are eligible for government financial assistance.
Cayman needs to pull people out of poverty
The 7 May paper had a very informative article by James Whittaker about the Needs Assessment Unit .
The previous government did a very poor...
NAU complaints log highlights frustration and desperation
Seething with anger, frustration and, in some cases, pure desperation, emails sent to the Needs Assessment Unit – released to the Cayman Compass following an open records request – paint a picture of struggle and stress amid the pandemic.
Welfare support surged to record levels during pandemic
Cayman families have been seeking support from the Needs Assessment Unit in record numbers as the impact of the coronavirus crisis has taken its toll on the community.
Refugees turn to Cayman’s ARK for safe shelter
Seven months since the shutdown of Cayman’s tourism sector, life remains uncertain for many other unemployed foreign-born workers who remain on island.
Business in brief
Employees of Caribbean Utilities Company have authorised CUC to donate monthly deductions from their salaries to the Needs Assessment Unit.
Tenants of government-owned apartments relocated
The Department of Children and Family Services has relocated four families from the Lyndhurst Apartments complex, on Crewe Road in George Town.
NAU records 165% increase in food voucher requests
The number of people seeking help to feed themselves and their families has jumped by 165 per cent, according to the latest data from the Needs Assessment Unit.
Gov’t mulls extending NAU support to impacted expat workers
Government has said it is considering extending one-off assistance to expatriate workers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
$3M set aside for COVID-19 response
Government has tapped into the National Disaster Fund to the tune of $3 million as it readies to provide support for Caymanian workers facing the breadline due to the collapse of the tourism industry.
Government struggles to house DCFS and NAU clients
A shortage of available properties and landlords who are willing to accept payments from the Needs Assessment Unit is proving problematic for the government as it tries to find suitable homes for NAU and Department of Children and Family Service clients.
Needs Assessment Unit costs jump, led by school lunches
Although the number of people being helped by the Needs Assessment Unit has not changed significantly, overall costs of the support it provides increased by 26% in 2018.
Needs Assessment Unit early closure
The Needs Assessment Unit will close early on Thursday, 25 July, for a staff meeting.
Legislators approve $1.6 million for housing repairs
The government has approved more than $1.6 million in additional funding for its Housing Repairs Assistance Programme.
Needs Assessment Unit challenged by influx of elderly
An aging population and rising rental costs have been blamed for the growing cost of welfare in the Cayman Islands.
EDITORIAL – Ensnared in Cayman’s $50M ‘safety net’
Three years should have been ample time for the Cayman Islands government to fix the country’s broken social welfare system … or at least get started.
Rise in welfare linked to cost of living
The number of Caymanian families receiving help with food and rent payments from government rose sharply in 2017, according to the government’s latest Compendium of Statistics.
Hotels a last resort for homeless families in Cayman
Social services are increasingly using Grand Cayman hotels as emergency housing for homeless families.
Social services offices to close Friday
The Ministry of Community Affairs and all its departments, including the Department of Children and Family Services and the Needs Assessment Unit, in Grand Cayman and on Cayman Brac will be closed all day Friday, April 13, to facilitate a staff meeting.
Training day at government departments
The Ministry of Community Affairs, Department of Children and Family Services and the Needs Assessment Unit will be closed throughout the morning of Thursday, Feb. 22, for training.
Financial assistance recipients to be reassessed
People receiving Permanent Financial Assistance from the Needs Assessment Unit who have not been assessed since July 1, 2015, must be reassessed to continue receiving the benefits, the unit advised this week.
Holiday closures
Many government offices will be closing early Friday in preparation for the Christmas holidays and will remain closed until Wednesday, Dec. 27. Below are the closing times for several offices.
Needs Assessment Unit to close for Christmas
The Needs Assessment Unit, located on the second floor of the Aqua Mall at 55 Church Street, will be closed on Friday, Dec. 15 from 8:30 a.m. until noon.
Applications invited for seasonal cleanup work
The government is hosting its “National Community Enhancement Project,” offering temporary seasonal work to unemployed Caymanians in Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands.
EDITORIAL – A ‘needs assessment’ of our welfare services
The Cayman Islands are on a troubling economic and social path that if not corrected, will lead inexorably to a social welfare state. We are already far down that path, and there are few comforting signposts along the way.
Christmas cheer for families
The Needs Assessment Unit raised money last year to sponsor a number of families for Christmas in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. The families were chosen based on their circumstances and their demonstrated efforts to improve their situation.
Public departments closing for holidays
Government offices and services will be closing throughout the Christmas and new year period.
Man arrested after making threats at Needs Assessment Unit
Police say they arrested a Bodden Town man, 34, after he threatened staff at the Needs Assessment Unit by phone and then showed up at the George Town office Wednesday. NAU staff called police at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. Police say the man was unstable and the NAU had denied his claim for assistance.
Companies invited to ‘Stuff the Bus’
Organizers of a “Stuff The Bus” initiative to donate school supplies to hundreds of children are inviting local companies to take part.
Public Accounts Committee: Needs Assessment Unit requires ‘major overhaul’
The Needs Assessment Unit, tasked with managing a number of social assistance programs, needs a “major overhaul,” according to the legislature’s Public Accounts Committee.
Minister: Hundreds on assistance waiting list
About 340 applications seeking permanent financial assistance are pending assessment by the government’s needs assessment unit, Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden said Wednesday.
EDITORIAL – The people that Cayman forgot
Our country’s social services are a disservice — to the Caymanians who need public assistance, and to the welfare officers who deliver it.
2,500 Cayman families getting social welfare assistance
The Needs Assessment Unit is significantly under-resourced and lacks the necessary manpower and legislation to help move people from welfare to work, according to its director Tamara Hurlston.
EDITORIAL – ‘Public Assistance’: The great government giveaway program?
More than seven months after auditors identified severe problems with the government's $50 million public assistance programs, officials have a plan, which is ... get this ... to make a plan.
No strategy for welfare payments
The senior official responsible for welfare in the Cayman Islands has acknowledged there is no coordinated strategy for how public money is spent on the island’s most needy.
New offices open on Brac
The opening of a new facility on the Brac serving the Sister Islands on Friday, Jan. 29 drew a small crowd of dignitaries and residents.
