Common Questions About General Assistance
by: Human Services Department
Who can apply for General Assistance?
A person is all disabled.
The disability will not last long.
That person can ask for General Assistance.
What is a short term total disability?
This disability can be a physical injury.
It can be a mental injury. It has to last for 30 days.
It cannot last for a year.
How long it lasts is measured from the day you ask for general assistance?
It must keep the person from working.
He/she must not be able to do any job.
What is a permanent disability?
A person has a physical injury.
It lasts for 12 months.
It is a permanent disability.
What does, "any job that he would normally have", mean?
Any job means a job he/she would otherwise be able to do.
A person asks for help from General Assistance. He usually makes more than General Assistance expects in the job he normally holds.
They give help with income they think is right.
What does being disabled mean?
You are disabled when you can't support your family the way you always did.
It means you have no other income. Your are not getting help from any person or group.
How do the people at General Assistance decide a person has a disability?
The IRU has to decide that a worker cannot work as he used to.
He cannot work because he is injured.
A homemaker asks for General Assistance. They must decide that she/he cannot take care of the home as he/she did.
What happens after they decide you have a disability?
First they have to decide you are disabled.
Then they have to think about other things that can effect you.
They think about:
- your age;
- your education;
- your work experience;
- your work training;
- how well you speak English; and
- other things.
They have to look at medical decisions about you.
Maybe you can do another job.
What happens if they decide you are not disabled because you can still do the kind of work you always did?
The General Assistance Program does not help you find a job.
The decision is made that you can still work as you used to.
You are out of work. You need to get a job.
|
