Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) Update
Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) Update
March 20, 2012
- Beginning June 2012, SAID will be expanded to include people who are living independently. Individuals currently receiving a disability benefit through the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP) are being invited to apply for SAID. Application and disability impact assessment packages are being mailed through the month of March. Applications and returned will be reviewed to determine whether the applicant is eligible for SAID.
- The staggered mail-out started the week of March 12th. All application packages will be mailed by the end of March.
|
Date |
# Packages |
Locations |
|
March 12-16 |
2000 |
Regina, Saskatoon, South east areas of SK |
|
March 19-23 |
4 4000 |
Regina, Saskatoon, Kindersley, Rosetown, South west areas of SK |
|
March 26-30 |
6000 |
Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Meadow Lake, North of Prince Albert |
- The Ministry has worked in collaboration with the disability community on the development of the SAID. The list of Community-based Organizations (CBOs) that have volunteered to assist applicants with their applications was included in the application package. The Ministry thanks those CBOs that have taken on this task and would like to encourage all CBOs, where possible, to provide assistance to individuals your agency provides service to who may require assistance to complete their SAID application.
- One component of the SAID application is the Reference Person form. This form is used to validate the significant and enduring nature of an applicant’s disability (provide some rigour to the application process). This form provides the Ministry with a contact who can provide additional information about the impact of the applicant’s disability impact, if needed.
For many applicants, their first instinct will be to seek a reference from their physician. This may be appropriate for some applicants; however, a medical reference is not required. A number of options are suggested to applicants on the Reference Person form. Conversely, it is recognized that some applicants have very few supports and/or professional relationships. Please support applicants to come up with someone who can serve as a reference outside of their immediate circle of friends and/or family; use of family members as the reference person is discouraged.
- Please refer to the attached fact sheet for answers to additional questions you may have (e.g., application process for people who are not currently receiving benefits through the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP), details about the new SAID benefit).
- If you have additional questions about the application and/or assessment process, please contact the Saskatchewan Abilities Council: 1-855-567-7243, who have been contracted to assist the Ministry with the expanded SAID enrolment.
- If you have additional questions about the SAID program or specific client issues, please contact (or encourage the applicant to contact) the Ministry’s SAID inquiry line: 1-888-567-7243.
New SAID Fact Sheet is available for download HERE