Eligibility requirements and disabilities
The Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care is governed by the Taxation Act , more specifically by the rules prescribed in the Regulation respecting the Taxation Act .
Eligibility for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care is determined based on defined requirements. It is not based on diagnosis alone. The requirements take into account one or several of the following elements:
- the presence of severe and multiple disabilities;
- the severity of the child's disability (severity of the limitations in carrying out his or her life habits based on his or her age);
- the need for complex medical care.
Therefore, even if two children received the same diagnosis, the applications filed for them could result in different decisions due to differences in their disabilities, limitations and/or the complex medical care they require.
Analysis of eligibility : three different situations
Assessment period of eligibility for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care
Child with very severe and multiple disabilities
Child requiring complex medical care at home
Very young child with severe, multiple and persistent disabilities
In situation A, since the eligibility requirements are different for the two determined age groups, a child may not be eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care before age 4 but may be eligible after that age. Conversely, a child may be eligible before age 4, but no longer be eligible after that age. For the same reason, a child may be eligible for different tiers before and after age 4.
In situation B, under the Taxation Act, a child may be eligible at any age (between ages 0 and 18) as soon as care is administered at home. However, in situation A, eligibility is only possible as of age 2.
For the three situations, once the child is eligible for the Supplement for Handicapped Childre Requiring Exceptional Care, the child remains eligible until he or she turns 18 if his or her condition has not changed.
Regarding situation A and in certain cases for situation B, we must assess the severity of the limitations in carrying out the child's life habits to determine his or her eligibility. For more information on the assessment of the limitations, consult the Disabilities and severity of limitations section below.
Eligibility requirements depending on the situation
Analysis of eligibility : assessment of the severity of the disability
Eligibility is not determined solely upon the diagnosis, it is also based on the severity of the child's limitations in carrying out life habits.
Disabilities and severity of limitations
A child is disabled if there is a significant discrepancy between the level of carrying out his or her daily life habits and the level expected for a child of his or her age who does not have any physical impairment or mental function disability. Where the discrepancy related to the standard becomes extreme (in relation to very severe and multiple disabilities), and therefore the disability is very severe, the child's situation can entitle him or her to the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care based on defined rules.
Severity of the limitations
Life habits considered