Assistance allowance

Hjelpestønad er en ytelse fra NAV til barn og voksne som har behov for langvarig privat pleie og tilsyn på grunn av sykdom, skade eller funksjonsvariasjon. For barn er det som regel foreldrene eller andre nærstående som utfører hjelpen.

Med pleie menes all tid man bruker på medisinering, trening, forflytning, stimulering, opplæring, mestring av hverdagen osv. Med tilsyn menes all den tid barnet må følges med på av noen andre fordi det ikke kan være alene. Det gjelder både psykisk og somatisk (fysisk) sykdom, og funksjonsvariasjon. Behovet trenger ikke bare handle om fysisk hjelp. Også nødvendig stimulering, opplæring, trening og kontinuerlig tilsyn kan inngå i vurderingen.

Private means that the care or supervision is done by private individuals, for example parents, foster parents, grandparents, or other relatives and carers.

Med langvarig menes at hjelpebehovet som hovedregel må forventes å vare i minst 2-3 år. I enkelte alvorlige sykdomsforløp kan det likevel foretas en konkret vurdering selv om varigheten er usikker..

The benefit must compensate for all extra time it is used for the child's care and supervision needs which are beyond what is normal for the child's age.

Here are three simple examples:

Helping a 5-year-old child put on shoes and tie laces:
Most children aged 5 need help with this and it is therefore not considered an additional need for care.
Helping a 5-year-old child put on orthotics and special shoes:
This is not "normal" for able-bodied children of the same age and not something you can expect a 5-year-old with functional variation to be able to manage on his own. It is therefore considered an additional care requirement.
Helping a 12-year-old child put on shoes and tie laces:
It is expected that able-bodied children aged 12 will be able to put on and tie their shoes themselves, and this is therefore considered an additional care requirement.

The assistance allowance is therefore assessed based on the time spent on care and supervision, and how this is compared to able-bodied children of the same age.

For example then a child aged 1 and a child aged 11 with exactly the same care needs will be granted completely different rates.

A healthy 1-year-old must have help to eat, go to the toilet, shower, undress and dress, get from A to B, etc., while a healthy 11-year-old is expected to manage this on his own. Therefore, the need for care in practice is considered to be much greater for the 11-year-old than for the 1-year-old, even though in theory it is the same.

Nevertheless, NAV has a tendency not to assess all the variables within a care need, so it may be wise to note the following:

Yes, a healthy 1-year-old needs help with meals. Nevertheless, a healthy 1-year-old does not need a nasal tube or belly button, help to retrieve medical equipment that must be connected to a feeding pump, measure tube feeding, or wash the medical equipment after use. A healthy 1-year-old also does not need help to take medication, prevent/wash up vomit, time to motivate eating or comfort after vomiting. All of this deviates from the "normal" and is considered to be an additional need for care.

In other words: All extra time spent on care and supervision is relevant!

The child does not receive benefits for this

practical help such as cooking, cleaning, washing or shopping
help when other public bodies cover this, e.g. BPA, home care
processing by professional providers of personal services, e.g. different types of therapists

Assessment of need for assistance

The need for help must correspond to at least rate 1, i.e. approx. 2-2.5 hours of help per week. If the child has a much greater need for care and supervision than the ordinary assistance allowance (rate 1) covers, the child can receive increased assistance allowance (rate 2, 3 or 4).

The descriptions below are taken from the circular on social security benefits, and show what NAV takes as a basis when they assess the application.

Sentence 1
"The need for supervision and care must be so extensive that it provides a basis for a remuneration that at least corresponds to the assistance allowance rate. This roughly corresponds to what it costs on an annual basis to pay for 2 - 2 1/2 hours of help per week."

Sentence 2
"Increased assistance benefit rate 2 may be applicable in the case of physical and mental disabilities of a moderate degree. The child must have a need for care and supervision in connection with daily tasks such as e.g. personal hygiene, in eating situations and due to walking difficulties. The same applies in cases where the child needs supervision outdoors. This applies, for example, to children with sensory defects, movement difficulties and children with diseases that give rise to a risk of seizures or active disease outbreaks and in case of mental retardation. The same applies in cases where the child needs education, training or treatment. The extent of the need for help must be relatively significant, but it is not required that the child is dependent on constant round-the-clock supervision."

Sentence 3
“Hjelpebehovets omfang må være av et relativt betydelig omfang for at forhøyet hjelpestønad sats 3 kan tilstås. Barnets funksjonsevne vil oftest være nedsatt i så betydelig grad at omsorgen for barnet er til hinder for at pleieren utfører andre nødvendige, daglige gjøremål og barnets hjelpebehov vil oftest være av et så betydelig omfang at det går ut over familiens øvrige gjøremål. Dette kan være tilfelle når barnet er delvis sengeliggende, og når det er behov for pleie og tilsyn i forbindelse med daglige personlige gjøremål. Det samme gjelder tilfeller hvor det er behov for omfattende tilsyn i perioder av døgnet. Det kreves imidlertid ikke at det er behov for tilsyn døgnet rundt. Dette gjelder både ved fysiske og psykiske funksjonshemninger. Eksempler kan være atferdsforstyrrelser som gir store samhandlingsproblemer med andre mennesker, hyperaktivitet og psykisk utviklingshemning. Det samme kan sies om sykdomstilstander som gir risiko for sykdomsutbrudd med alvorlige følger og krampeanfall som kan medføre at barnet skader seg.”

Sentence 4
"For the right to an increased assistance benefit according to the highest rate, the child's medical condition must be of such a nature that the need for assistance will largely dominate the everyday life of the person who covers the need for assistance. This may be the case where the child's functional capacity is reduced to a significant extent or in cases where the child suffers from a very serious illness or where the child's illness is of such a nature that critical situations can arise. The same applies to significant mental retardation. In these cases, the child will need almost continuous supervision. This may be the case where considerable supervision is required to avoid disease outbreaks with serious consequences. However, it is not required that the child is bedridden."

Good to know

The child must not be seriously ill to apply for assistance, but must be in need of supervision and care due to their medical condition – i.e. that the child needs help with personal tasks that able-bodied children do not need.
The processing time for assistance benefits is usually quite long, approx. 4 months
Man kan få tilbakebetalt noen måneder dersom hjelpebehovet også var der under saksbehandlignstiden.
Forhøyet hjelpestønad (sats 2-4) er en ordning for personer under 18 år. Etter fylte 18 år kan man bare motta ordinær hjelpestønad (sats 1), dersom vilkårene fortsatt er oppfylt.
You can choose whether the benefit is to be paid to the child's or the parents' account.
The benefit does not provide holiday pay, and it is not taxed.
Dersom familien mottar care allowance, kan kommunen ta hensyn til hjelpestønaden ved fastsettelse av omsorgsstønaden. Noen kommuner krever at det først søkes om hjelpestønad hos NAV.

Application process

The application is written in the child's name.

You can apply both digitally at nav.no and in paper form via post.

You need not to obtain a medical certificate for the application. You only need to state which doctor (or doctors) is treating the child and the doctor's address (hospital, department, office). State all relevant doctors who follow up and treat your child, if there are several in different fields.

You will be notified by NAV along the way if you need to document any of the information in the application.

Advice on the content of the application

Always start from the worst day to the child.
Vær nøye med å få med all tidsbruk. Mange foreldre glemmer tiden som går til forberedelser, opprydding, motivasjon, overvåkning og oppfølging før og etter tiltaket. Beskriv den faktiske tidsbruken så konkret som mulig.
Hvert minutt teller. 1 minutt her og 1 minutt der kan være forskjellen på sats 2 og sats 3.
Example: The child must have inhalation. Although the inhalation itself only takes a few minutes, it is important to include the time spent beyond this. You spend time finding and preparing the equipment and medicine. You also like to spend time motivating/comforting the child, as well as washing, drying and packing away the equipment afterwards.
Write the day wheel.

Er du medlem i Løvemammaene, kan du laste ned mal og eksempel på døgnklokke i vårt lukkede intranett for medlemmer: Spark

Reassessment of assistance allowance

When reassessing assistance benefits, NAV must exercise discretion when obtaining a medical certificate. This means that it will not always be necessary to obtain a new medical certificate. This applies in particular to serious and incurable disorders. NAV must also check whether there is a medical certificate in other cases that can be used.
NAV cannot set stricter requirements for documentation in the reassessment than what was done during the processing of the original application for assistance benefit.
It is also good to know that NAV has the burden of proof. This means that it is not the parents who have to prove that the child is still entitled to assistance benefit, but NAV who must prove that there has been a change in the need for assistance if they believe that they can change the rate or stop the assistance benefit.

When does the assistance allowance stop?

When the child dies, the assistance allowance ceases. The exception is for children who have had increased assistance allowance (rate 2, 3 or 4) for 3 years or more. You will then be paid assistance allowance for a further 3 months after the child's death.

You are also obliged to notify NAV if something changes, e.g. whether the child needs less help or recovers.