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For seven days every two weeks, Kaye is dependent on her two children. But when you ask Work and Income for an emergency food grant, it’s like they don’t exist.
This is because his ex-partner claims the sole parent benefit, so the children remain under his benefit as the “primary caregiver”, although custody is shared equally.
Kaye is one of dozens of people who came forward in response to StuffThe story of a single mother who was unable to claim support from single parents because her ex-partner claimed it first.
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A single mother says that because her children are not included in her benefit, buying enough food can be a struggle. (File photo)
That mother said she was assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, a claim supported by many other parents who have ended up in a similar position.
READ MORE:
* The lonely mother cannot claim the benefit because her ex-partner arrived first
* Work and Income mistakenly suspends the benefit of a single mother for the second time
* The father was denied the same benefit as his ex-partner despite sharing custody of the daughter
Kaye said she has created a daily fight for her.
You have a number of chronic health problems that mean your doctor has told you not to work. But you have to do it to complete your subsistence payment.
But she said there are days when her health makes it impossible to work, and those are the weeks she has to ask for help to buy food.
All three times she did that, she said they sent her with $ 50 and told her that she couldn’t get a grant to cover the children because it wasn’t in her benefit.
Grant Matthew / Stuff
Parents say the way a single parent benefit is allocated is “unfair.” (File photo)
Then you are faced with the dilemma of how to do that stretch, and the problem is further complicated by an eating disorder.
“Children need to feed first, and that puts me last. And I don’t mind doing that as a mother, but as a person it’s not healthy. “
Kaye said she doesn’t want her ex to have to give up their benefit, but she wants a system in which both parents are treated equally, especially given the knock-on effect that single parent support has on other benefits.
Because she is not counted as the primary caregiver, she cannot apply for the lodging supplement at a family rate and receives $ 23 per week less than her ex in winter energy payment because she is not considered to have “dependent children”.
Single father Nik is also struggling because despite caring for his two children half the time, Work and Income regards his wife as the main father.
“Because I can’t use children in my equation with [Work and Income] They consider me a single man living alone, which means that in theory my income is acceptable, but when you put 9-year-old twins in there, it is not acceptable at all. “
He said there is an “absolute bias” towards the first parent to apply.
“The second parent, no matter how difficult they are, is just ignored.”
Parents in 50/50 caregiving situations should be viewed as “equal participants,” he said.
That was echoed by a mother of three who did not want her name used, who said the current “unfair” model had made her finances a “great struggle.”
He tried to have the single parents’ support allowance reviewed, but said he was told he would need a signed statement from his ex-partner saying that she was the primary caregiver, although he did not need to present anything from her when he applied for the benefit.
Peter, a father of three, said the problem is long-standing. He separated from his partner 13 years ago and said he had set the wheels in motion to claim the single parent benefit before they separated.
Only one of his sons is still under 18, and he said he is better off financially than he is. But when I was taking care of three children half the time, it was a struggle to be able to afford enough food for all of them.
He said he had to skimp on heating the house and was continually worried about how to pay the electricity bill.
Kay Read from the Ministry of Social Development indicated that changes are taking place in the way shared care arrangements are recognized in the welfare system, and said that the Minister of Social Development will be advised on this as part of the system review. of wellness.
He said that by law, MSD can only include children in the benefit payments of one parent, and that the parent is considered the primary caregiver.
“We understand the difficulty parents face under the benefit system where they share child care,” he said.
