When people in remote areas or disadvantaged groups apply for social welfare they often have to make long and tiring journeys, the difficulties faced by those with mobility issues being even more serious. However, this situation is overcome by providing citizens with more convenient service, funding has been obtained from the Ministry of Health and Welfare by the county government for the implementation of Hsinchu County 2015 Local Mobile Service. Under this program, basic level service personnel will take mobile devices to visit people in the countryside or provide office service in non-office spaces. The program is first being trialed in Hukou, Jianshi and Guanxi and will then be extended to all 13 townships in Hsinchu County.
On November 27, Hsinchu County Government held the Local Mobile Service Launch Ceremony press conference. Magistrate Chiu said that in 2015 the county government successfully applied for funding to allow 51 village officials in Hukou, Jianshi and Guanxi townships to carry tablets into the countryside to provide convenient service to citizens. In the past, when citizens applied for social welfare they had to take the necessary documents to the township office to apply; now service personnel will go to their homes or to a nearby location and accept the application, not only providing more convenient and faster service, also reducing the need to make long and tiring journeys and other headaches such as having to supplement documents or wait for a long period of time.
The Department of Social Affairs, Hsinchu County Government, said that the program is being trialed this year in remote Jianshi Township, Hukou Township, which has the highest percentage of disabled people in the county, and Guanxi Township has the highest percentage of old people in the county; on the basis of experience gained from the trial, it will be extended to all cities and townships in Hsinchu County next year. The main targets of the service are people in remote areas, elderly people who live alone, and mentally and physically disadvantaged people. The eight welfare service provided are: low income household living assistance, low-medium income household living assistance, low-medium income household seniors’ living allowance, disabled person living subsidy, instant care emergency relief, special circumstance family assistance, child and adolescent living assistance and disadvantaged family children emergency living assistance applications; it is planned to add applications for nursery school allowance for children with unemployed parents and renewal of disability cards to the services provided, allowing citizens to feel the county government’s attentiveness and diligence with respect to the promotion of social welfare.