There are now new rules in the cash support scheme. Before 1 August, you received support from the child was 13 to 23 months. Now it has been changed until the child is between 13 and 19 months. Cash support is financial support for children who are not in full-time kindergarten. Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) says they are reducing the cash support scheme so that there will be a greater demand at the kindergartens. – When the children are between 13 and 19 months, the family has the most need to choose to stay at home with the children, she says. Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) says the Government will work to ensure that the new cash support scheme is continued after the next general election. Photo: Agnieszka Iwanska / news The minister also mentions a political commitment to the case as a reason why they are reducing it to 19 months. – I am happy that the Government’s proposal to reduce it to 19 months received a lot of support in the Storting, says Toppe. Cheaper kindergarten Together with the change in cash support on 1 August, the scheme of twelve hours of free after-school care per week will also be extended to apply to pupils in the 3rd stage in addition to the 1st and 2nd stages. The government is also cutting the maximum price in daycare to NOK 2,000 a month. In the 189 most sparsely populated municipalities, the price is NOK 1,500 a month. This is NOK 1,000 cheaper per month than previously. – This is a historic boost for families with children, and important at a time when we need to reduce the differences, says Minister of Knowledge Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap). Education Minister Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) says increased differences between families is one of the reasons why daycare becomes cheaper and that cash support is reduced. Photo: Ministry of Education And the price? NOK 1.6 billion. – It is an important investment for the children to be allowed to participate in important communities from an early age, and for the parents to have the opportunity to work, explains the Minister of Knowledge. Get support until the children are three years old But there are still some municipalities that offer cash support for longer than 19 months. The municipalities are free to choose for themselves. One of these is Hå municipality in Rogaland. Here, parents can receive support until the child is three years old. 36 months, that is. Mother of four Ingeborg Løge Hølland lives in this municipality. – We are very grateful for that, she says. Hølland thinks it is nice to be able to keep the children at home a little longer when they are small. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news When would you let your child start kindergarten? 👶 Around one year Around two years Around three years Don’t want children in kindergarten Show result Have prepared them for kindergarten If your child has not been allocated a place in kindergarten, you can get 100 percent cash support, which is equivalent to NOK 7,500 a month. – When you choose to stay at home, the thousand kroner a month has a lot to say, says the mother of four. The children Ole (7), Ida (5) and Lars (3) did not start kindergarten until they were three years old. – It has been safe and good to prepare them for starting kindergarten, says Hølland. Eldar (14 months) is the least. Hølland will also wait with kindergarten until he is three years old. Spending a lot of time with the children when they are small, says mother Hølland, is very rewarding and nice. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news If she were to send her youngest to kindergarten now, it would have been difficult: – He doesn’t have language and can’t express himself in the same way as when he gets a little older. Mayor: – Not expensive for us Andreas Bjorland (KrF) is the mayor of Hå. He says cash support for up to three years is a cheap arrangement. – If the family had chosen nursery school, it would have been more expensive for the municipality. Mayor of Hå, Andreas Bjorland (KrF). He says the cash support scheme in the municipality can be important for parents now that the birth rate is falling. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news But exactly what it costs, he says, is difficult to calculate. In the municipality, there are now 42 families with children who receive cash support. – Many have used it. We want to give a handshake to the families and those who choose to spend time with the children, says the mayor. At the same time, he says that kindergartens are good and that the municipality has spent a lot of time and resources on getting good kindergartens. – But the parents must be allowed to have that choice, says the mayor. Toppe: – Must tolerate them making their own choices Minister for Children and Families Toppe says she has great respect for Hå municipality which chooses to make its own priorities. – If there is a place where many people want an extended period of cash support, I think it is good that the municipality is able to prioritize it, she says. She believes that we must tolerate municipalities making their own choices. – This contributes positively in the long run as local priorities can be set due to different wishes and needs in the country. Knows the children best Mother-of-four Hølland says she is satisfied with the nursery the children attend. But she points out that it is not the staff there who know the children best. – We get to be the primary carers who get to follow the children most closely in the first years, she says. In the municipality, there are 42 families with children who receive cash support. Therefore, the children have a number of playmates, even if they do not go to the track garden. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news Hølland has spoken to many outside Hå municipality who think the mother of four is lucky. – I think it is extremely nice that the municipality sees the value in the care work that is put into the home, she concludes. Published 01.08.2024, at 17.14
ttn-69
Stricter cash support rules: But Ingeborg gets support until the children are three years old
