programme fund

all about the programme fund, what you can use it for and how to apply

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what is the programme fund?

The programme fund is a $500 annual fund that is available to help young people improve their wellbeing or achieve their education and employment goals.

You can apply to use it to fund something for a young person or pool it to pay for group activities (you'll need to do an ART task for each young person to apply for their portion of the cost).

who can get it?

The programme fund is available to any young person enrolled in Youth Service.

you can use the fund to support a young person's...

wellbeing

Here are some examples of things that could help to improve a young person's wellbeing:

  • medical appointments, and treatment or medication that is not covered by the Ministry of Health
  • cell phone top-ups (as an exception, where there are specific reasons for needing it, such as safety concerns)
  • private counselling services
  • cultural identity or whakapapa courses
  • orthodontic work (not funded through the Ministry of Health)
  • swimming lessons
  • eye tests and glasses
  • gym fees (supported by a medical practitioner)
  • hygiene packages in conjunction with a course (like LSV)
  • emotional or physical confidence programmes or courses to build self-esteem (for example, a confidence building camp).

employment

Here are some examples of things that could help a young person work toward or gain employment:

  • employment and industry-related certificates, such as site safety, first aid, and food safety 
  • clothing or equipment (that is not supplied by the employer or Transition to Work Grant)
    • Note: it is a legal requirement for the employer to provide Health and Safety clothing and equipment.
  • work or interview clothes (if they have been declined a Transition To Work Grant).

education

Here are some examples of things that could help a young person work towards their education goals:

  • courses or activities to support a young person with learning difficulties to gain a qualification
  • development programmes (eg, speech development)
  • extra tuition or tutoring (not funded by the Ministry of Education)
  • technology device (when compulsory for study).

drivers licence programmes and tests

Programme fund may be able to cover some costs associated with getting a driver licence when:

  •  all available options have been explored first – including the Driver Licence Support programme, Course Participation Allowance (YP/YPP), and asking the young person’s parents for help (NEET), and 
  • getting a licence will help the young person reach their educational or employment-related goals. 

Defensive driving course

Neither NZTA nor MSD's Driver License Support programme endorses a defensive driving programme. We will only consider this programme if there are exceptional circumstances such as safety concerns or if the young person lives in a rural area.

what the fund doesn't cover

  • costs that are available under hardship payments, such as clothing, school uniforms, school fees,
    cell phone, etc.
    • Note: we may consider the cost if YSSU has declined the application because the young person doesn’t meet eligibility criteria for the hardship
  • everyday common costs (eg, vehicles, legal costs, childcare, food, debts, fines, transport)
  • costs funded by other agencies such as:
    • everyday health and medical costs (eg, treatment, medication that is covered by the
      Ministry of Health)
    • teacher aides
    • birth certificates.
  • for YP/YPP,  costs related to LSV (Clothes and sanitary items can be funded through Course Participation
    Allowance)
  • overseas travel and any other travel-related costs (eg, hotels, motels, or overseas sports trips)

what you need to do

Step one –  In your Youth Service Plan review session, talk to the young person about what they need and get a quote

When you submit the ART taks you'll need to provide evidence of costs and clearly explain how the thing you're applying for aligns with the young person's current Youth Service plan.

Step two – Complete the ART task

Task category: Programme costs
Task type Programme costs for approval.

Next steps

The programme fund task will go to your Regional Contracts Manager for approval. They will push the task back to you if they need more information.
Your Regional Contracts Manager will send you a notification via ART to let you know the outcome of the application.

how to check a young person's available programme fund balance

You can check in ART to see how much a young person has used from their yearly $500 fund, and what it was used for.

In ART:

  1. Go to the Needs tab
  2. Click on View Programme costs

 

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