Annual report / Province of Manitoba, Department of Health and Welfare.

  • Manitoba. Department of Health and Public Welfare.
Date:
[1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report / Province of Manitoba, Department of Health and Welfare. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    228/236 (page 226)
    Applications rejected Now approved ... 1,239 169 = 1,070 1,070 Applications withdrawn at own request . 115 Deceased . 1,098 Transferred to other provinces . 313 Approval of provincial portion of assistance being charged to Manitoba where the recipients are residing in other provinces . 135 Transferred to Old Age Security . 6,194 Applications still outstanding as at December 31, 1957 . 620 14,403 14,403 The following statement sets out the number of applications received, and the number of deaths, month by month, in the period from January 1st, 1957, to Decem¬ ber 31st, 1957: 1957 January . February . March . April . May . June . July . August . September .... October . November . December . Total Number of Applications Number of Deaths . 100 16 . 124 13 . 145 15 . 138 9 . 159 34 . 129 18 . 137 0 . 113 31 . 134 10 . 124 13 . 200 16 . 178 28 . 1,681 203 The Blind Persons’ Allowances Act There have been no changes in the test of blindness since The Blind Persons Act was brought into force as of January 1st, 1952. Some persons might assume that a recipient must be totally blind in order to qualify. The “blindness test”, however, is based on visual acuity, and on a reduction in the field of vision. Numbers of persons who appear to be able to move about and carry on in a fairly normal way are eligible under the test. The decisions with respect to blindness can only be made by a qualified eye specialist, except in those cases where an applicant is almost totally blind. As with the Old Age Assistance and Disability Allowances, increases were made in the maximum amounts payable and in the maximum ceilings permitted. As of November 1st, 1957, the income ceilings were raised to $1,200.00 for a single person, $1,680.00 for a widow or widower with a dependent child or children, $1,980.00 for a married couple one of whom is blind, and $2,100.00 for a married couple both of whom are blind. The following table sets out the number and disposition of the applications re¬ ceived from January 1st, 1952, up to December 31, 1957: