Samarth-Respite Care Scheme
State: Central
Ministry: Ministry Of Social Justice and Empowerment
Department: Department Of Empowerment Of Persons With Disabilities
Category: Social welfare & Empowerment
Beneficiary Type: Individual

Samarth (Respite Care) scheme, launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, aims at setting up Samarth Centres for providing respite and residential care for the specified categories of Persons with Disability (PwD).

Benefits:
1. **Group Home:** Registered Orgaisations(RO) should provide group home facilities for all age groups with adequate and quality care service with acceptable living standards including provision of basic medical care from professional doctors.1. **Vocational Activities:** Samarth Centre should provide age specific vocational activities, pre-vocational activities and assistance for training or schooling as applicable on case to case basis.1. **Staffing:** There should be a provision of at least two Special Educators (+Vocational Trainers), one Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist, three Caregivers, two Ayas and a Cook in the Samarth centre.1. **Infrastructure facilities:** Samarth Centre should provide therapeutic aids and appliances, hygienic lodging and other facilities for the PwDs.1. **Assessment and Evaluation:** PwD should be assessed and evaluated by experts in the related field on a regular basis to understand their individual needs and also to monitor the progress of the PwD. The Samarth centre should maintain a record in the growth and development charts of the PwD on a regular basis (with the help of experts).1. **Linkage with Gharaunda Scheme:** The Samarth Centre should facilitate shifting the PwD who is above 18 years of age and has spent more than 5 years in the Samarth Centre to Gharaunda centre.

Eligibility:
- Applicant should have one of the disabilities under the [National Trust Act, 1999](https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3300891a62162b960cf02ce3827bb363c/uploads/2024/09/20240918793880368.pdf), which are Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.
<br>

Application Process:
[Offline]
Registered Organisations (ROs) Enrolment (first approval) Process:STEP 1. The RO logs in to the National Trust website.
STEP 2. The application form is available online on the National Trust website and has to be submitted online only. Application fees or enrolment in Samarth scheme is INR 1000/-
STEP 3. After the National Trust receives the application form and the documents, these are verified and then physical verification is initiated. However, if there is any missing information or wrongly submitted information which needs to be submitted again, the RO is given 15 days’ time to submit it again from the date of intimation of missing document by the National Trust.
Note that the documents related to physical verification of the RO and proposed Samarth centre can be submitted either at the time of enrolment for the scheme at the National Trust website or even after the online application form has been submitted. In case the RO fails to submit the same on time, the RO would be given 15 days’ time to submit the same after the RO receives the notification from the National Trust.
STEP 4. The final decision on the application or proposal is taken after completing all necessary formalities and processes. Based on the Physical verification report, if the RO meets scheme criteria and requirements, the application is approved. In case there is any discrepancy, RO is accordingly informed.
STEP 5. Communication to RO by the National Trust shall be done within 15 days from point of receipt. In case of online form, point of receipt is date and time of submission of online form along with all the required documents. However, if there is any missing information, the National Trust has to communicate to RO within 10 days from receipt of online submission.
STEP 6. In case the RO has not yet sent the hard copies of the documents, the National Trust would send a communication to the RO within 15 days from the prescribed time.
STEP 7. Once Enrolment is completed, a scheme ID is created for the RO, and the confirmation for the same is communicated to RO.
STEP 8. A starter kit/Samarth handbook containing the complete details of the Samarth scheme is also handed over to the RO by the National Trust.
STEP 9. The National Trust to begin the fund disbursement process for providing setup cost to the ROs.
The existing Samarth centres will also need to follow the same procedure as detailed above for enrolling under the new scheme including submission of documents and proposal. The RO will stop receiving benefits under the existing scheme and start receiving funds under the new scheme. The process for enrolment for Samarth scheme remains the same as explained above.
Enrolment of PwD at the Samarth Centre:STEP 1. PwD comes or is brought to the centre.
STEP 2. The Samarth centre conducts an Individual PwD Assessment Test with the help of a Therapist or Counsellor to understand the specific needs of the PwD.
STEP 3. If PwD is orphan or abandoned or is from a family in crisis, the RO should approach the competent district officials authorized by the State Government to certify the same. Apart from the document for certifying the above, no more documents are to be produced for enrolling with the Samarth Centre. Also, the PwD is automatically included in the BPL category. The PwD is enrolled for Niramaya along with registration for Samarth.
STEP 4. In all other cases, a check is made on whether the PwD is applicable for the LIG or BPL funding by the National Trust.
STEP 5. The parents or guardian is required to fill the Enrolment Form along with the originals and photocopies of the required documents.
STEP 6. In case of successful verification of all the above furnished documents, the PwD is enrolled at the Samarth centre – a confirmation Enrolment ID card/receipt is handed over to the PwDs parents or guardians (if any), along with a starter kit. Further details about the starting date, rules and regulations etc. are to be mentioned by the Samarth representatives.
STEP 7. Parents and guardians of the PwDs are given a detailed insight on the Niramaya health insurance scheme by the Samarth representatives, in case the PwD has not yet availed it already. RO representative may assist with the registration of the PwD under the Niramaya scheme, in case the parents or guardian agree for the same. In case of absence of parents or guardian, the Samarth centre needs to mandatorily enrol the PwD for Niramaya.

Documents Required:
Enrolment form.
Birth certificate or Date of Birth proof of the PwD.
Disability certificate.
BPL certificate or Income certificate of Parents or Guardian issued by competent authority as authorized by the concerned State/ Union Territory (for LIG or BPL family).
ID proof of parent or guardian.
Declaration proof of the guardianship if PwD <18 years of age and parents are not the guardians. (OR),
LG certificate, if PwD >18 years of age and parents are not the guardians.