複雑な申請で増す、都の子育て支援金の価値 気ままなリライト116
The Tokyo government's 018 Support initiative, a bold step to ease the financial strain of child-rearing, has proven to be a journey riddled with complexities. Central to this ambitious project is the one-year allocation of 120 billion yen from the fiscal 2023 budget. This fund is designed to benefit approximately two million residents, from newborns to 18-year-olds, across all income levels in eligible households. Despite its commendable intentions, the program has encountered the turbulence brewing from the gap between the bureaucratic optimism and the gritty realities faced by the public. This disparity has led to widespread confusion and frustration regarding the application process. With ongoing attempts to streamline and improve the procedures, officials are striving to dispel any lingering doubt about the equity and effectiveness of the fund's distribution.
The goal of encompassing all target residents with the bureaucratic embrace of child-care support has not been fully achieved as intended by the governor planning to run for re-election. Although about 70% of eligible households have applied for the benefits, over 30% have not. As of November 27, nearly 37 % of households with eligible members were still not on the official acceptance list, primarily due to incomplete applications, either from a lack of awareness, particularly among eligible residents with international nationalities or from the daunting complexity of the application process, whether digital or in paper form.
The Tokyo-limited child-rearing support program, envisioned to be effective and conducive, has instead obligated applicants to confront a bureaucratic cocoon. This cocoon, appealing in theory as if it wraps a precious item cherishingly, has been found challenging to penetrate, leaving its promised benefits frustratingly out of reach. The application-based model of the program, burdened by a cumbersome application process, demands a proactive approach akin to extracting a gem from within a tightly woven cocoon. In September, when applications opened, this process became an onerous task, resembling the painstaking unraveling of entangled threads. Further complicating the situation were technical hurdles. The digital application platform, marred by user-unfriendliness and malfunctions, emerged as a grueling test. Many applicants, exasperated by the persistent technical failures, abandoned their attempts altogether. The program’s call center served as a fortress in steering applicants’ frustration towards perseverance amid an onslaught of technical complaints.
After navigating the labyrinthine application process of Tokyo's child support program, a process that has added yet another layer to the complex tapestry of city life, within the reach of those who have successfully crossed the threshold is a grant of 60,000 yen per child. This bounty is reserved for Tokyo residents with children born between April 2, 2005 and March 1, 2024, including high schoolers aged 18 within fiscal 2023. Eligibility rests on residing in Tokyo on the first day of each month of the fiscal year. For families moving out of Tokyo, the benefit is distributed monthly. The bounty also serves as a supplementary bonus to the public assistance for families under the welfare program. An application deadline of December 15 is established for urgent fund requests, with payments planned for January 2024. Applications submitted after this deadline will face delays in the bank transfer process.