Summary of the Evaluation of the Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children Grant

The Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children grant was introduced in January 2013 to provide income support of $350 per week for up 35 weeks to parents who take time away from work to cope with the death or disappearance of their child under the age of 18.

About the Evaluation

The first evaluation of the grant examined questions pertaining to relevance, usage, awareness and administrative costs.
It used the following lines of evidence:

• an analysis of administrative data;
• a review of the literature;
• 43 key informant interviews with federal government representatives, police officers and victim support groups.

The grant’s low take up reflects the low incidence of child murder and disappearance in Canada

• Between 11 to 14 parents applied annually, for a total of 50 applicants, from 2013 to 2016
• The grant was received by 29 parents for a total of $315,350, between 2012/13 and 2016/17
• The maximum payable amount of $12,250 over the maximum number of weeks was received by 16 parents, between 2013 and 2015
• On average, grant payments replaced 78% of the lost weekly earnings of recipients

Key Findings

The evaluation showed that the grant addresses a need and fills a gap in assistance, especially for family members of missing children. According to the key informants interviewed, the following factors may create a barrier to accessing the grant:

• low level of awareness among both parents and victim support providers;
• personal turmoil experienced by parents;
• difficulties in accessing and understanding information about the grant and in navigating the application process.

The following eligibility conditions are seen by key informants as potential barriers to accessing the grant:

• insufficient earnings prevents some of the potential claimants from meeting the eligibility threshold;
• providing evidence the incident is related to a possible Criminal Code offence;
• providing evidence the child was not a willing party to the crime, and;
• age limit of the victim.

The full Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children Grant Evaluation Report is available at Evaluation of the Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children Grant