# 2016-098 - Allowances and Benefits

Allowances and Benefits

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2016–07–04

The grievor maintained that she did not receive adequate support for her family when the Director Casualty Support Management (DCSM) denied her request for reimbursement of her children's tutoring expenses. These tutorial expenses had been deemed necessary following the impact on the family of a serious injury suffered by the children's father, also a CAF member. The grievor contended that the policy should be amended to provide publicly funded tutoring assistance to the children of CAF members with injuries attributable to military service.

The initial authority (IA) found that part of the grievance had been resolved, as funding for tutoring of the grievor's dependant children had been addressed with the assistance of a charitable entity. In response to the grievor's concern with the need to expand public funding support in current CAF policy, the IA recommended that the file be referred to the Director Compensation and Benefits to examine this possibility in consultation with Treasury Board.

The Committee determined that the grievor's situation could be interpreted within the context of Compensation and Benefits Instructions (CBI) 211.05 which provided for the reimbursement of childcare expenses and other types of “reasonable and necessary” caregiver expenses for dependant children. Specifically, the Committee found that helping with homework and providing educational support to the grievor's children fell within the category of “daily activities” found in CBI 211.05(3)(b).

Finding no need for policy amendment, the Committee recommended that the CDS simply provide further guidance on situations that could fall within CBI 211.05(3).

FA Decision Summary

The CDS agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that further clarification and education on the use of CBI 211 be provided.The CDS acknowledged that families have not received proper guidance on how to access financial benefits, or perhaps the proper policy interpretation has not been applied regarding these benefits. He committed to having CFMWS, and in particular DCSM, do a better job in communicating benefits and enabling support to CAF members. He also noted, amongst other, that the alignment of programs and benefits between the CAF and VAC was part of a larger discussion that he was hoping to have over the coming months with VAC.

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