Community Welfare Officers (CWOs)
Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are employed throughout Ireland by the .
CWOs are based in health centres and are responsible for the day to day administration of Community Welfare Services. Community Welfare Services include schemes such as:
,
,
,
.
Role of Community Welfare Officers (CWOs)
The majority of the work carried out by Community Welfare Officers is the administration of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme
This scheme is funded and legislated for by the Department of Social and Family Affairs and administered by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The types of payments made under this scheme include:
weekly Supplementary Welfare Allowance,
,
,
,
and exceptional needs payments for items such as buggies, clothing, etc.
The CWO is responsible for assessing the income of a person applying for payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. This assessment may involve home visits to verify a person's place of residence for Rent Supplement purposes or simply to interview someone in surroundings that are more comfortable if he or she has special needs or is unable to visit his or her local health centre in person.
The CWO will actively refer individuals to other state agencies and/or voluntary organisations if these are appropriate to the client's needs. For example, the Community Welfare Officers may refer you to the or the .
In some areas (particularly rural areas), CWOs will also deal with applications relating to Medical Cards and Nursing Home Subventions. In urban areas such as Dublin, Cork or Galway, there are specific sections within the HSE that deal with these and other schemes.