TAP Fund – Guidelines

Fund Mission:

Parents who work in disproportionately impacted trades, such as retail, home healthcare, factory work, and food service, especially those without PTO or sick days are being especially impacted by COVID-19.

The Fred’s Footsteps Temporary Assistance Program (TAP) is a temporary fund that has been established to assist families with chronically ill children who are experiencing financial hardships due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

The TAP fund differs from the Fred’s Footsteps Core program in that it will help support families whose financial difficulties are primarily related to the pandemic and not an acute medical episode for their child.

 

Guidelines:

  • The family must reside in one of the following counties: Atlantic, Cape May, Lancaster, Northampton, Berks, Chester, Lehigh, Ocean, Bucks, Cumberland (NJ), Mercer, Philadelphia, Burlington, Delaware, Montgomery, Salem, Camden, Gloucester, or New Castle.
  • The child must be under 18 and seriously ill, injured, or disabled
  • The primary source of income for this family prior to the current crisis was through employment
  • The guardian is currently or was employed in an industry that has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, such as but not limited to retail, home healthcare, factory work, food service, etc.
  • Families can receive both COVID-19 relief fund assistance (grocery gift card) and the Temporary Housing Assistance.

 

Assistance Provided:

TAP families are eligible for one-time assistance for up to two months OR $2,500 of rent or mortgage support. They are not eligible to apply for additional assistance UNLESS there is a change in the child’s medical situation. In that instance, a new application will be required.

 

Application:

The TAP application process will be separate from the CORE Program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and be awarded based on available funds.

https://fredsfootsteps.wufoo.com/forms/z1lhulqy1o0cdjy/

 

As standard, application submission does not a grant guarantee approval.

 

Timeline & Logistics:

Social workers can expect to hear from Fred’s Footsteps regarding approval of funding within 5 days

As with the Core program, all payments will be made directly to the vendor (landlord or mortgage company). No exceptions will be made to this process.