CAMDEN, NJ — Workers who provide personal care to the disabled, elderly and children – include stay-at-home caregivers who help at-risk family members – may be eligible for $1,000 grants from Camden County to soften the COVID pandemic’s blow to their incomes.

Camden County launched a wage relief program today, using $1.2 million to provide $1,000 stipends to eligible caregivers. The groundbreaking initiative is the first county-sponsored wage assistance program of its kind in New Jersey.

“This pandemic has rocked every industry to its core, including the field of caregiving which is among the most thankless of jobs,” said Ed McDonnell, deputy director of the county Board of Commissioners. “Our hope is that these funds will provide some relief and support for those working these incredibly important and difficult jobs.”

County commissioners initiated the program because “we know we are not out of the woods yet,” citing inflation and workplace uncertainty. “We need to provide resources to residents on the front line of this pandemic,” said McDonnell.

Eligible for one-time $1,000 wage assistance grants are caregivers who:

● Live in Camden County or provide services to county residents.

●Provide hands-on life skills and basic personal care like feeding, toileting, hygiene and grooming.

● Work in low to moderate income jobs as at-home caregivers; healthcare, hospice and nurse aides; attendants in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted and independent living facilities, group homes, schools or day programs for adults and children with disabilities or other special needs.

● Provide proof of at least 500 hours of healthcare or essential support to elderly persons or children; persons with physical or intellectual disabilities; or brain injuries between March 1, 2020, and March 7, 2022.

● Provide a verifiable Social Security or taxpayer identification number and can complete IRS Form W-9 as part of their application.

The county began to accept applications today. Applicants can access an easy-to-use digital form at the Camden County Care Grant page or may call (856) 389-6704 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

These $1,000 grants come from Camden County’s $98.4 million federal American Rescue Plan bailout. It received $49.2 million in May 2021 and another $49.2 million this May.

The county earmarked $55 million to help the hardest-hit sectors of its 37 communities, including money for rental assistance, affordable housing, small businesses and nonprofits.

Robyn Rowe, the first caregiver to get a $1,000 stipend, said she will be “forever grateful for this grant … a big help to me and my family during these difficult times.”

Rowe thanked county commissioners “for recognizing the field I work in, and (recognizing) all caregivers on the front lines during the pandemic.” Rowe is caregiver at Jacob Schaefer Center in Cherry Hill, run by Bancroft, a regional nonprofit that serves people with autism and developmental disabilities.

The relief program got swift praise from area nonprofits and schools that employ workers who provide services to senior citizens and special-needs adults and children.

“These funds will provide necessary relief to those who have dedicated their professional lives to taking care of others,” said Toni Pergolin, Bancroft’s president and CEO. “It recognizes our skilled and caring direct support professionals in such a powerful and generous way.”

“Helping the under-served in times of challenge has always been what we do,” said Stefanie A. Riehl, executive director of the Larc School, a private special education school in Bellmawr that provides therapy and programs to students, ages 3 to 21, with disabilities.

“The dedication and commitment our direct-support professionals and classroom assistants (demonstrated) during the pandemic has been nothing short of phenomenal. We are so grateful that they will now have an added boost to support their own families,” Riehl said.

“This will have a tremendous impact on our members and their employees,” said Christina Renna, president of the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “Getting this money into the hands of the people of the front lines of the pandemic will have a significant benefit for employees and their employers.”

“Our long-term care facilities are filled with courageous employees, tireless advocates for their patients over the past two years. This initiative is the least we can do to show our appreciation,” said Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Shin-Angulo, noting her town has the county’s highest concentration of long-term care facilities.