Details
Samarth (Respite Care) scheme was launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Govt. of India.The objective of the scheme is to provide respite home for orphans or abandoned PwDs, families in crisis and also for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) from BPL & LIG families including destitutes with at least one of the four disabilities covered under the National Trust Act. It also aims at creating opportunities for family members to get respite time in order to fulfil other responsibilities.

Benefits
1. Group Home: Registered Orgaisations(RO) should provide group home facilities for all age groups with adequate and quality care service with acceptable living standards including provision of basic medical care from professional doctors.
2. Vocational Activities: Samarth Centre should provide age specific vocational activities, pre-vocational activities and assistance for training or schooling as applicable on case to case basis.
3. Staffing: There should be a provision of at least two Special Educators (+Vocational Trainers), one Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist, three Caregivers, two Ayas and a Cook in the Samarth centre.
4. Infrastructure facilities: Samarth Centre should provide therapeutic aids and appliances, hygienic lodging and other facilities for the PwDs.
5. Assessment and Evaluation: PwD should be assessed and evaluated by experts in the related field on a regular basis to understand their individual needs and also to monitor the progress of the PwD. The Samarth centre should maintain a record in the growth and development charts of the PwD on a regular basis (with the help of experts).
6. Linkage with Gharaunda Scheme: The Samarth Centre should facilitate shifting the PwD who is above 18 years of age and has spent more than 5 years in the Samarth Centre to Gharaunda centre.

Eligibility
Applicant should have one of the disabilities under the National Trust Act, 1999, which are Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.

Exclusion
1. PwD should not be enrolled under Disha, Vikaas or Gharaunda Scheme simultaneously.

Application Process
https://www.myscheme.gov.in/schemes/srcs
Offline

Enrolment of PwD at the Samarth Centre
Step-1: PwD need to come or is brought to the Samarth Centre with the required proof along with their parents/guardian.
Step-2: The Samarth centre conducts an Individual PwD Assessment Test with the help of a Therapist or Counsellor to understand the specific needs of the PwD.
Step-3: If PwD is orphaned or abandoned or is from a family in crisis, the RO should approach the competent district officials authorised by the State Government to certify the same. Apart from the document for certifying the above, no more documents are to be produced for enrolling with the Samarth Centre. Also, the PwD is automatically included in the BPL category. The PwD is enrolled for Niramaya along with registration for Samarth.
Step-4: In all other cases, a check is made on whether the PwD is applicable for the LIG or BPL funding by the National Trust
Step-5: The parent or guardian is required to fill the Enrolment Form along with the originals and photocopies of the below mentioned documents. The documents and records for each PwD are to be maintained in separate files.
Step-6: In case of successful verification of all the above furnished documents, the PwD is enrolled at the Samarth centre – a confirmation Enrolment ID card/receipt is handed over to the PwDs parents or guardians ( if any) along with a starter kit. Further details about the starting date, rules and regulations etc. are to be mentioned by the Samarth representatives.
Step-7: Parents and guardians of the PwDs are given a detailed insight on the Niramaya health insurance scheme by the Samarth representatives, in case the PwD has not availed it already. A RO representative may assist with the registration of the PwD under the Niramaya scheme, in case the parents or guardian agree for the same. In case of absence of parents or guardians, the Samarth centre needs to mandatorily enrol the PwD for Niramaya.

Note: A necessary field for the intended duration of stay is also to be filled in the application form by the parents or guardian of the PwD.

Documents Required
1. Enrolment form.
2. Birth certificate or Date of Birth proof of the PwD.
3. Disability certificate.
4. BPL certificate or Income certificate of Parents or Guardian issued by competent authority as authorized by the concerned State/ Union Territory (for LIG or BPL family).
5. ID proof of parent or guardian.
6. Declaration proof of the guardianship if PwD <18 years of age and parents are not the guardians. (OR),
LG certificate, if PwD >18 years of age and parents are not the guardians.