Care Dependency Grant 2026: R2,400 for a child needing full-time care

By the SA Benefits Editorial Team·Updated 19 Aug 2026·4 min read·Verified 19 Aug 2026

Published 19 Aug 2026

The Care Dependency Grant pays R2,400 a month — four times the Child Support Grant — to the parent, guardian, foster parent or custodian of a child under 18 with a severe physical or mental disability requiring permanent full-time care. A medical assessment confirms the disability. The income threshold is far higher than for other child grants: R24,000 a month single, R48,000 married, which means many working families qualify without ever realising it.

Who qualifies

What 'severe disability' means here

The assessment asks whether the child needs permanent care or support services beyond what a child of that age would ordinarily need. As with the Disability Grant, the test is functional rather than diagnostic: two children with the same condition can receive different outcomes depending on the level of care each actually requires. Bring every report you have — paediatric, therapy, school-support and hospital records all speak to the level of care.

Documents

• Your 13-digit bar-coded ID and the child's birth certificate.
• A medical assessment report confirming the child's disability, no older than three months.
• All the child's medical records — hospital, specialist, therapy and school-support reports.
• Proof of marital status, three months' bank statements and proof of income.
• If the child is fostered, the court order as proof of custodianship.

Care Dependency or Child Support?

When it ends

The grant lapses when the child turns 18. If the young adult remains unable to work because of the disability, apply for a Disability Grant in their own name — start about two months before the 18th birthday, because a fresh application takes up to three months and there is no backpay for the gap. The grant also ends if the child is placed permanently in a state institution, or if a review finds the circumstances have changed.