Public Assistance Act

A public assistance administrator is to implement a programme (excluding one that falls under the career path support programme for children prescribed in Article 55-10, paragraph (1), item (i); hereinafter referred to as the "employment support programme for public assistance recipients") that responds to consultations from public assistance recipients on problems concerning employment support and provides necessary information and advice.

A public assistance administrator may entrust all or part of the affairs of the employment support programme for public assistance recipients to a person other than that public assistance administrator who is specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A person entrusted pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, or an officer or employee thereof, or a person who was any of these, must not divulge any secret learned in relation to the affairs entrusted to them.

A public assistance administrator is to implement a programme (hereinafter referred to as the "health management support programme for public assistance recipients") to maintain and promote the health of public assistance recipients, such as providing necessary information to public assistance recipients, health guidance, and encouraging them to receive medical care.

When a public assistance administrator finds it necessary for the implementation of the health management support programme for public assistance recipients, it may request a municipal mayor or any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to provide information concerning the implementation of health promotion projects under the Health Promotion Act (Act No. 103 of 2002) for public assistance recipients and other necessary information specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis where the health management support programme for public assistance recipients is conducted.

In order to contribute to the implementation of the health management support programme for public assistance recipients, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is to conduct surveys and analyses of information concerning the medical care of public assistance recipients, such as trends in illnesses of public assistance recipients by age and by region, and provide the results of those surveys and analyses to public assistance administrators.

A public assistance administrator must provide the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, with the information necessary for carrying out the investigation and analysis under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may entrust part of the affairs relating to the investigation and analysis under the provisions of paragraph (1) to a person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this case, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may provide the person so entrusted with the information necessary for that investigation and analysis, within the scope necessary for carrying out that investigation and analysis.

A person entrusted under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, an officer or employee of such a person, or a person who formerly was any of them, must not divulge any secret learned in connection with the affairs so entrusted.

A public assistance administrator may carry out the following programmes:

a programme that responds to consultations from a child who is a public assistance recipient and the child's guardian, by visits or other appropriate methods, on problems concerning education, employment and lifestyle habits in the choice of the child's career path, provides necessary information and advice, and carries out liaison and coordination with related organizations (hereinafter referred to as a "career path support programme for children");

a programme that provides a public assistance recipient for whom employment is extremely difficult with training necessary for improving the knowledge and abilities needed for work, over a period specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as an "employment preparation support programme for public assistance recipients");

a programme that supports a public assistance recipient in properly ascertaining the state of his/her income, expenditure and other aspects of household finances and in increasing his/her motivation to improve those finances (hereinafter referred to as a "household finance improvement support programme for public assistance recipients");

a programme that provides a public assistance recipient who needs support to stabilize his/her housing, over a period specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, with conveniences specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as necessary for leading daily life in the present residence, such as the provision of necessary information and advice by visits (hereinafter referred to as a "community living support programme for public assistance recipients").

The provisions of Article 55-7, paragraphs (2) and (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the case of carrying out the programmes set out in the items of the preceding paragraph.

A public assistance administrator may notify the prefecture, etc. prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act on Self-Reliance Support for Persons in Need that carries out a programme for specified public assistance recipients (meaning the employment preparation support programme for persons in need prescribed in Article 3, paragraph (4) of the Act on Self-Reliance Support for Persons in Need, the household finance improvement support programme for persons in need prescribed in paragraph (5) of that Article, or the housing support programme for persons in need prescribed in paragraph (6) of that Article (limited to the part relating to item (ii) of that paragraph); the same applies in paragraph (3)) of the name and other necessary particulars of a public assistance recipient who is found to be a person for whom it is considerably expected, in light of his/her circumstances, that he/she will no longer need public assistance in the future, or to be any other person specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter in this Article referred to as a "specified public assistance recipient").

If a public assistance administrator has given notification under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the administrator is to promptly notify the specified public assistance recipient to whom that notification relates to that effect.

In the case where a specified public assistance recipient uses a programme for specified public assistance recipients, a public assistance administrator must ascertain the status of that use and must itself take the measures necessary to promote the self-support of that specified public assistance recipient.