obligation is advantageous to the individual and reduces  substantially  the  effort  and  cost  of  col- lection  by  the  Society.  However,  if  repayment would  cause  a  real  hardship  to  the  service member,  financial  assistance  is  provided  as  a grant. This determination is made by an analysis of   the   individual’s   budget.   Navy   Relief   inter- viewers  are  trained  to  do  such  reviews,  and  the reviews  are  often  of  more  lasting  value  for  per- sons  who  are  in  financial  trouble  than  the  loan or grant itself. APPLICATION   FOR   ASSISTANCE.— Financial  assistance  is  provided  for  dependents soley   because   of   their   relationship   to   service members.   Therefore,   whenever   possible,   the service  member  is  expected  to  apply  for  assist- ance  at  the  Navy  Relief  office.  The  individual should  bring  the  Leave  and  Earning  Statement and  documents  concerning  the  request  (e.g., emergency  leave  papers,  car  repair  estimates, etc.)  to  expedite  the  interview.  If  circumstances prevent  the  member  from  applying  in  person, the  Society  tries  to  get  the  individual’s  permis- sion   by   message   before   providing   financial assistance  to  a  dependent.  In  the  event  of  com- munication   problems,   however,   interim assistance  is  provided  the  dependent  if  the nature  of  the  emergency  makes  delay  unaccept- able. Auxiliaries may maintain on file signed state- ments  from  deploying  service  members  setting forth  the  extent  to  which  they  authorize  the provision  of  Navy  Relief  assistance  to  their dependents  when  they  are  unable  to  communi- cate   approval/disapproval   of   specific   requests (e.g.,  submarine  duty). VERIFICATION   AND   PAYMENT   PRO- CEDURES.—Like   all   agencies   which   provide financial   aid,   Navy   Relief   routinely   requests applicants  for  information  verifying  need.  This is  not  a  reflection  on  the  integrity  of  any individual,   but   rather   a   necessary   safeguard against  the  inevitable  few  who,  through  mis- representation  or  fraud,  attempt  to  take  unfair advantage  of  the  generous  donations  of  their shipmates to the Society. For  the  same  reason  as  listed  above,  checks are  normally  made  out  to  the  ultimate  receiver rather than the service member. COMMAND   RECOMMENDATIONS.— Navy  Relief  needs  and  welcomes  command  in- put  and  recommendations  on  individual  cases. If  the  recommended  assistance  cannot  be  pro- vided,  the  Navy  Relief  activity  communicates  to the command the reason for denial to the extent feasible  without  violating  the  confidentiality  of interviews. If the command wishes to appeal this determination,  the  field  activity  refers  the  case to  Navy  Relief  Headquarters  for  final  decision. A  LOAN  AGREEMENT.—This  carries  with it   the   obligation   of   a   repayment   plan.   The benefits to the service member and the Society of repayment by allotment cannot be overstated. It reduces the number of delinquent accounts, and the   resulting   requirement   for   followup   work. Even  when  a  client  expects  to  repay  in  lump sum,  a  backup  allotment  is  desirable.  Accord- ingly,  every  effort  is  made  by  the  interviewer to obtain the active duty service member’s agree- ment  to  repay  loans  by  allotment small sums (.00 or less). Categories of Financial Assistance Covered by Navy Relief Policies except  for Navy   Relief   policies   are   reviewed   con- tinuously  and  are  updated  at  least  annually  to ensure  responsiveness  to  the  essential  needs  of service members and their dependents. At pres- ent,  they  cover  the  following  categories  of assistance: BASIC   LIVING   EXPENSES.—Sixty   per- cent   of   Navy   Relief   financial   assistance   is provided  to  help  service  members  and  their dependents  when  they  are  temporarily  short  of money  for  the  essentials  of  food,  shelter,  gas, and  electricity.  Often  these  requirements  stem from  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the service  member—for  example,  nonreceipt  of  an allotment or a mistake in pay. All that is needed in these cases is to help the sailor or marine get over  this  temporary  rough  spot. In other cases, however, the lack of funds is due  to  poor  planning  or  outright  mismanage- ment.  One-time  financial  assistance  may  be  in order  in  these  instances  to  prevent  hardship, but  it  does  not  address  the  individual’s  basic 5-20