A new government program to provide support for Island grandparents raising their grandchildren was designed to exclude most grandparents from qualifying, P.E.I. Green Party leader Peter Bevan-Baker charged Tuesday.

The Grandparents and Care Providers program began Dec. 1 and provides $700 per month per child as well as dental and drug coverage for households where grandparents or another family member other than a parent is raising children.

"The vast majority of grandparents care for their grandchildren in an informal arrangement, and approximately 75 per cent of them will not be eligible to receive assistance," Bevan-Baker said.

When the province announced the program in November, a media release stated there were 54 Island children living with family members or someone close to them, including 39 living with their grandparents.

But on Tuesday, Bevan-Baker cited Statistics Canada data showing there are 200 Island children being raised by their grandparents, and said most of those families do not qualify for the new program.

"How can you design a program that intentionally excludes the vast majority of people needing assistance?" he asked.

'Case-by-case basis'

"That is so far from the truth, I can't even address it," responded Minister of Family and Human Services Tina Mundy.

Bevan-Baker calls the grandparents' program 'conditional help.' (Rick Gibbs/CBC)

Mundy explained that currently, funding is provided only when there is an open child protection case, where grandparents or other family members are providing care for a child for whom safety concerns have been raised.

"Those are the ones that we identified right off the bat," Mundy said. "Those are ones we knew about because we had an open child protection case on them."

The current program is an interim program, Mundy said, which will be expanded on April 1, 2018.

An email to CBC News from the premier's office provided further clarification, stating child protection cases were the initial priority but that government "will look at families on a case-by-case basis going forward.

"There are many different circumstances and we will look at each situation to see what supports we can offer," it said.

No details were offered on how the program will expand in the new year.

"This government loves to talk about acting in the best interest of the child, but when it comes to actually helping vulnerable children you create a complex program of conditional help that excludes more than it assists," Bevan-Baker said in question period Tuesday.