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March 3, 1999
Welfare-to-work programs cause for concern
OTTAWA – Provincial and territorial welfare-to-work program reforms in the 1990s have resulted in uneven program benefits across the country and they appear to be leaving some recipients worse off, according to a position paper released today by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD).
The CCSD is releasing the position paper in conjunction with the publication of Welfare-to-Work Programs: A National Inventory and Welfare-to-Work Programs: A Discussion Paper, by Carolyne Gorlick and Guy Brethour. These documents contain the most comprehensive and current information about welfare-to-work programs across Canada.
After reviewing the research by Gorlick and Brethour, the Council's main concern is that recent welfare reforms appear to be contributing to worsening poverty in Canada by lowering benefits and forcing some people off assistance and into uncertain employment. Another concern is that most welfare-to-work programs do not pay enough attention to the needs of recipients and their children for supports such as training and child care.
"Welfare programs should be designed to ensure that recipients are able to participate in society. As well as raising people's economic productivity, they should have social goals such as supporting child and family development. People on welfare should not end up being poorer than before as a result of participating in welfare-to-work programs," says Susan Carter, CCSD Associate Director.
"Evaluation of these programs is generally based on cost savings, not on outcomes for recipients. If the programs are simply reducing the number of people on welfare – without increasing the number who have jobs – they should be considered as a failure, not as a success," adds Carter.
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Welfare-to-Work - Related Material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
309 Cooper Street, 5th Floor,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0G5
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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