Clear, Consistent Access to Special Needs Funding for People on Income Assistance

An August 8th media release from the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services:

Clearer regulations now make it easier for income assistance clients to understand what special needs funding they can receive, and ensure funding decisions are consistent and fair province wide.

The amended Employment Support and Income Assistance Regulations Around Special Needs funding take effect today, Aug. 8.

"We know that some people on income assistance have special needs and often need help with medical issues, or even to get to work," said Community Services Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse [pictured]. "We are committed to meeting those needs, and have been increasing our budget to do so.

"At the same time, the criteria for receiving special needs funding must be clear, fair and consistent so that people are treated the same no matter where they live."

Over the past two years, the department has increased the special needs budget by 15 per cent, or about $6 million, bringing the total investment in funding to more than $45 million. These funds are intended to help income assistance clients with medical and employment-related special needs.

Over the years, the department has received special needs requests for items and services like hot tubs, gym memberships, and humming touch therapy. These were never intended to be covered under special needs, but because the regulations were not clear, about 20-25 of these requests were approved either by a caseworker or through an appeal.

The department has also received a number of special needs requests for medications and substances, such as medical marijuana. The amendments now make it clear that Community Services can only cover medically related items and services that are covered by MSI or listed on the Nova Scotia Pharmacare Formulary. This is consistent with how other provinces handle requests for medical marijuana.

The amendments are also consistent with recommendations from the auditor general who said clear systems and controls must be in place to ensure special needs funding is being spent as intended, which is to fairly meet the needs of income assistance clients.

The change only affects new applications for special needs funding received after Aug. 8. Income assistance clients now receiving special needs funding will continue to do so as long as the special need exists.

In addition to the more than $45 million invested in the Employment Support and Income Assistance Special Needs program, the department is also investing an additional $18.25 million this year to help income assistance clients and low-income Nova Scotians make ends meet. These include a 22 per cent increase per child, per month to the Nova Scotia Child Benefit, a $15 per month increase in the Income Assistance Personal Allowance, indexing the Affordable Living Tax Credit and the Poverty Reduction Credit to keep up with inflation, and allowing working income assistance clients to keep more money each month.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Clearer regulations now make it easier for income assistance clients to understand what special needs funding they can receive, and ensure funding decisions are consistent provincewide.

Community Services Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse says the criteria for receiving Special Needs funding must be clear, fair and consistent so that people are treated the same no matter where they live.

Community Services invests more than $45 million in special needs funding annually. The funds are intended to fairly meet the special needs of all income assistance clients.

The amendments now make it clear that Community Services can only cover medically related items and services that are covered by MSI or listed on the Nova Scotia Pharmacare Formulary.

The change only affects new applications for funding received after August 8th. People now receiving special needs funding will continue to receive it as long as the need exists.

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Media Contact:

Susan Tate
Community Services
902-424-4038
E-mail: tatese@gov.ns.ca

Image credit


Also see:

Employment Support and Income Assistance Policy Manual (PDF) (Chapter 6 - Special Needs, pages 106 to 150)

Employment Support and Income Assistance Act

Employment Support and Income Assistance Regulations

Assistance Appeal Regulations

New Report: Poverty line is being cracked, but not broken

Cross-Canada action needed as economy worsens, National Council of Welfare says


A December 10th press release from the National Council of Welfare:

Toronto, December 10 – While incomes for most Canadians on welfare were stuck far below the poverty line, some cracked that line in 2007, the newest report by the National Council of Welfare says. But tough economic times mean it will be tough to really break through, unless comprehensive, nationwide action is taken, says the advisory body to the federal government.

Welfare Incomes, 2006 and 2007 looked at the circumstances of Canadians on welfare in all provinces and territories. The study by the National Council of Welfare found that in the case of the lone parent with a pre-school age child living in Quebec, welfare income for 2007 reached 100 per cent of the Market Basket Measure (MBM), a poverty line measurement that takes into account the cost of meeting basic needs in different parts of Canada.

In the case of the lone parent with a pre-schooler in Newfoundland and Labrador, welfare income slightly surpassed the MBM, at 103 per cent.

“This information is considered significant because welfare incomes in Canada have historically been only a fraction of the real costs of survival and far below the poverty line”, said John Rook, Chair of the Council. “This means that lone-parent incomes, which include social assistance and federal child benefits, have reached a level that begins to give these families a reasonable chance in life. Even more encouraging, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador have poverty reduction strategies in place where social assistance is part of a larger, integrated framework with links to child care, health, education, and labour market policies. This can truly help people to get ahead.”

At the same time, however, the report found that single employable people receive welfare incomes at less than half of the MBM in most provinces, far below any measure of poverty or decency.

These incomes range from a low of 27 per cent of the MBM to a mere 67 per cent even in the best of cases. The Council is also concerned about the maze of rules and regulations that can trap welfare recipients and often discourages or even prohibits them from helping themselves out of poverty.

For example, people on welfare can keep little or none of their earnings if they can find some employment, which can discourage them from looking for work. Administrative rules vary throughout the country, but the new report details consistently how qualifying for welfare is a complicated, cumbersome and stigmatizing process.

As the economy deteriorates, the National Council of Welfare is concerned that the number of Canadians facing hardship will likely grow. In addition to welfare recipients, there are people who manage to leave the welfare system on their own, and others who can’t qualify, have been cut off or won’t sacrifice their assets or dignity to apply, Rook noted. While some may get ahead, others may be trading one form of poverty for another, and that is not good news for Canada anytime, especially not now.

“A comprehensive, pan-Canadian strategy to solve poverty is needed”, Rook added. “It should have targets and timelines, a plan of action, accountability and measurable indicators.” Many partners must be involved. Canada is not unique. “For any nation to solve poverty or foster prosperity there must be government action, political will and a real recognition of the human face of poverty.”

Media contact:
Carrie Breckenridge (613) 552-3527

The report and additional documentation are available at www.ncwcnbes.net.

For hard copies of the report, contact:
The National Council of Welfare
112 Kent Street, 9th Floor
Place de Ville, Tower B
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J9

Telephone: (613) 957-2961
Fax: (613) 957-0680

The National Council of Welfare is an independent body established to advise the federal government on issues related to poverty and social development.

Welfare Incomes, 2006 and 2007 estimates total welfare incomes in the 13 provinces and territories for four types of households: a single employable person; a single person with a disability; a lone parent with a two-year old child, and; a two-parent family with two children aged 10 and 15. There are 53 scenarios in all because Alberta has an additional program for persons with disabilities. The NCW has produced similar estimates since 1986.

Click on the image to magnify it.

Also see:

2007 Provincial Welfare Rates Compared to the MBM (National Council of Welfare Fact Sheet)

Governments must 'step up’ on poverty

Welfare recipients poorer than Canadians imagine: report

Economy hits poor hardest

Welfare inadequate to meet needs: report