Better Health, Employment And Child Care Supports Part Of Province's Plan To Bridge People Into Permanent Employment
TORONTO – The McGuinty government is helping Ontario Works clients get back into the workforce by overhauling Ontario's social assistance programs and providing new health, employment and child care supports, Minister of Community and Social Services Sandra Pupatello announced today.
"Every social assistance recipient has a different barrier to overcome in finding a job," Pupatello said. "We have to provide the appropriate supports to help them stay on the job and out of the welfare trap. That means getting rid of confusing and complex rules and providing realistic financial supports as they get back on their feet."
The government is introducing four key measures that will help Ontario Works clients find work and remain employed, including:
- Extending health benefits for up to six months for people exiting social assistance for employment or until employer health benefits are available. Benefits could be extended for up to one year in exceptional cases.
- A flat exemption rate of 50 per cent on earnings to provide a better incentive for Ontario Works clients to work and earn more.
- Increasing the maximum deduction for informal child care costs from $390 to $600 per month to provide another child care option for working parents.
- Creating an employment benefit of up to $500 to help recipients who obtain full-time employment pay for job-related expenses like uniforms and transportation.
These changes are in direct response to what Deb Matthews, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community and Social Services, heard during her discussions with social assistance clients, community organizations and municipalities in 2004. Stakeholders called for the removal of barriers and disincentives to employment and greater emphasis on meeting the individual needs of clients to help them find and keep meaningful jobs.
"It doesn't make any sense to have rules that make welfare more attractive than work," Pupatello said. "These are changes that will help remove disincentives to work and give Ontario Works recipients supports that will help them stay on the job and on the road to a better life. Our people are our greatest resource. When they can fulfill their potential, the entire province benefits."