Ministry Overview

The mission of the Ministry of Human Resources is to provide services that move people toward sustainable employment and assist individuals and families in need.

The ministry's services are provided under the BC Employment and Assistance program (BCEA), which emphasizes self-reliance and personal responsibility, and reduces long-term dependence on income assistance of those who are able to work.

BCEA is guided by two pieces of legislation, the Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act. Both Acts came into force in September 2002. Through the BCEA program the ministry provides employment and pre-employment programs and services to clients to assist them in finding and sustaining employment, thereby achieving independence and self-reliance. Programs and services are developed and provided to clients based on their ability and readiness to work.

BCEA actively encourages self-reliance through employment, an approach that benefits families and individuals over the long-term. The ministry is working to break the dependency cycle, which means both ending the generational cycle — improving the prospects of children by supporting the efforts of their parents to find sustainable employment — and ending the 'cycle-on, cycle-off' pattern that many clients have experienced.

BCEA applicants undertake a three-week self-directed work search before they apply for assistance. At the same time, people who contact a ministry office with an urgent need for food, shelter, or medical attention may apply immediately.

The ministry provides services to the following client groups: clients receiving temporary assistance, clients with persistent multiple barriers to employment, persons with disabilities, and people in need of supplementary assistance.

All temporary assistance clients have employment-related obligations, except for those who are excused from seeking work (e.g., parents of a young child, clients with temporary illness or injury requiring medical treatment). Ministry employment programs support this client group as they move toward self-reliance.

Clients who are able to work are assisted to find jobs through employment plans. These plans are the foundation for ongoing dialogue and planning between ministry staff and clients. Employment plans outline the ministry's expectations of clients regarding their job search activities, and provide a clear list of activities clients will undertake that will assist them in finding work. This process provides clients with access to the tools and supports they require to find a job and become independent of income assistance.

Clients with persistent multiple barriers to employment may need significant support in overcoming those barriers before they are able to participate in the job market. The ministry provides these clients with services aimed at increasing their self-reliance by developing life skills and pre-employment skills.

The Ministry offers assistance to low-income persons with disabilities. For People with Disabilities who wish to work the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (ESPD), announced in April 2002, is an overarching, integrated approach to employment. This strategy provides integrated assessment, pre-employment services, employment planning, job training, and employment services and supports to enable persons with disabilities to gain or enhance employment to the greatest degree possible.

Through its BCEA program the ministry also provides a range of supplementary medical and social services. These services include health assistance, dental care, emergency social services, bus passes, emergency shelters, travel assistance and user fees for continuing care and alcohol and drug facilities.

BCEA clients have the right to request a review of ministry decisions. Clients who are dissatisfied with decisions made at the office level may ask for a request for reconsideration. If clients remain unsatisfied with a reconsideration decision, they may appeal to the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal office, an independent appeal body.

All of these programs and services support the ministry's mission to assist people into sustainable employment and provide income assistance to those in need. The ministry's progress in delivering this mission and its plan for the next three years is detailed in the following pages.