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Performance Reporting — Continued Goal 1: BC Employment and Assistance Clients Achieve Independence Through Sustained Employment
Measure 1.1: Number of Employment and Assistance Agreements completed for new and existing clientsResults
Description This output measure reflects the ministry's efforts to support clients in completing employment plans, which were introduced in September 2002. Employable persons are expected to be actively engaged in work-related activities, as set out in their individualized employment plans. These plans were originally called Employment and Assistance Agreements and included both an employment plan and an application for income assistance. Employment plans identify the concrete steps clients will take to find employment, including participation in job placement and training for jobs programs. When employment plans were introduced, the ministry anticipated that 77,000 existing income assistance clients could be actively engaged in work-related activities. These clients were contacted and 40,437 of them completed employment plans by March 31, 2003, along with 11,377 new clients. Subsequently, employment plans and applications came to be treated separately. The ministry continues to refine its performance measures to ensure that the critical measures are reported and that, as much as possible, performance measures are outcome oriented. As a result this measure will not be reported in 2003/04. Instead, outcome measures for employability programming — i.e. the Job Placement Program and Training for Jobs Program pilot — will be included in the 2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report. Why this Measure is Important The Employment Plan is used to assist BCEA clients in moving toward and finding sustainable employment, independence and self-reliance. Moving income assistance clients to employment supports the ministry's mandate and government's strategic priority of building a vibrant economy. Data Reliability and Assumptions Source: Ministry database. Data reliability is high, as the ministry tracks the completion of employment plans in each client's file. Existing clients are defined as those who were on the caseload as of September 30, 2002, when Employment and Assistance Agreements were introduced. New clients are defined as those who began receiving income assistance after September 30, 2002 and before the end of the fiscal year.
Measure 1.2: Percentage of clients leaving BCEA for employment and percentage of clients who find employment through job placement and do not return within 12 monthsResults
Description These measures reflect both clients' success in finding employment and the ministry's success in assisting clients to achieve independence. According to the ministry's Exit Survey, 67 per cent of clients who were independent of BCEA for at least six months, had found employment. This established baseline for this part of the measure. Ministry statistics also indicate that 83 per cent of job placement participants were independent of income assistance after 12 months. This established a baseline for the second part of this measure. The figure is based on the results of the Jobs Partnership Program pilot and the Job Placement Program. The Job Placement Program — which was implemented in July 2002 following completion of the Jobs Partnership Program pilot — assisted clients to obtain employment quickly by connecting them with employers, and provided the necessary supports to maintain employment. Job placement programs are delivered through contracted service providers, whose payment is based on the number of clients who achieve independence through their program. Why This Measure is Important Moving income assistance clients to employment supports the ministry's mandate and government's strategic priority of building a vibrant economy. Research indicates that the likelihood of returning to income assistance decreases significantly for clients who maintain financial independence for at least six months. Improvements To Measure The ministry has refined this dual measure to more accurately assess the movement of clients from BCEA by expanding the measure to include those who leave for education, training or other opportunities.
New Measure (2003/04): Per cent of Job Placement (JP) clients who remain independent of income assistance for at least six monthsTrend data is not yet available for this measure. Preliminary data from the Job Placement Program indicates that as of March 2003, the ministry had referred 30,170 clients to the Job Placement Program, of whom, 3,779 had achieved at least one month of independence from income assistance.
The target for 2003/04 is 80 per cent of Job Placement clients remaining independent of income assistance for at least six months. Using the ministry Exit Survey results and a combination of Job Partnership Program pilot and Job Placement Program results, the 2002/03 baseline for this measure is 83 per cent. This number may shift as Job Partnership results no longer contribute to the annual average. Data Reliability and Assumptions Source: Ministry database. Data reliability for the new measure is high. It is based on clients being off the caseload for at least six months, which is verified by the ministry. Other Comments The model for the Job Placement Program is unique to B.C. and was built on lessons learned from the Jobs Partnership Program pilot.
Measure 1.3: Percentage of clients trained, percentage of trained clients employed after six months, and percentage of clients who find employment through skills training and do not return within 12 monthsResults
Description The ministry's major training initiative — the Training for Jobs Program pilot — was under development through much of the fiscal year. Consequently the results presented here are for the training programs in place prior to its introduction. The ministry recognized that improvements could be made to these programs as the results indicate. The 14,390 clients who enrolled in training during 2002/03 represented a total of 21,710 course seats, reflecting the fact that many clients participated in more than one training program. The most popular courses included career planning, adult basic education, workplace-based training, and English language training. To assess the impacts of its training programs, the ministry wanted to examine how many training participants were employed six months after completing training, and how many remained employed for 12 months. To measure this, a full year must elapse before the 12 months of independence can be assessed. Consequently, at the time of this report's preparation, figures were not yet available for clients trained in 2002/03. Therefore, a baseline could not yet be established. The ministry conducted a study in May 2001, which revealed that approximately 35 per cent of clients enrolled in training programs in May 1999 achieved 12 months of independence and 52 per cent reached 24 months of independence. The same study showed that clients who did not participate in any form of training achieved similar results. Training programs offered under BC Benefits did not significantly increase clients' chance of becoming independent from income assistance. Consequently, the ministry undertook major changes to the delivery of its jobs training programs during 2002/03. Therefore, a baseline could not yet be established. In December 2002, the ministry launched a performance-based Training for Jobs Program pilot, as part of the ministry's commitment to more results-oriented training. Why This Measure is Important Moving income assistance clients to employment supports the ministry's mandate and government's strategic priority of building a vibrant economy. Random assignment studies show that the most effective way to assist clients to leave income assistance and increase their earnings is through programs that place clients into employment and provide supports and training to enable them to stay in that employment. Improvements To Measure The ministry has refined this triple measure in two ways: first, to focus on the achievements of the Training for Jobs Program pilot in supporting clients to leave income assistance; and second, to refine the definition of independence to include those who remain independent for at least six months. Research shows that those who are able to maintain financial independence for six months after leaving income assistance are likely to remain independent for longer periods of time. Using six months rather than 12 months for this measure will allow the ministry to obtain more up-to-date information on the impact of its programs and make any necessary improvements more quickly. The ministry links employable clients directly to employment opportunities through two key programs: the Job Placement Program; and the Training for Jobs Program pilot. The Job Placement Program focuses on placing clients directly into employment and supporting them to maintain employment. Launched in December 2002 as a pilot, the Training for Jobs Program provides specific skills training and job placement for clients who have experienced difficulty in maintaining sustainable employment. New Measure (2003/04): Per cent of Training for Jobs clients who remain independent of income assistance for at least six monthsThe Training for Jobs Program pilot was launched in December 2002. As a result, six-month results were not yet available by the end of the fiscal year.
Data Reliability and Assumptions Source: Ministry database. Data reliability for the new measure is high, as it is based on clients being off the caseload for six months, which is verified by the ministry prior to contractors being paid. Other Comments In developing the Training for Jobs Program pilot, the ministry considered British Columbia's experience with labour market programming for income assistance clients and conducted a literature review of job training programs in other jurisdictions. Based on this information, the Training for Jobs Program pilot incorporated key elements of a mixed approach program. The program supports the ministry's goal of providing clients with opportunities to acquire specific job skills through targeted training, integrated with job placement, and retention strategies.
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| 2002/03 Target | Results |
|---|---|
| Establish baseline number of persons with disabilities leaving BC Employment and Assistance for employment | Baseline established:1
29.5% |
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| 1 | The per cent of BCEA clients who left for employment is based on a ministry's survey of former income assistance clients who had remained independent for at least 6 months. |
Description
This measure indicates that approximately three in every ten persons with disabilities who stopped receiving income assistance during the fiscal year left for employment. This establishes a baseline of 29.5 per cent. Persons with disabilities also left to go to school, due to changes in family status or changes in financial need. The ministry supports persons with disabilities to achieve independence through the programs and services offered under the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (ESPD).
Why This Measure is Important
Supporting clients to find sustainable employment is of critical importance to the ministry because it assists individual British Columbians in achieving their potential and in participating in the province's vibrant economy. These efforts reinforce the ministry's recognition that persons with disabilities want to participate in the labour market to the best of their ability, or to volunteer as they are able.
Improvements To Measure
The ministry has refined this measure to look at the percentage of persons with disabilities on BCEA who have income from earnings. This recognizes that a significant number of persons with disabilities may work part-time and still receive income assistance — particularly since new higher earnings exemptions were implemented in 2002/03. The ministry encourages persons with disabilities to take advantage of volunteer and employment opportunities as they are able.
The data source for the original measure is the BC Employment and Assistance Exit Survey. The surveyed sample for 2002/03 contained only 104 persons with disabilities, making it difficult to generalize the results from the survey to the rest of the persons with disabilities caseload. The new measure does not have this limitation.
New Measure (2003/04): Per cent of Persons with Disabilities with employment income
| New Measure | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent of persons with disabilities with employment income | Targets | 11.2% | 11.5% | 11.7% | 12.0% |
| Results | 11% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
A target of 11.2 per cent was established for 2002/03, slightly above the achieved 11 per cent of those persons with disabilities who declared income from earnings in 2002/03. The full implementation of the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities is anticipated to affect future results positively.
Data Reliability and Assumptions
Source: Ministry database.
Data reliability for the new measure is high, as the results are based on caseload statistics.
Other Comments
One component of the Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (ESPD) is the Employment Program for Persons with Disabilities (EPPD), which will be fully implemented by July of 2003. The EPPD will provide 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.
The EPPD is a comprehensive approach to employment programs for persons with disabilities that is unique to British Columbia. The ministry anticipates that this measure will continue to grow, as the number of training and employment programs available to persons with disabilities will expand with the implementation of the EPPD.
The programs will be delivered through contracted services.
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