Highlights of the Year

Over the past year, the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance has made substantial progress towards achieving the commitments detailed in the Ministry's Service Plan 2005 – 06 including:

Enhanced Client Supports

  • Expected to Work (ETW): The number of employable clients on the ministry's caseload decreased by 5,200, or 17.5 per cent, in the last year as a result of a revived provincial economy, strengthened labour markets and ministry policies and programs that support getting clients into jobs. Less than half of ETW clients stay on the caseload longer than four months and those transitioning from ministry employment programs to financial independence received an average starting wage of almost $11 dollars an hour.
  • Persons with Disabilities (PWD): The ministry continued to focus on clients with disabilities in support of government's Great Goal 3 — To build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk, and seniors. $37 million was provided to increase PWD rates by $70 per month, making these rates the highest in the province and the third highest in Canada. Earnings exemptions were increased to $500 per month for individual clients and $750 for two-recipient family units to support financial independence and greater community engagement. To assist PWD clients in participating in their communities to the greatest extent possible, the ministry delivered a wide range of specialized supports and voluntary employment programs. The PWD caseload increased by 3,800 clients, or 7 per cent, during 2005/06, due in part to an aging population, longer life expectancy for individuals experiencing significant health issues, and the impact of new illnesses and conditions.
  • Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers (PPMB): For clients who are not expected to become financially independent, the earnings exemption was increased to $500 to provide additional support to those who may be able to gain employment.
  • Seniors: An additional $10 million restored the BC Senior's Supplement program, providing 43,900 seniors with a guaranteed minimum income level for residents of British Columbia receiving federal Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement or federal allowances.
  • Low-Income Families: $123 million in health and dental assistance was provided to individuals and families with limited incomes, to support improved health outcomes and reduce disincentives to becoming and remaining financially independent.

Responsive Program Delivery

  • Homeless Outreach Project: The ministry partnered with the City of Vancouver, the Housing Centre, and Carnegie Outreach to seek out homeless individuals on the street in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside and connect them with ministry offices. Between October 2005 and the end of March 2006, the project assisted 113 individuals to access housing, income assistance, and medical treatment.
  • Community Partnerships: To demonstrate the value of innovative partnerships with community agencies and other levels of government, and to better serve vulnerable clients, the ministry made one-time investments totaling $1.2 million in several projects including:
    • Outreach and shelter programs in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, the Comox Valley, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, the Tri-Cities, and Kamloops;
    • Basic computer skills for single parents in the Fraser Valley;
    • Sponsorship of Working Together: A Round Table on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention and Intervention for Northern British Columbia in Prince George attended by more than 150 service providers that work directly with adults and children with FASD; and
    • Health and dental supports to: New Life Mission in Kamloops; Pain Control Dental Clinic at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre; Christian Medical and Dental Society; Mid-Main Community Health Centre; Cool Aid Society; Kelowna Gospel Mission Dental Centre; Strathcona Community Dental Clinic; and the BC Dental Association.

  • OnLine Resource Public View: The ministry made its OnLine Resource available on the Internet providing members of the public with a user-friendly resource containing its policy and resources for clients.

Building Capacity to Serve

  • Employment Programming: A comprehensive redesign of the ministry's employment programs and Community Assistance Program was initiated to meet the needs of increasingly barriered clients on the ministry's evolving caseload more effectively. This initiative included extensive consultations with more than 90 public and private sector partners in communities throughout the province.
  • Service Code and Values: Staff from across the ministry and all regions of the province led a broad-based and inclusive dialogue to develop common values and a Service Code supported by tools that would assist staff in applying these values and codes in their daily work life. The results of this employee-led initiative are currently being incorporated into human resource and business planning, as well as service delivery initiatives throughout the organization.
  • Integrated Service Delivery (ISD): The ministry completed implementation of the ISD initiative, which streamlined business processes, improved tools and resources for determining eligibility, and provided staff with more time to spend directly with clients.
  • Multi-Channel Service Delivery (MCSD): The ministry, in collaboration with the province's Chief Information Officer, other ministries and stakeholders, initiated the Multi Channel Service Delivery (MCSD) project. The MCSD initiative is part of a commitment to use information technology in order to provide the general public, applicants, and clients with more options to access ministry information, programs, and services.

Support for Great Goal 3

  • In supporting the government's great goal to build the best system of support for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk, and seniors, the ministry contributed over $35 million to many organizations including:
    • $15 million to the 20th anniversary of the Rick Hansen Man in Motion Tour to improve the lives of people with spinal cord injuries;
    • $5 million to the Vancouver Foundation in support of the Disability Supports for Employment Fund;
    • $4.2 million to the 411 Seniors Centre Society so it can purchase and maintain the heritage building it has occupied for over 30 years;
    • $750,000 to the Canadian Mental Health Association to reach out to individuals with mental illness across the province, and connect them with income, housing, and medical services;
    • $400,000 to She-Way to provide supported housing for pregnant women with substance abuse issues in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside; and
    • $275,000 for the Directorate of Agencies for School Health (DASH) to support low income families improve their skills in healthy eating and food preparation.
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