Government taking money from children: report

Child support payments shouldn’t be taken out of income support, advocate says

Single mothers are disproportionately affected by a loophole that effectively takes away child support payments, says Child-youth Advocate Jackie Lake Kavanagh.

A report released on Monday shows that the provincial government counts child support as income to the parent with custody. When the government calculates income-support payments, the money paid as child support is removed from income-support payments, leaving the custodial parents no further ahead to support their children.

According to the report, between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2017, 2,588 families who received income support also had child-support payments taken out. The average child-support payment was $286 in that time.

“While the average amount of child support of $286.13 per month may seem insignificant to some, it is extremely important for those living in poverty or on the margins,” the report states.

The report notes the money is often used to buy food, clothing, and medical and dental care, and to sign children up for recreational activities.

The 20-page report had just one recommendation for the government: stop taking child-support payments out of income-support payments.

The income-support program is administered by the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour. Minister Al Hawkins, in a statement released Monday afternoon, said the findings of the child-youth advocate will be included in an ongoing departmental review.

The statement also notes four provinces that exempt child-support payment from incomesupport calculations.

The numbers from Kavanagh also show a disproportionate impact on single mothers from the disparity.

Of the 2,588 families affected, 2,580 of them listed the head of the household as female.

In those families, 12,243 children would have been affected. The provincial government recovered $10.7 million in child-support payments by including child support as income in the income-support program.

According to the report, the monthly income support rate for a single parent with children is $694, with a housing rate up to $372, with another $150 available to offset higher-than-average housing costs.

The threshold to qualify for income support varies around the province, with some as low as $32,533 and others as high as $46,053. The variance largely depends on whether the family lives in an urban or rural area.

There is no timeline presented for when the review of the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour will conclude.