Single parents offered job-training aid
A major policy shift by the B.C. government means single parents can now receive income or disability assistance for up to a year while training for a new job.
Social Development Minister Michelle Stilwell said that the government will no longer cut off welfare payments if parents go back to school or enter a training program.
The change will cost the government $24.5 million over five years.
The government will also cover the cost of training for “in-demand” jobs for up to 12 months, transportation costs to and from school, and full child-care costs dur- ing training, Stilwell said.
In addition, single parents eligible for a child-care subsidy will get free child care for one year after they finish their training and enter the workforce.
“These changes represent one of the most significant social program shifts this government has ever introduced,” Stilwell said.
The program is slated to begin in September.
Stilwell was unable to say how many parents the government expects to help. There are 16,000 single parents on income and disability assistance — 90 per cent of whom are female.
“Our hope is that everyone who qualifies will take advantage of this opportu- nity,” she said.
Jobs Minister Shirley Bond said the government continues to identify “indemand jobs” that fit into the program. The government expects to see one million job openings by 2020, and Bond said her ministry has an extensive list of occupations that will be in demand, including office assistants, carpenters and welders.
Bond said her ministry has programs to support people if their training lasts longer than a year or they are trying to continue training with an employer.
“We’re certainly not going to leave people partway through a program,” she said. “We’re going to work together to make sure we have wraparound supports not just at the beginning, but throughout the process so they get a job at the end.”
The announcements drew widespread praise.
Janet Austin, chief executive officer of the Metro Vancouver YWCA, said any one of the changes would have been welcome. “Together they comprise a powerful package that will enable single parents to prepare themselves for those one million jobs.”
The NDP credited the work of single parents who fought to end the government’s clawback of child support payments.
“I think this is part of the suite of changes the government has been making in response to those families coming forward,” said Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall. “It starts to address a lot of the problems that exist in this province around child poverty.”
Abby Cronk, 26, of Victoria said the policies would have made a significant difference to her. She became pregnant at 18 and ended up on income assistance. Her daughter was later diagnosed with autism.
Fortunately, Cronk was able to get work at the Fernwood Community Centre and is now taking classes to become a social worker.
She said free child care and tuition would have allowed her to upgrade her skills sooner, put aside extra money for food and take better care of herself.
“We all have dreams and I think sometimes, being a single parent, you feel like your dreams don’t matter and you don’t count. … I think we all have potential.”