By Kendall Worth
I recently had a conversation with Sasha and Kate, two local Income Assistance recipients who had both had their applications to the provincial Career Seek Program rejected.
As always, I am using pseudonyms – “fake names” - for the First Voices I interview and whose stories I share in my BLOG. This is to minimize any stigma these individuals may face in the community. For further discussion of how stigma impacts recipients of Income Assistance (IA), you can check out this BLOG as well as here and here.
Amongst the many issues we discussed, Sasha and Kate shared how the Career Seek Program could and should be reformed so that it can be accessed by many more IA recipients and can have a much wider and more substantial impact on people’s lives. But before I drill down into the Career Seek Program, some background on Sasha and Kate.
Sasha: receives the standard IA benefit of $1,005 a month and a Rental Subsidy of $315 per month. She also receives the $40 Telephone Allowance as well as $54 for 2 special Diets. That totals $1,414 per month. Her rent is $1050, which leaves $324 for groceries, personal hygiene products and bills, once her phone bill is paid. Given the ever rising cost of groceries and other goods and services, $324 does not go far these days.
Kate: also receives the standard Household Rate of $1005 per month. She also received a Rental Subsidy of $300, plus the $318 Disability Supplement and $40 Telephone Allowance, totalling $1,663. From this, Kate pays $1000 a month for rent, $100 to NS Power and $40 for her phone. This leaves her with $523 for all other expenses, including her therapy cat. This amount does not go far, and Kate has been warned that her rent will go up $400 a month as soon as the provincial rent cap is lifted.
About the Career Seek Program:
I have written extensively about the Career Seek Program in previous blogs. To recap: the Career Seek Program is a provincial employment preparation program in Nova Scotia through which eligible IA recipients can secure permission to continue receiving IA benefits while they attend university or a post-secondary education program of more than two years.
My criticism of the program has focused upon three specific limitations:
· firstly, it is only available for students
enrolled in programs that are over two years long. This means that a broad
range of shorter skill-development courses as well as most Community College
diploma programs do not qualify under Career Seek criteria;
· secondly, while the program enables IA
recipients to continue receiving benefits while studying, this is itself of
limited use, since these benefits barely cover the costs of day-to-day living,
never mind the added costs of university tuition, books, and more; and
· thirdly, the assessment criteria for people
to qualify for the Career Seek program are not clear, so people are hesitant to
apply, or are rejected when they do apply - for reasons that are not always clear.
Both Sasha and Kate have unsuccessfully applied for the program. When Sasha was turned down, she was given 2 reasons by her caseworker:
#1:
The program was designed for people looking for full-time employment after
their studies, and Sasha had no history of full-time employment.
#2: In response to the question, “What do you hope
to get out of the program?” Sasha had
highlighted her desire to break out of the social isolation that defines her
current life. The caseworker responded
that the Career Seek program is an employment centred program and is not designed
or intended to address clients’ issues of social isolation. One should apply
with a clear proposal that links study program and employment prospect.
Kate’s experience was a little different but also resulted in a rejection. She was told that she was not seen as a good fit for Career Seek because Community Services has her on file as someone who lives with dyslexia and anxiety issues. Kate says that she has worked hard to address these issues over the years and felt that participating in Career Seek would help her move forward on her journey. But she too was rejected.
What is to be done?
Sasha and Kate’s stories are not unique. I have heard similar stories from other IA recipients who have not been accepted into the Career Seek Program for similar reasons.
The Program seems much too narrow and restrictive: applicants are expected to have a clear educational plan and career path in hand when they first walk in to apply. This seems unreasonable to me, as many IA recipients require support, guidance and coaching to explore options and develop such plans. And some of these plans should be viewed as “tentative”: they may change through over time and through experience as the candidates try out different options and test themselves.
Furthermore, many IA recipients have personal or health issues that will require ongoing support through their educational and career journeys. This could include steps to address learning disabilities and mental health issues. But none of that is built into the design or vision of the Career Seek Program.
The bottom line is that we have in Nova Scotia a gold mine of people who would greatly benefit from a program of some sort that would both support their educational ambitions and career plans, and help them to break through the constraints of the social isolation that defines their day to day living.
Perhaps this will require a completely NEW program: I have written extensively about the Social Prescription approach to such problems. Or perhaps a broad re-imagining and reform of the Career Seek Program is possible, that would broaden access and increase impact.
Either way, - we need to find solutions!
Kendall Worth is an award-winning anti-poverty activist who lives with disabilities and tries to make ends meet on income assistance.
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