3.10 - Work Services

Work Services will strive to move work ready individuals to work in a more timely fashion by assessing their readiness for employment when they first enter our offices. There are 2 main components to Work Services; finding the job (obtaining - up to 6 months) and maintaining the job (retaining - up to 12 months).  

After clients find work they will have ongoing support to help them maintain their job. Work Services will provide support to newly employed clients for a period of time normally not to exceed 12 months. Such support may be required as clients adjust to working and the workplace.

Support would focus on job maintenance, crisis prevention (problem solving) and crisis intervention. 

In this phase of Work Services the client will be working with the Work Services case manager and the Work Services job coach to find full time employment. The maximum amount of time a client may remain in this phase is six months from the date of case assignment to Work Services.

• Child Care
• Clothing and Appearance
• Criminal Record Check
• Day Care Subsidy Top-Up
• Intra-Provincial Interview Expenses
• Medical
• Relocation Expenses
• Special Clothing/Equipment
• Transitional Benefit
• Transportation
• Transportation for Child Care
• Union/Association Fee

This service is to help identify the cause or nature of a psychological, cognitive or emotional problem that prevents a client in returning to, maintaining or accessing work. It should be used to confirm the existence of a problem and not to treat it. All requests must be assessed individually and are payable based on need within Work Services.
 

Alternative Child Care can be provided to clients in Work Services who are seeking employment as well as clients no longer receiving income support who are in the retaining phase.

Applicants must not have reasonable access to a licensed day care facility within a 5 km radius of the home, workplace or training institution. Reasonable access means that a licensed day care has available spaces during the hours they are required and for the appropriate age of the child.

This benefit will be especially beneficial to people who work shifts or weekends. Alternative Child Care is not to be confused with regular baby-sitting or child care. The following applicants do not qualify for the Alternative Child Care benefit:

• SD child protection cases where the child is in the care of the Minister.
• Early Childhood Initiatives (ECI) cases

The Alternative Child Care rate is determined automatically by the system when a benefit is set up. The person receiving an Alternative Child Care benefit should always be set up as a co-payee with the service provider.

An Alternative Child Care provider must be at least 19 years of age and not have more than four pre-school children, or five children if at least one is of school age or two infants under two years of age, or only eight after school children in their care, otherwise they must be licensed through the Department of Social Development. Our department must not pay benefits to a service provider under these circumstances. As with baby-sitting, immediate family members cannot be considered as service providers. This includes parents or grand parents or someone residing in the household.

To qualify for Alternative Child Care, a family must meet the following criteria:

• Social Need - be a single parent where the parent is working, or in a training, be a two parent family in which both parents are working; or one parent is working and the other parent is incapacitated, undertaking medical treatment or in an educational or rehabilitation program or in Work Services and participating in a Job search.
• Financial Need - have net income less than the maximum level as per the Alternative Child Care Contribution Schedule.

Alternative Child Care benefits for work services clients (obtaining) can be approved for up to a six month period.

Aside from criteria mentioned above, all relevant procedures are identical to those for the Day Care Program.

This is the second phase of Work Services and begins once the client has found full time employment. Full time employment is defined as at least 25 hours per week. In this phase the client's case will be monitored by the Work Services coach. Benefits and counselling may be provided to assist in the retention of employment. The maximum amount of time a client can remain in this phase is six months from the employment start date.

• Child Care
• Emergency Retention Benefit
• Specialized Counseling
• Transportation

Extended Health Card

As the loss of the health card can be a significant barrier to clients wishing to move form assistance to training and/or employment; a health card should be issued to assist them during this transitional period. For clients exiting social assistance for employment, the health card can be extended up to 36 months where long term /permanent work has been obtained and no other coverage is available. The period of the health card coverage in such instances is up to12 months and reviewed annually.

Enhanced Dental Benefits

This extended coverage is for a range of dental services, and is issued to support CDO clients who are in active programming towards their goal of self-sufficiency. 

Benefits

• Client must pay a participation fee of 30% to the dentist or denturist.
• Maximum of $1,000, not including emergency services and dentures by regular dental coverage.
• Period not to exceed 12 months.

Eligibility

• Case Manager determines eligibility on individual basis
• Client must be in active CDO programming
• Case Manager must demonstrate in case plan that additional dental work is needed to support goal of self-sufficiency to access training or employment.
• Client must be able to cover participation fee within own resources.
• Client must be aged 20 to 63 years of age inclusive
• Only services performed during the eligibility period on the card will be paid.

This policy is under Housing. For clients of Work Services who found employment and live in subsidized housing, the income review that is done by the Housing Program Officer would be based on previous year's notice of assessment from Revenue Canada. The intent is to give clients one year reprieve from an increase to their rent as a result of going to work.