[homeles_ot-l] FW: SARAC report recommendations - released on June 14, 2010

[Lynne Browne]

FYI . . .with apologies for duplicate postings

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

  _____  

From: Linda Lalonde [mailto:linda_lalonde_ottawa at yahoo.com] 
Sent: June 14, 2010 2:28 PM
To: Linda Lalonde
Subject: SARAC report recommendations - released on June 14, 2010

 


Hi Folks,

 

Well, it looks like any reforms to social assistance are not going to happen
any time soon. The recommendation of the Social Assistance Review Advisory
Council is that another body be set up and that it report back to the
Minister in 12 - 18 months. (I imagine a few of you will already have done
the math - yes, the next provincial election is 16 months away. I'm just
saying ...) They have received a letter from Madeleine Meilleur which says
that she and her ministry folks are going to study the recs and will respond
in the fall.

 

You can access the whole report at
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/documents/en/mcss/publications/social/sarac%20repo
rt/SARAC%20Report%20-%20FINAL.pdf. I've pulled some pieces out of the
executive summary below that will give you the gist of the report. My
apologies that it makes a very long email - my computer either doesn't like
the report or is just being ornery and won't let me attach files.

 

Linda.

 

Summary of SARAC report released June 14, 2010

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council concludes that Ontario does
not need a review solely of social assistance - it needs a comprehensive
review of Ontario's income security system. Ontario Works and the Ontario
Disability Support Program represent 23 percent of all provincial and
federal income security program spending that serves working-age adult
Ontarians. Social assistance is but one piece of a patchwork of income
security, employment and social supports. 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council is fully cognizant of the
current difficult fiscal situation facing the province. We recommend
transforming the income security system not despite Ontario's fiscal
situation but because of it. The province needs a plan for the income
security system it wants to build as part of its economic recovery. Ontario
needs to articulate its interests and perspective to the federal government
and the other provinces and territories. 

  

Now is the time to develop a coherent, purposeful and focused strategy for
reform to guide successive governments over the next decade and beyond. A
transformed income security system in Ontario should: 

  

*  Contribute to labour market opportunities to ensure jobs provide real
pathways out of poverty; 

*  Provide workforce development and related services to help all Ontarians
do better, including support for out-of-work and underemployed Ontarians to
transition into sustainable employment; 

*  Support Ontarians in good and bad times, through liveable incomes and
community supports. 

  

  

Below is the summary of our recommendations for the substance and process of
a review which, we believe, can create such a vision. The full report of the
Social Assistance Review Advisory Council that follows sets out the
recommendations and explains their background and rationale 

  

Recommended Terms of Reference 

  

Scope of the Ontario Income Security Review 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council recommends that Ontario
initiate the Ontario Income Security Review, pursuant to its commitment in
Breaking the Cycle and its vision "of a province where every person has the
opportunity to achieve his or her full potential and contribute to and
participate in a prosperous and healthy Ontario." 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council recommends that the Ontario
Income Security Review be asked to undertake a comprehensive assessment of
income security, employment supports and related services for working-age
adults. The Review should include federal programs such as Employment
Insurance, provincial programs such as Ontario Works and the Ontario
Disability Support Program, as well as municipal, local and community roles.
The review should also include a plan to deal with financial and other
mechanisms required to navigate through a changed income security system. 

  

The process of transformation will necessarily involve other orders of
government: the federal government must eventually be engaged. Lack of
federal government co-operation, however, should not impede Ontario's work
to define the reforms needed in federal programs to meet Ontario's
interests. 

  

Key Strategies to Guide the Ontario Income Security Review 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council recommends the Ontario Income
Security Review explore the following six strategic directions for reform.
These strategies should form the basis for consultations with Ontarians.
Based on the results of those consultations and research, the review would
then develop a detailed 'road map' for implementing a transformed system. 

  

a. Building on the approach of the Ontario Child Benefit, develop an
expanded range of income and services to be available to all low-income
Ontarians. 

b. Strengthen initiatives such as minimum wage increases, enhanced
employment standards, fair employment initiatives and the federal Working
Income Tax Benefit to ensure the labour market offers effective pathways out
of poverty. 

c. Replace short term coverage in Ontario Works with more appropriate
financial support outside of the social assistance system for those who are
temporarily unemployed. 

d. Re-engineer long-term coverage in Ontario Works as an opportunity
planning program to support achieving full labour market potential through
skills building, education, training, employment and related support. 

e. Develop standards for a liveable income and a process to use those
standards to assess the adequacy of Ontarians' incomes. 

f. Improve income and social supports for those whose reasonable prospects
of earning liveable incomes from employment are limited by disability or
other circumstances, including a possible new vision for the Ontario
Disability Support Program and exploring options for alternative models of
financial assistance. 

  

Specific reforms which could follow from each strategy are noted in the body
of this report. 

  

Measurable Outcomes 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council recommends seven outcomes as a
basis for measuring the performance of the system. These outcomes should
form the basis for consultations with Ontarians on the development of a set
of practical measurements for the new system - metrics - so that they may
then be used to monitor the income security system. 

  

a. Social and economic inclusion 

b. Autonomy, responsibility and dignity of recipients 

c. Income for all Ontarians that at least meets a liveable income standard 

d. Human capacity development and its optimal employment to contribute to
the economic prosperity of Ontarians 

e. Public and fiscal sustainability 

f. Fairness, equity and transparency 

g. Empowerment of recipients to improve their economic circumstances. 

  

The Review Process 

  

The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council recommends that the Ontario
Income Security Review be structured with two commissioners and an advisory
council. The Review would be supported by a small full-time Secretariat. The
Review should develop a five part consultation process: a panel of persons
with experience of being on assistance; public and province-wide
consultation; separate and substantive discussions with First Nations to
ensure reforms reflect their needs and priorities; expert panels; and
written input. The Review should be completed within 12-18 months of being
constituted. 

 

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