Effective April 1, some Alberta Works income support benefits will be adjusted in order to improve fairness for clients and simplify administration.
There are three categories of income support recipients - Expected to Work (ETW), Not Expected to Work (NETW) and Learners. The adjustments will affect some core Learner benefits and some supplementary benefits available to all three categories while core benefits for the ETW and NETW remain the same. Benefits vary by family size and are responsive to individual situations. The benefits being adjusted include:
- equalizing benefits of three categories of Learners: Employment Insurance Learners, non-Employment Insurance Learners and Apprentices;
- aligning dental coverage for Expected to Work and Not Expected to Work clients;
- amalgamating the Employment Maintenance Allowance with a similar benefit, the Employment, Training and Transition Supports; and
- extending benefits to victims of human trafficking.
“It was conceivable that two different people, both with the same family size, could sit in one classroom, and each could get a different level of funding,” said Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Employment and Immigration. “We saw discrepancies in the benefits we provide and we took steps to fix them for this coming school year. These adjustments maximize our ability to help as many Albertans as possible, including victims of human trafficking.”
Overall, the changes represent a 2.8 per cent reduction, or $12.5 million, to the income support program’s $450 million budget.
Changes affecting learners are to grant funding. Currently, grant funding is provided to Apprentices, Employment Insurance (EI) learners, and Non-EI learners. Each of them has a separate core benefit table. Each of the categories has a separate core benefit table. These grants allow learners to train without incurring debt. Learners can also earn income and still receive full benefits. Albertans attending job training on or after August 1, 2010 will receive the new benefit rates. Those learners who have funding agreements in place will continue to receive current benefits until the end of that funding agreement.
One of the changes includes providing benefits to victims of human trafficking. If someone has been declared a victim of human trafficking by the federal government, they now could be eligible for income support and health benefits.
Employment and Immigration continues to offer programs to help Albertans train and enter the workforce. Those programs include Employer Connections, part-time training grants, and skills training grants. In 2010-11, more than 20,000 Albertans will receive training through Alberta Works programs.