Difference between revisions of "Welfare Eligibility (21:III)"

While the Ministry no longer requires an applicant for or recipient of to assign their right to pursue spousal support to the Ministry, any spousal support received is still considered unearned income and will be deducted dollar-for-dollar from all welfare benefits. If the Ministry considers that a person has a right to spousal support, but the person does not pursue it (either independently or by assigning their spousal support right to the Ministry), the Ministry may reduce the amount of assistance granted to the person’s family unit or declare the family unit ineligible for a period set by the regulations (see EAR, ss 29 and 31; EAPWDR, ss 25 and 27).

If an applicant for or recipient of welfare is interested in assigning their spousal support rights to the Ministry so they can get legal help obtaining a court order or agreement for spousal support, the client can contact the Ministry and ask to voluntarily assign their right to spousal support.  Where that person’s ex-partner is abusive toward them, it is important for the person to disclose this to the Ministry.  Ministry policy provides discretion not to pursue spousal support under an assignment where doing so could put the applicant or recipient at risk.  For more information, see the Ministry’s risk assessment policy at: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/policies-for-government/bcea-policy-and-procedure-manual/general-supplements-and-programs/family-maintenance-services  

'''Applicants are no longer required to demonstrate that they have been financially independent for at least two consecutive years prior to applying for assistance.'''

== I. Three-Week Work Search ==

All new applicants, including persons with disabilities, must go through the two-stage application process set out in sss 4, 4.1 and 4.2 of the EAR and ss 4, 4.1 and 4.2 of the EAPWDR. (See the Legal Services Society’s “How to Apply for Welfare” information booklet for more information: https://lss.bc.ca/publications/pub.php?pub=491).

All applicants for welfare must (unless they are exempt as set out below) wait three weeks to apply for benefits after completing stage 1 of the welfare application. During this three-week period they must complete a job search.

An applicant required to do a job search must keep clear records to prove to the Ministry what they have done to look for work. The Ministry assesses the reasonableness of a job search on a case-by-case basis. Generally, a reasonable work search usually includes things like writing up a resume; looking for jobs on the internet, by phone, and through personal contacts; submitting applications or resumés; going to job search workshops; going to employment agencies; asking for "job shadowing opportunities"; and going to job interviews.

Certain groups are exempt from work search requirement.  See ss 4.1(4),(5), and (6) and s 4.2(5) of each Regulation (EAR and EAPWDR). An applicant does not have to do a work search if they:

*Have a physical or mental condition that precludes the person from completing a search for employment as directed by the minister;

*Are the single parent of a child under three (this includes foster children and some children placed in their care by MCFD).

'''Immediate Needs Assessment'''

If someone who is applying for welfare has an immediate need for food, shelter, or urgent medical attention, their application can be expedited. A person in this situation should request an '''“immediate needs assessment”''' from the Ministry.  If they are not exempt from the 3 week work search, they may qualify for (non-repayable) hardship assistance from the Ministry while they do their work search. If they are exempt from the work search. , they are to proceed directly to their stage 2 eligibility interview.  The Ministry’s service standard is that a person requesting immediate needs assessment should have their situation assessed by the Ministry through a stage 2 eligibility interview, '''within one business day.''' If the Ministry is not able to do that, the service standard provides the Ministry should meet the person’s immediate need (e.g. by vouchers for food, bus tickets, shelter referral etc.) until the eligibility interview is conducted.  See the Ministry’s policy on immediate needs assessments at http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/policies-for-government/bcea-policy-and-procedure-manual/application-and-intake/immediate-needs 

The Ministry exempts certain persons from having employment-related obligations; see EAR s 29(4) for details.  For example, people with PPMB status or the PWD designation, single parents of children under 3, and people 65 and over do not have employment-related obligations.  Recipients of assistance who have employment-related obligations must also have an Employment Plan (EP) under s 9 of the EAA.  The Ministry may require even recipients with certain barriers to employment, such as drug and alcohol problems or other medical conditions, to follow an EP.  However, the Ministry must tailor the EP to the abilities and skills of the recipient.  EPs for recipients under the age of 19 focus on completing high school.

An EP outlines the conditions (activities and expectations) that the Ministry thinks a person must complete to become employed or more employable and includes a timeframe. The EP may include independent work search, referral to job placement programs, specific training for employment, or other services. Recipients must complete an activity report monthly while they are looking for work, and every second month once they obtain work, until they become independent of income assistance.   

The Ministry does not require people with the PPMB or PWD designation to have an employment plan. The Ministry may encourage them to sign a “voluntary participation plan”, however this is not mandatory. The Ministry may, however, require a voluntary participation plan to access certain training programs.  

Effective September 1, 2015, the Ministry introduced a “single parent employment initiative.”  Under this initiative, if a single parent on income assistance, PPMB or disability assistance is assessed as needing training in order to gain employment in certain fields, they may be eligible for the Ministry to pay tuition for their training, and to continue receiving income assistance, PPMB benefits or disability assistance for up to 12 months while participating in an approved training program. Single parents may be eligible for additional childcare and transportation supports while participating in the training program or paid work experience program.  Single parents that are eligible for the childcare subsidy may also have access to additional child care supports during their training period and their first year of their employment.  

For more details on this program, see https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/income-assistance/on-assistance/employment-planning/spei

== L. Persons With Disabilities (PWD) Designation ==

To obtain disability assistance, a person must show that they qualify under s 2(2) of the EAPWDA definition of “person with disabilities” (“PWD”).  This section defines a “person with disabilities” as a person over 18 with a severe mental or physical impairment that:

People who wish to receive disability assistance must complete an extensive application form with the assistance of a doctor and another health professional and satisfy the Ministry that they meet the above definition.

:'''NOTE:''' In ''Hudson v. Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal'', 2009 BCSC 1461, the BC Supreme Court made several important findings  about the eligibility criteria for persons with disabilities designation under the EAPWDA. For a helpful summary of the findings in Hudson,  the Community Legal Assistance Society has published a summary online at: http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/clastest/pages/79/attachments/original/1401252006/PWD_Eligibility_Summary_HUDSON.pdf?1401252006

As of September 1, 2016, certain applicants need only complete a simplified two-page form to qualify for designation as a Person with Disabilities for the purposes of s 2(2) of the EAPWDA. Under the EAPWDR s 2.1, an applicant must be one of the following to qualify for the simplified form:

*A person whose family has at any time been determined by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) to be eligible to receive community living support under the Community Living Authority Act.

To obtain PPMB (Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers to employment) assistance, a person must first qualify for the PPMB designation under s 2 of the EAR.  The criteria for the PPMB designation changed significantly on July 1, 2019.  Many people who could not qualify for the PPMB designation under the old definition, may be able to meet the new July 2019 criteria if they re-apply for the PPMB designation.  

To qualify for the PPMB designation a person must:

*Be receiving income assistance or hardship assistance;

**has continued for at least one year and is likely to continue for at least 2 more years, or

**being homeless or having been homeless in the past 12 months;

**having been found to be a Convention refugee or having been such a refugee in the past 24 months, or being in the process of having a claim for refugee protection, or application for protection, decided under Canadian immigration law; or

** being a person who was a “child in care” under the Child, Family and Community Services Act, RSBC 1996, c-46 or received similar care under an enactment of another Canadian jurisdiction;