Released on March 26, 1999
Social Services Minister Harry Van Mulligen announced today thatongoing financial support is contained in this year's provincial
budget for the Building Independence initiative, a program which has
already helped reduce the number of people on social assistance.
"We are investing a further $6.7 million for the Saskatchewan Child
Benefit and $900,000 for the Saskatchewan Employment Supplement, to
ensure annual funding for these important programs," Van Mulligen
said.
Both programs are part of the Building Independence' initiative
launched in July 1998 and are for lower income families. The
Saskatchewan Child Benefit (SCB) assists families with the cost of
raising children and the Saskatchewan Employment Supplement (SES)
assists with the child-related costs of going to work.
"The programs have already had a positive impact on social assistance
case loads," Van Mulligen said. "The number of families on social
assistance decreased by 1,874 between December 1997 and December 1998.
We estimate that 1,100 of this drop was due to the new Child Benefit.
The number of families on social assistance is expected to continue to
decline as awareness of the new programs increases."
The SCB is currently being paid to 49,406 low-income families on
behalf of 103,257 children. Sixty per cent of those families are
single-parent families and 70 per cent of families receiving SCB
benefits have incomes of less than $16,000.
In its first six months (July to December 1998), 7,762 families,
representing 15,393 children, received SES benefits. Of these
families, 70 per cent are single parents and rural families
comprise 32 per cent of the program's clients.
"Over the long term, we know the Building Independence program
will continue to better the lives of Saskatchewan families and
children," Van Mulligen said.
-30
For more information, contact:
Bill Carney
Director of Communications and Public Education
Social Services
Regina
Phone: (306)787-0916