Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement earlier, on a poverty eradication plan. I appreciate the Premier’s remarks earlier, in efforts to take the next steps there. Recognizing that there is overlap, once again, between ECE and the Department of Health and Social Services, I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment some questions, really, on the opportunities we’ve got and what we’re doing to coordinate the approach to fighting poverty.
The first question I’m wondering about is what is assessed during a client’s interview for income assistance applicants. Does the process not only look at the financial eligibility of the applicants but does it also look at the context of need? For example, their educational history and opportunities for upgrading, personal and psychological support services, if there are mental health issues and other health issues and needs.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the assessment the client service officers do provide to clientele is a variety. Not just on the financial aspects, but also on the individual’s needs. Whether it be providing them with more productive choices, if there’s such training opportunity for them, and so forth. It’s all based on the core needs of those individuals that are accessing assistance.
We are indeed, in our child and family services work, hearing a lot about some of those issues. My next question is really related to those that are coming out of jail. In many cases, people fighting poverty end up in our jails. There seems to be an opportunity to take advantage of this by making sure there are good educational programs while people are in jail. Certainly, as they are coming back into society, transition things like referrals and upgrading, referrals to housing upon release, referrals to behavioural support such as anger management, parenting skills and health education. Are these services provided at this time?
We do have counsellors at the corrections area as well. Also just working with those individual clients, the inmates, upon their release, rehabilitation development stages. We do have a team that refers them to the outside link. Once they leave the facility, we just don’t ignore them; we have contact with the community they’re from to see how they’re doing and if they’ve moved on with their lives. Not only that, we try to set up as much arrangement as we can with the client services department as well.
What is the process for placing someone back in the community after addictions treatment is completed? Is there counselling that takes into account employment services, housing and other basic needs?
This particular area consists of interdepartmental avenues with Health and Social Services and Housing and our Department of Education, Culture and Employment, through the income client service officers. So we continue to work together in that respect. There is a process in place where when inmates leave the facility, planning takes place to certain contacts in the communities. So we do what we can to provide those services from our departmental perspective.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I hear from people I’m chatting with is often our system does not ensure that the context, and there’s an infinite variety of circumstances in people’s lives, that all important context does not go with them through the system and that often income support is not cognizant of that. It’s a relatively cold and objective system if it doesn’t incorporate the very human aspects of it. How does this Minister and others in this government ensure that all important context goes along with people as they access all types of different government services?
We consider as much context as we possibly can, once the individuals provide that information. Sometimes we have to request the information when they are not provided immediately, but we do what we can to get the information out of them. People do change, so we need to work with those individuals and, through the development stages, provide training for them to have productive choices in life as well.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
