"B" rating for BC welfare reforms from the Fraser Institute. (Children & Families).VANCOUVER -- Welfare reforms in British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography are a "watershed watershed, elevation or divide separating the catchment area, or drainage basin, of one river system or group of river systems from another system or group of systems. The term is also often used synonymously with drainage basin. event in welfare policy in Canada", says a report of the Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a moderate libertarian think tank based in Canada. Though it contains some socially conservative and neo-conservative elements, it is mostly libertarian. prepared by Jason Clemens. The conservative think tank gave a "B" rating to BC's drastic efforts to reduce welfare roles. The only area of reform to receive a failing grade is BC's policy of eliminating earning exemptions for recipients who return to work or find jobs. Clemens called this the biggest failure of BC policy initiatives saying that "experience in the u.s. has proven that combining benefit time limits with reasonable earning exemptions results in an effective and powerful work incentive." This is the one area in which the Fraser Institute and left-of-centre critics are in agreement. The B.C. government gave itself kudos for introducing welfare reforms that have resulted in most people leaving welfare and finding jobs or returning to school. Noting that many of the reforms begun by the B.C. Liberal government mirror reforms in many u.s. states A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and , such as Wisconsin Wisconsin, state, United States Wisconsin (wĭskŏn`sən, –sĭn), upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bounded by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from which it is divided by the Menominee , Jason Clemens, Director of Fiscal Studies for the Fraser Institute and author of the report gave the provincial government a `B' grade for its overall performance in the area. Some of the highlights of the B.C. policy changes included ending entitlement An individual's right to receive a value or benefit provided by law. Commonly recognized entitlements are benefits, such as those provided by Social Security or Workers' Compensation. to welfare by providing a time-limit of 24 months of benefits for individuals within a 60-month period. As well, diversion A turning aside or altering of the natural course or route of a thing. The term is chiefly applied to the unauthorized change or alteration of a water course to the prejudice of a lower riparian, or to the unauthorized use of funds. policies whereby welfare recipients must complete employment searches and attend orientation sessions along with focussing on back to work programs earned high grades from Clemens. In a survey conducted by the government of former welfare recipients the government found that since June 2002 48,000 people have left welfare. However, recently released details of the survey indicated that 39 percent of those who left along with another 25 percent could not be contacted or refused to participate in the survey. |
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