Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance programs which provide support only to those who have previously contributed, as opposed to social assistance programs which provide support on the basis of need alone. The International Labour Organization defines social security as covering support for those in old age, support for the maintenance of children, medical treatment, parental and sick leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and support for sufferers of occupational injury.
The New Deal was a workfare programme introduced in the United Kingdom by the first New Labour government in 1998, initially funded by a one-off £5 billion windfall tax on privatised utility companies. The stated purpose was to reduce unemployment by providing training, subsidised employment and voluntary work to the unemployed. Spending on the New Deal was £1.3 billion in 2001.
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was a United States federal law that was repealed and replaced by the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, is the ministry responsible for issues relating to seniors and persons with disabilities in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Workfare is a governmental plan under which welfare recipients are required to accept public-service jobs or to participate in job training. Many countries around the world have adopted workfare to reduce poverty among able-bodied adults; however, their approaches to execution vary. The United States and United Kingdom are two countries utilizing workfare, albeit with different backgrounds.
The Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) is a provincial program established in 1979 in Alberta, Canada, that provides financial and health related benefits to eligible adult Albertans under the age of 65, who are legally identified as having severe and permanent disabilities that seriously impede the individual's ability to earn a living. The total AISH caseload was 69,785 in 2020, which represents 1.6% of Alberta's population. For those eligible for AISH, benefits include a monthly payment, as well as access to a number of services and/or subsidies, including prescriptions, dental and optical services. In 2020, the primary medical conditions of 44.1% of AISH recipients were related to physical disabilities, 30.4% were related to mental illness disorders, and 25.4% to cognitive disorders, and over 40% of AISH recipients were over fifty years of age. By 2020, the maximum AISH rate for a single person was C$1,685 per month. AISH was indexed to the Consumer Price Index in 2018, de-indexed in 2020, and is being indexed again beginning January 2023. Since 1998, there has been a C$100,000 limit on the amount of liquid assets an AISH recipient can possess. There is also a dollar for dollar claw back on any form of additional income above a set amount that an individual or a family unit receiving AISH, might earn or receive. Such offsets include federal aid, such as Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits, a spouse's income, disability benefits through a private insurance plan, and/or Worker Compensation Board (WCB) benefits.
A group home, congregate living facility, care home, adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living and medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children or young people who cannot live with their families or afford their own homes, people with chronic disabilities who may be adults or seniors, or people with dementia and related aged illnesses. Typically, there are no more than six residents, and there is at least one trained caregiver there 24 hours a day. In some early "model programs", a house manager, night manager, weekend activity coordinator, and four part-time skill teachers were reported. Originally, the term group home referred to homes of 8 to 16 individuals, which was a state-mandated size during deinstitutionalization. Residential nursing facilities, also included in this article, may be as large as 100 individuals in 2015, which is no longer the case in fields such as intellectual and developmental disabilities. Depending on the severity of the condition requiring one to need to live in a group home, some clients are able to attend day programs and most clients are able to live normal lifestyles.
Cúram Software was an Irish software company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices in Australia, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company produces Social Enterprise Management (SEM) software and offers consulting services, certification, and training. Their name is an Irish word for "Care and Protection". The company was founded in 1990.
The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is a means-tested government-funded last resort income support paid for qualifying residents in the province of Ontario, Canada, who are at least eighteen years of age and have a disability. ODSP and Ontario Works (OW) are the two main components of Ontario's social assistance system. Like most social programs in Canada, the program is funded by the government of the province. The Ministry of Community and Social Services is responsible for ODSP and OW.
Social programs in Canada include all Canadian government programs designed to give assistance to citizens outside of what the market provides. The Canadian social safety net includes a broad spectrum of programs, many of which are run by the provinces and territories. Canada also has a wide range of government transfer payments to individuals, which totaled $176.6 billion in 2009—this cost only includes social programs that administer funds to individuals; programs such as medicare and public education are additional costs.
The United States Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is the centerpiece of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999.
Supported employment refers to service provisions wherein people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, mental health, and traumatic brain injury, among others, are assisted with obtaining and maintaining employment. Supported employment is considered to be one form of employment in which wages are expected, together with benefits from an employer in a competitive workplace, though some versions refer to disability agency paid employment. Companies such as Skilcraft in the United States are an example of "supported employment" which is defined in law for state and federal reimbursements.
Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is a federal-state program in the U.S. state of Florida that provides services to people who have physical or mental disabilities to help them get or keep a job.
The Human Resources Administration or Department of Social Services (HRA/DSS) is the department of the government of New York City in charge of the majority of the city's social services programs. HRA helps New Yorkers in need through a variety of services that promote employment and personal responsibility while providing temporary assistance and work supports. Its regulations are compiled in title 68 of the New York City Rules. The current Commissioner of HRA is Molly Wasow Park, who was appointed to the position by Mayor Eric Adams. HRA is the largest city social services agency in the United States. It has a budget of $9.7 billion, employs over 14,000 people, and serves over 3 million New Yorkers.
Michael Joseph Coteau is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley East in the House of Commons of Canada. From 2011 to 2021, he was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the provincial district of Don Valley East in Toronto. He served in the Cabinet of Ontario under Premier Kathleen Wynne from 2013 to 2018 in several portfolios, including Citizenship and Immigration, Tourism, Culture and Sport and Community and Social Services. After the 2018 Ontario general election, Coteau was one of seven Liberals re-elected, and he subsequently ran in the 2020 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election, placing second with 16.9% of the vote.
Rise provides microfinancing and mentorship to eligible entrepreneurs living with mental health and addiction challenges, who are interested in pursuing self-employment. Rise offers business financing in the form of loans, leases and other investments, based on stage of development, needs and capacity. Rise provides business financing for up to $25,000 throughout Ontario, with an average loan of $3,000 to $5,000. The Rotman School of Management and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health participate in advisory functions, lending their respective expertise for business mentoring and mental health support and services for the benefit of Rise clients. In January 2012, Rise received the Social Entrepreneurship in Mental Health Equity Award from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation Canada (DMRFC).
The California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program is the California welfare implementation of the federal welfare-to-work Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that provides cash aid and services to eligible needy California families.
Merrilee K. Fullerton is a Canadian physician and former politician who represented Kanata—Carleton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2018 to 2023. A member of the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Fullerton was the minister of training, colleges, and universities from 2018 to 2019, minister of long-term care from 2019 to 2021, and minister of children, community and social services from 2021 to 2023.
Michael Parsa is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario during the 2018 general election. He represents the riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, and is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
The Ford ministry is the Cabinet, chaired by Premier Doug Ford, that began governing Ontario shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Queen's Park on June 29, 2018.
