SOCIAL ASSISTANCE CASELOAD REACHES 14-YEAR LOW

The social assistance caseload has dropped to its lowest level in 14 years. The caseload number in January 2005 was 27,669. This is the lowest amount for the month of January since 1991, and is down considerably from a peak of 41,000 in 1994.

Caseload measures the number of households throughout Saskatchewan benefiting from the Saskatchewan Assistance Plan (SAP). SAP is administered and delivered by Community Resources and Employment. It provides benefits to individuals and families for household and personal necessities, including food, clothing, shelter and utilities.

"There are fewer families and individuals who need social assistance benefits," Community Resources and Employment Minister Joanne Crofford said. "Based on the belief that the best way out of poverty is to help and support people to train and to find meaningful, sustainable work, our Building Independence strategy is demonstrating results. Since it was introduced in 1997, 7,300 fewer families, including almost 16,000 children, across the province now depend on social assistance."

"Clearly, we have more work to do," Crofford said. "But this is good evidence that Saskatchewan families have been taking advantage of the new opportunities to become self-reliant and proud contributors to their families and communities. It is no coincidence this has occurred over a period of strong employment growth in our province."

The decrease in SAP caseload is not the result of reduced benefits or tightened eligibility rules. In fact, since 1997, low-income Saskatchewan families and individuals have had access to a range of programs outside of SAP to help them build productive, independent lives. These programs include the Saskatchewan Child Benefit, Saskatchewan Employment Supplement, Family Health Benefits and Provincial Training Allowance. Additionally, Saskatchewan people can benefit from a number of training and job finding resources through Canada-Saskatchewan Career and Employment Services (www.sasknetwork.ca).

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For More Information, Contact:

Janet Miller Community Resources and Employment Regina Phone: (306) 787-0531