November 19, 1998.

To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee

From:City Clerk

Re:Survey of Single Parents

Recommendation:

The Budget Committee on November 18, 1998 recommended to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee and Council that the transmittal letter (November 5, 1998) from the City Clerk forwarding the recommendation of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee with respect to the subject matter, be considered as part of the Budget Committee deliberations on the 1999 Operating Budget.

Background:

The Budget Committee on November 18, 1998, had before it a transmittal letter (November 5, 1998) from the City Clerk forwarding a report (October 19, 1998) addressed to the Toronto City Council from the Commisisoner of Community and Neighbourhood Services with respect to a survey of single parents.

City Clerk

Barbara Liddiard/cp

Item No. 21

Attachment

c.Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Director of Budgets

Chief Administrative Officer

(Transmmittal letter dated November 5, 1998 addressed to the

Budget Committee from the

City Clerk)

Recommendation:

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee on November 5, 1998, reports having recommended to Council the adoption of the attached report (October 19, 1998) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services; and having directed that a copy thereof be forwarded to the Budget Committee for its information during consideration of that portion of the 1999 Operating Budget pertaining to Children's Services.

(Report dated October 19, 1998, addressed to the

Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee from the

Commissioner of Community Services)

Purpose:

In the Spring of 1998, Toronto Social Services conducted a survey of single parents receiving social assistance in Toronto. This report briefly discusses why the survey was undertaken, and the way the findings will be used by the Department to assist single parents in Ontario Works to become independent. The key findings are reported in the Executive Summary of the report, which is attached (Appendix B).

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the findings from the Single Parent survey inform the implementation of Ontario Works in the City of Toronto, particularly with regard to providing support to hard-to-serve clients;

(2)a copy of this report be forwarded to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, to assist with their planning for hard-to-serve clients in Ontario Works; and

(3)the appropriate City officials be granted the authority to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Background:

In the Spring of 1998, Toronto Social Services initiated a survey of single parents receiving social assistance in Toronto. The impetus for this research project was threefold:

-first, as a result of recent legislative changes, all single parents will now have mandatory participation requirements under Ontario Works, meaning that they will be required to take a skills development or educational upgrading course, or be involved in a community or employment placement;

-second, Toronto, like other municipalities in the Province, now has the responsibility for delivering social assistance to all employable social assistance clients, including single parents. This will entail the transfer of single-parent cases from the Provincially delivered system over the next year. The Department's August 27, 1998, report, entitled "Update on the Provincial Transfer of Responsibilities to Social Services and Children's Services Divisions," provided an overview of the transfer process, and the work done to date; and

-finally, there is a widespread recognition across the Province that municipal caseloads are increasingly comprised of harder-to-serve clients, as a result of the ongoing decline in the number of people receiving social assistance benefits. In Toronto, caseloads have declined by 38 percent since 1994, meaning that the most job ready employable clients have left the system to take jobs.

The issue of how to effectively support harder-to-serve clients in mandatory programs is itself related to the increase in the proportion of social assistance caseloads comprised by single parents, who often require special supports, and face specific challenges, reintegrating into the workforce.

In December 1991, single parents made up only 6 percent (5,600 cases) of the overall caseload. However, the proportion of the total caseload comprised by single parents has been increasing rapidly through the 1990s. This trend has been accelerated by the steep decline in the total caseload since late 1994. Currently, in Toronto, single-parent families receiving Ontario Works account for approximately 34 percent (or 26,400 cases) of the total municipal caseload. The Provincially-delivered program serves approximately 17,000 single-parent families. When these cases are transferred to Toronto, the single parent caseload in Toronto will number nearly 44,000 cases, or 45 percent of the City's total social assistance caseload.

In addition, Divisional data indicate that, since mid-1995, single clients have been leaving the caseload much more rapidly than families, especially single parent families. Should this trend continue, the proportion of the caseload comprised of families, the majority of whom are single parents, will steadily increase.

Taken together, these changes, combined with the sheer size of the single-parent caseload and the specific barriers single parents face when seeking employment, will have significant implications for Toronto's Social Services and Children's Services Divisions.

To help prepare and plan for these changes, the Division undertook a survey of single parents receiving social assistance, including cases served by the municipality and those still served by the Provincial delivery system. The Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) assisted with the survey, providing access to necessary caseload data, as well as reviewing the methodology and survey instrument, and the final report.

Discussion:

The purpose of the survey was to enable the Division to develop effective ways of designing program options and using program resources to assist single parents obtain and sustain employment. While the Division has analyzed the information available on its caseload databases, certain critical information could only be gathered through a direct survey of clients, including the following areas: previous use of social assistance; level of education; use of training courses and programs; paid and volunteer work experience; child care needs; constraints to finding work; assistance required to look for work; and basic demographic information.

The primary findings from the survey are reported in the Executive Summary, which is attached. A brief summary of the survey results are discussed below, focusing on the degree to which single parents are prepared to become independent of social assistance, and on the supports they need to do so. A quick review of the survey methodology used is provided below.

(I)Methodology:

Because of the pending transfer of single parents receiving social assistance under the Provincial system to the municipally-delivered system, the decision was made to contact single parents from both the municipal and Provincial caseloads. Individuals chosen for the sample were randomly selected by computer so that every member of the population had an equal chance of being selected.

Seven Hundred and Seventy clients completed the full questionnaire: 372 were receiving municipal benefits under Ontario Works, and 398 were receiving benefits delivered by the Province. Appendix A contains specific information about number of contacts made and the survey return rate. With regard to the survey, findings based on the sample data can be considered accurate within six percentage points (plus or minus a three percent error rate), 19 out of 20 times.

External consultants (Professors Sandy Welsh and Dean Behrens from the University of Toronto Sociology Department) with expertise in survey design, and with a knowledge of issues affecting single parents, were engaged to provide assistance with the development of the overall methodology. They provided extensive input into the creation of a survey instrument, and developed and provided a training package to staff responsible for administering the instrument.

Extensive efforts were made to contact clients who were selected to participate. However, the survey did have certain constraints. For example, it was not possible to contact clients who did not have access to a telephone or who were not available during survey times. As well, some non-English speaking respondents could not complete the surveys because an interpreter was not available. As a result, potentially under-represented among the respondents are people who may have the greatest needs. This includes people who were not capable of completing the survey in English (and for whom translators were not available), and those who were unable to maintain stable accommodation.

(II)Summary of Key Findings:

The overall impression that the survey results convey is of a group of people with solid assets and strengths, and a realistic outlook. One consistent theme emerged throughout the survey process - single parents recognize the value of working, and want to work.

Given their current circumstances, almost half (49 percent) of the single parents surveyed felt it would take less than one year to qualify for a job. And 27 percent felt they could qualify for a job in three months or less. The jobs most frequently identified included clerical and sales positions, and jobs in health care.

In fact, a substantial number of single parents, about 43 percent of the overall sample, are already working, studying or volunteering, with 20 percent of municipal cases and 8 percent of provincial cases doing more than one of these activities at the time of the survey. The highlights of the survey, respondents' educational backgrounds, involvement in training activities, and work experience are contained in the attached Executive Summary.

The survey also provided the basis for a preliminary assessment of respondents' "employment readiness." The intention was to provide a preliminary picture of the degree to which respondents are employment ready, and in turn, the staff time and resources that will be required to support single parents' efforts to increase their employment earnings. A basic employability scale was developed using selected variables from the survey database.

This initial "employability profile" revealed the following:

(a) 10 percent of clients are employment-ready; they are the most likely to gain employment with a minimum of support. They need help in only one or two areas, such as job referrals. These types of supports are likely to be in the form of telephone numbers, checklists, etc., and take minimal staff time;

(b)up to three-quarters of clients could be employment-ready with the help of a range of supports. These respondents will need a combination of supports such as child care, transportation, job referrals, educational upgrading, employment experience, and job preparation courses. Respondents here will need a larger investment of staff time and resources, from both Toronto Social Services and agencies within the community; and

(c)at minimum, 15 percent are not employment ready, and are not likely to be ready for employment in the near future. In this case, supports such as child care and job preparation are likely to be secondary to more long-term needs and complex barriers. Such barriers include pressing caregiver responsibilities; chronic poor health; children with poor health; drug and alcohol dependencies; and experience of harassment, discrimination or abuse. These single parents will require substantial time and resources to become ready for work, and some may not be able to work in regular employment settings.

It must be noted that the middle group obviously spans a wide range of clients, with varying kinds and levels of needs. Clearly, a critical task will be to develop improved methods of precisely assessing service needs, as well as ensuring that individuals are carefully screened before placement in Ontario Works program options (Skills Development, Community Participation, Employment Placement).

However, for many of these clients, there is little reason to believe that they will not be able to find work, if it is available, provided they can obtain the right supports. If anything, the survey results indicate that personal and health matters, while they represent very important barriers to some respondents, are less an issue for many parents than the ability to find a good job, and to obtain the support they need to do so: help with transportation expenses, reliable child care, and educational and training upgrading.

It is also clear, however, that there is a group of hard to serve single parents, made up of those who face multiple barriers to employment. Intensive service supports will be required to assist these individuals, and to move them as far as possible towards independence through employment.

Conclusion:

Overall, this survey shows that many single parents are positioned by virtue of their education and skills, or by their desire to become independent, to re-enter the workforce. Many are either already going to work or taking steps to prepare themselves. The findings strongly suggest that the majority of single parents, with the right training and supports, will be in a favourable position to obtain employment if the current economic climate prevails, and jobs continue to be created in the Toronto region. The findings also dispel some myths about single parents, and provide a good overview of the types of activities people are engaged in.

The survey confirms that single parents require supports, such as child care, educational upgrading and transportation expenses, to prepare for and seek work. These basic supports are available under the Ontario Works program. However, the survey provides a basis for a more careful assessment of the degree to which these supports can meet client needs, and the areas where additional supports will yield a clear payoff in terms of better integration into the labour market.

However, the findings also reveal that there is a core group of hard-to-serve clients. This group will require special efforts to simply become employment ready. In some cases, they may have to rely on social assistance for extended periods because of the personal barriers they face.

In a broader sense, placing too much emphasis on individual "barriers" can deflect attention from the ongoing need for all levels of government to carefully monitor and analyse labour markets to better understand how specific groups, like single parents, fare. High unemployment rates and competitive job markets continue to place substantial pressure on all service providers to maximize the effectiveness of resources deployed to assist people return to work. To that end, to serve these and other clients effectively, the Division must be similarly aware of changes underway in government programs designed to serve the unemployed.

The impetus for this survey came from the knowledge that much more needs to be done to better understand the characteristics, service needs and employment barriers of single parents receiving social assistance. Ultimately, the study's findings provide a valuable basis for determining the most effective ways to support single parents by targeting resources to meet identified and unique service needs. In the longer term, the analysis of the survey results, plus other work being undertaken by the Division, is essential to planning for the delivery of services to an increasing number of hard-to-serve clients.

Contact Name:

Heather MacVicar

392-8952

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Appendix A: Client Contacts

Prior to telephoning, letters were mailed to the members of the sample population advising them of their selection for the survey. Interviews were conducted in English by Social Services staff and took between 15 and 45 minutes.

Telephone interviews of people in the municipal sample were conducted in mid-February, while clients receiving provincial benefits were contacted in early April 1998. Procedures were identical for both groups. Survey staff made calls between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Calls were made on one of the weekend days between noon and 4:00 p.m. In attempting to reach selected participants, interview staff made up to six phone calls. Every effort was made contact the client, including leaving messages where this was possible.

When talking to people, interviewers stressed that the survey was voluntary, that all information gathered was strictly confidential and would be used only for research purposes, and that any decision whether or not to participate would in no way affect eligibility for social assistance. Because no links were maintained between survey data and client case information, client anonymity was assured.

In a small number of instances, telephone interviewers were able to offer interpretation in Cantonese and Somali. Some participants arranged their own interpreter, who assisted them in completing the survey on the phone.

By the end of the municipal survey period, 800 people had been contacted. Of this number, 490 people, or 61 percent of the sample, were successfully reached. A total of 372 people, or 47 percent of the total sample, completed the full questionnaire.

By the end of the provincial survey period, 1,200 people had been contacted. Of this number, 549 people, or 46 percent of the sample, were successfully reached. A total of 398 people, or 33 percent of the total sample, completed the full questionnaire. This sample was also measured and found to have a level of confidence of plus or minus 3 percent 19 times out of 20.

Interview staff were unable to successfully contact 310 people, or 39 percent of the total municipal sample and 651 people, or 54 percent of the total provincial sample. Frequent attempts were made to reach all sample members. Messages were left whenever possible. In some instances the telephone was not answered, or the telephone number was incorrect. In the cases where the telephone number was incorrect, directory assistance was used to attempt to locate new telephone numbers.

Full details of the contact outcomes are provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Survey Results

(A copy of the Executive Summary, referred to in the foregoing report, was forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee for its meeting on November 5, 1998, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)