Southern Alberta

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A profile of income support clients
(PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-17) Easterbrook, Adam; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
A large proportion of individuals using income support programs face barriers to permanent employment and often re-enter income support programs. This report used administrative data to profile Albertan youth (18 to 25 years old) who were Income Support recipients at some point between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and income support use patterns by their client and household type. This report found that (1) 12,914 to 16,645 Albertans (around 3%) accessed Income Support each year from 2005/06 to 2010/11, (2) females and males accessed Income Support for different purposes, (3) recipients of Income Support were more likely to not complete high school, move residences, live in the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods, receive mental health services and be a high-cost health services users than non-recipients, and (4) recipients without children were more likely to be criminal offenders than those with children. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better assist Income Support recipients.