NEW RULES COMING FOR THOSE AT RISK

Welfare - Addicts and the Mentally Ill Will Have to Draft 'Employment Plans'

VICTORIA - Thousands of British Columbians suffering from mental
illness, alcoholism or drug addiction will soon be forced to draft
"employment plans" in order to continue receiving welfare.

Changes approved by cabinet, revealed Friday, will impose new
regulations on a thousands of vulnerable provincial residents in what
the government calls a continued effort to make income recipients more
self-reliant.

"We don't want to give up on people simply because they've got some
barriers to employment," said government spokesman Richard Chambers.

Although the government did not announce the changes, cabinet has
agreed to a series of reforms which will affect nearly 20,000 residents.

Under the new rules people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction,
mental illness or temporary medical conditions such as broken bones
must draft and follow employment plans in order to collect welfare.

They won't be forced into the workplace, but they must follow the
individual plans.

"As part of their employment plan, they could be working on their
resume, developing contacts, networking on the telephone. These could
be called employment-related obligations that they could be doing
while they are recovering from their medical condition."

Those people continue to be exempt from the two-year time limit on
welfare.

"But we expect them to do some employment-related obligations. That
does not mean finding a job by knocking on doors. It means doing job
preparatory work, job research."

In addition, the government has changed the rules facing refugees,
people who have no identification, and those who have no income but
may own homes or vehicles.

At present, those people receive income assistance that is known as
hardship allowances.

The government is now going to impose a three-month cutoff period on
them.

That means more than 5,800 British Columbians will be forced to sell
their assets, produce identification, receive landed immigrant status,
or face the prospect that their welfare may be cut off.

At present, there is no cutoff period for those receiving hardship
benefits.

The Sun was unable to reach anti-poverty advocates Friday to discuss
the changes.

The changes come as hundreds of other welfare recipients are about to
learn they have been cut off.

Next Wednesday more than 300 British Columbians who have collected
income assistance for two years won't be receiving their normal cheque.

The B.C. government adopted a plan which limits welfare benefits to
able-bodied British Columbians to 24 consecutive months.

Earlier this year, when it was thought that tens of thousands of
British Columbians would lose their benefits, the province adopted a
sweeping exemption and announced that only 339 people were expected to
lose all or part of their benefits.

The time-limit rule became effective April 1. That means Wednesday
will be the first day cheques won't be available for those 339 British
Columbians who have collected welfare for two years but have failed to
seek employment.