Basic Facts About Welfare in Manitoba

Welfare is a program that helps people who have no other way of supporting themselves or their families. The goal of welfare, wherever possible, is to help people find work so that they can be self-supporting.

There are two welfare programs in Manitoba: Employment and Income Assistance (also known as EIA or provincial welfare), and Municipal Assistance (sometimes called city welfare). Both programs are part of the Manitoba Department of Family Services and Housing.

Employment and Income Assistance works with all eligible people living in the city of Winnipeg, as well as places where no municipal government exists. EIA also serves certain groups of people within municipalities, including:

• People with a physical or mental disability that is likely to last more than 90 days;

• Single parents with children;

• People staying in a women's crisis shelter;

• Dependent children whose parents are dead or unable to meet their basic needs.

Municipal Assistance works with people who live outside Winnipeg and are not eligible for the EIA program: primarily non-disabled single people, couples without children, and two-parent families with children. Some examples of people who might qualify for Municipal assistance are those who are:

• Employed, but making less than they would on welfare;

• Employed, but don't have enough money to last until their first pay cheque;

• Temporarily unemployed and cannot support themselves

• Waiting for their Employment Insurance (E.I) benefits and cannot support themselves;

• Unemployed for medical reasons for less than 90 days and cannot support themselves.

Eligibility for either welfare program is based on a needs test. If a persons costs (what they need) are higher than their financial resources (what they have), they may be eligible for assistance. Welfare recipients receive a monthly allowance to cover their basic needs. The monthly allowance is different for every participant. It is based on individual and family needs.

Some groups of welfare recipients are expected to prepare for and look for work. These include:

• Single parents with children over the age of six and in school;

• Single persons or couples (with or without children) who are not enrolled under the Persons With A Disability category.

Participants who are required to look for work must develop a personal job plan with their counsellor and do everything they can to find a job.

In addition, all participants must:

• report regularly and accurately to their counsellor;

• make a reasonable effort to collect any money they may be entitled to, including divorce payments, child maintenance, C.P.P (Canadian Pension Plan) E.I (Employment Insurance), Workers Compensation;

• use the assistance received for the cost of basic necessities (including food, shelter, and clothing);

• tell their counsellor about any change in their situation (for example: an increase or decrease in family size, marriage or commonlaw union, change of address, return to school, or employment).