Disempowerment and despair: why work for the dole doesn’t work | Lisa Fowkes

Program’s penalties contributing to worsening mental health, family violence and petty crime by children seeking food

For months the commonwealth has resisted releasing official evaluations of its remote work-for-the-dole program (Community Development Program or CDP), while insisting that it has been a “resounding success”.

When these evaluations were quietly released last week the reasons for this reluctance became clear. The single largest program of the commonwealth’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy has delivered only a 1% improvement in employment outcomes – and then only for those most likely to find employment on their own. Penalties have skyrocketed under the scheme, with more than half of those penalised losing 5% or more of their income.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2DvQH4E
via
0 Comments