Poverty Reduction Actions and Initiatives

2011-2012

• Effective July 1, 2011, the Affordable Living Tax Credit will be indexed to keep pace with inflation; approximately 240,000 Nova Scotians will benefit.
• Effective July 1, 2011, the Nova Scotia Child Benefit will be increased by over 20% per month for about 40,000 Nova Scotian children.
• Effective July 1, 2011, Foster Care rates will increase, for the second consecutive year, by 11%, to help 825 foster families better provide for 1,149 children.
• April 1, 2011, 250 new child care subsidies were introduced to help make child care more accessible for struggling families.
• Effective December, 2011, new income guidelines for the Direct Family Support for Children program will be implemented to improve access for lower to modest income families.
• Effective July, 1, 2011 support for families with children transitioning from Direct Family Support to adulthood will be introduced to help with costs between 18 and 19 years.

2010-2011

• Changed co-habitation policy within income assistance to enable families to form stable relationships without losing support.
• Shelter benefits within income assistance no longer reduced when a youth turns 19 if the youth is a college or university student living at home.
• Invested $70M in Affordable Living Tax Credit, benefitting more than 225,000 households.
• Removed provincial portion of HST on children’s shoes, clothing and diapers.
• Created 700 additional child care subsidies and 920 child care spaces.
• Increased Foster Care rates by more than 10%.
• Expanded the household income thresholds for housing repair programs and increased the maximum amount of assistance available under the provincial housing repair programs from $5,000 to $6,500.
• Expanded the Mobile Mental Health Crisis Team’s coverage to include all of HRM.
• Reduced wait times for the Child Mental Health program
• Announced NS Mental Health & Addictions Strategy
• 400 parents attended Parents as Career Coaches (PACC) in 20 schools.
• Continued funding for targeted programs for the Aboriginal and African-Nova Scotia communities.
• Supported children and parents with 20 family literacy programs across the province through the Family Learning Initiative Endowment fund of the Halifax Youth foundation.

2009-2010

• Created 550 new child care subsidies and funded the creation of an additional 280 child care spaces.
• Provided funding for the literacy improvement initiative ($1,400,000), for literacy mentors ($1,545,000), and for math mentors/PD ($2,102,000).
• Invested $221,650 to support the expansion of co-op education in 32 schools
• Increased the income thresholds for the NS Child Benefit and Low Income Pharmacare for Children (LIPC) from $16,000 - $21,000 to $18,000 - $23,000 -- making 7,500 more children eligible for NSCB and LIPC.

2011-2012

• Effective July 1, 2011, the Income Assistance Wage Exemption policy will provide a flat rate exemption of $150 per month in addition to the current exemption of 30%;
• Effective July 1, 2011, the flat rate exemption for those working in supported employment within income assistance will double - from $150 to $300 per month
• Effective Spring 2011, amendments to the Labour Standards Code will improve protections for temporary foreign workers, assisting particularly vulnerable, lower waged workers.
• Effective October 1, 2011, the Minimum Wage in Nova Scotia will increase to $10 an hour.
• Basic personal income tax exemption increased by $250.
• Annually serving over 12,000 EI clients through the Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) budget of $80.2M, with an additional $20M invested in programs and services to non-EI eligible clients through the Labour Market Agreement
• The three-year, $7.5 million pilot program Skills Up! is estimated to reach over 300 African Nova Scotians returning to school under the LMA to get the training needed for good jobs.

2010-2011

• Launched Target 100, in partnership with the Co-op Council of Nova Scotia, and connected 21 Community Services’ clients with jobs.
• Expanded One Journey programming for income assistant participants across the province, spending $1.2M in LMA funds.
• Expanded partnerships with employers to support 300 Nova Scotians move from learning to employment in trucking, healthcare, and tourism.
• Employment Assistance Services funded 62 community agencies to deliver employment services to unemployed persons ($21 million to 62 agencies).
• Invested $405,000 to support the Link Continuing Care Assistant Program within the Nova Scotia School of Adult Learning.
• Expanded number of Nova Scotia high schools offering co-operative education to 84; up from 15 in 2005.
• Invested an additional $16M in employment supports to help 2,200 Nova Scotians, specifically for Aboriginals, African Nova Scotians, women and Persons with Disabilities
• Increased Minimum Wage to $9.65, making it one of the highest in the country
• 2,500 IA households had additional income of $676,345 from income tax refunds
• Invested more than $400,000 through the Nova Scotia School of Adult Learning, resulting in 100 new Continuing Care Assistants certified and working
• Invested $14M to help 3,800 people access adult learning programs and post-secondary education during the recession.
• Helped over 800 people who experienced job loss transiton to new opportunities and employment through the provision of targeted skills upgrading and employment services.

2009-2010

• Income tax refunds received by income assistance recipients no longer treated as income.
• Increased Minimum Wage to $8.60 per hour.

2011-2012

• Effective July 1, 2011, the Income Assistance Personal Allowance will increase by $15 per month for about 31,000 adults receiving income assistance.
• Effective July 1, 2011, the Poverty Reduction Credit will increase to keep pace with inflation; benefiting about 13,000 income assistance recipients.
• The Independent Living and Alternative Family Support programs are expanding to enable 50 additional persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible
• Day programs for disabled individuals are expanding to provide better access.
• Allocated $1.8 million to expand the Caregiver Benefit Program, helping seniors to remain at home in the communities they helped to build, and helping more than 1,000 caregivers.

2010-2011

• Doubled the allowable cash asset levels within the income assistance program; available to all recipients of income assistance.
• Fair drug prices are expected to lower the cost of the Pharmacare programs for taxpayers; families and seniors enrolled in Pharmacare programs will pay less for prescriptions.
• Increased coverage for eye examinations for households in receipt of income assistance.
• Invested $50M to create new affordable homes for hundreds of Nova Scotians and to renovate and repair thousands of units
• Put an extra $200 per year in the pockets of approximately 15,000 IA recipients through the new Poverty Reduction Credit
• Removed security deposits for seniors moving into nursing homes
• Provided funding to the Mobile Outreach Street Health program in Capital Health District.
• 18,000 low-income seniors receiving GIS paid $12.5M less in provincial taxes.
• Opened Mental Health Court in November 2009.

2009-2010

• Increased Seniors’ Property Tax Rebate by $200 per year to $600, benefiting more than 14,500 seniors.
• Expanded the Direct Family Support program to enable 100 additional persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible.
• Under the Economic Action Plan housing funds, committed $34 million in the existing public housing stock. The commitments included funds for energy upgrades and repairs and adaptations to help seniors to continue to live independently.
• Increased personal use allowance for income assistance recipients in October 2009 by 3%.

2011-2012

• Investing $1M to support communities to work in partnership to address local issues like homelessness.
• Developing a resource guide for low-income Nova Scotians for easier access to programs and services
• Participating in the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET) Literacy Awareness Campaign.
• Reviewing the Job Bank in Nova Scotia- a free job posting service for all employers and job seekers in the province- including a job-matching mechanism.
• Further development of robust annual accountability measures and reporting regimes currently contained in Federal-Provincial agreements to help improve programs for unemployed Nova Scotians.
• Developing a labour market information strategy that will contribute to a better understanding and response to the labour market needs of underrepresented groups in Nova Scotia. 2010-2011
• Invested $250,000 to help develop public transit services in rural and under-serviced areas
• Provided funding to the Nova Scotia Food Security Network to research the cost of a basic, nutritious diet
• Consulting to lower the cost of prescription drugs
• Creating a provincial housing strategy; advocating for continued federal housing support
• Participating in the federal-provincial/territorial advisory committees on poverty reduction, disabilities, and children at risk.
• Participated and invested in a provincial conference which brought together key stakeholders from government, community, and business to identify collaborative approaches to reducing poverty.

2009-2010

• Ministerial Committee for Poverty Reduction established.
• Established position of poverty reduction coordinator.
• Launched Target100, a program that connects Community Services’ clients with jobs, in partnership with the Co-op Council of NS.