Social welfare attitudes and policies are rooted in philosophical approaches. The attitudes and policies of political parties to social welfare are to be sought in the political philosophies of these parties. It has been the purpose of this thesis to explore the political philosophy of the Social Credit League and Government of British Columbia in order to ascertain how this is reflected in matters of social welfare. The theoretical father of Social Credit was Major Douglas of England. His economic and monetary theories were formulated in the 1920s. In 1935 these theories found an opportunity of being put to the test when, under the leadership of Premier Aberhart, the Social Credit Party came to power in Alberta. In British Columbia Social Credit was elected to power in 1952 and has since held the reigns of power continuously. An exploration of the welfare policies of the British Columbia Social Credit Party required an investigation of the genesis of this movement. Thus it was necessary to delve into the literature of and about Major Douglas. The development of the Social Credit movement of Alberta and a study of its relationship to the economic theories on which it was created proved to be a helpful approach in understanding thinking on social welfare issues. Finally, this thesis turns to the scene in British Columbia and traces the rise to power of the Social Credit party. Power is expressed in policy. Thus it was necessary to focus on the possible policy-making sources. The British Columbia Social Credit League represents one such source. The other is, of course, the government itself. Prom the accumulated evidence there emerges a picture of Social Credit social welfare philosophy. Douglas placed emphasis on the provision of a basic dividend. He maintained that the problems confronting people stemmed from their inability to purchase the product of an ever-growing ability to produce. Douglas argued that if his economic theory was linked to the growing leisure imposed by the industrial system, then the welfare of the individual would be assured. Aberhart's understanding of the Douglas theory appears to be confused. A strong religious component is evident in the Aberhart approach. Individualism and self-reliance, these are the ingredients of the Aberhart thesis. Coupled with this is to be found a concern for the blind, the widowed and the sick. The biblical injunction is preserved both in word and content so that social welfare might well be said to be understood in just this way. Aberhart's attempt to undertake elements of Douglas' ideas were frustrated and so the testing ground for this economic theory was tested in court rather than in practice. In British Columbia we note that the Social Credit League demonstrates adherance both to the Douglas theory and the religious conviction of Aberhart. Both the League and the Government are strong adherants of the free enterprise system. Both emphasise the virtue of work and stress the idea of self reliance. While important segments of the League advocate monetary reform a la Douglas, the Government has avoided this issue. The evidence shows that the Social Credit movement makes a distinction between those who are worthy of help and those who are not. This, to a large extent, creates the base upon which social welfare policy is created. At a governmental level the emphasis is placed on economic stimulation, vocational training and rehabilitation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Shillington, John David; Steidle, Utho Charles; Thomlison, Raymond John / Graduate

This study is centered around examining the impact that the recent welfare reform has had on front-line workers in the welfare bureaucracy and the clients of the welfare system. In 1993 the government in British Columbia began implementing sweeping policy and procedural changes that altered the way in which welfare services were provided and limited the services available to the poor. The impetus for these changes is situated in the widespread media coverage of welfare fraud and abuse throughout 1993 and 1994. The media, by targeting certain sub-groups of the welfare client population, was able to substantiate their claim that the welfare system was not only being undermined but that it was also operating on the basis of policies that were flawed and therefore easily abused. This study begins with a presentation of the policy and procedural changes that have occurred within the Ministry of Social Services in British Columbia from 1993 to 1996. The second section of this study examines the media's response to the "welfare fraud crisis" and the way in which a moral panic was created around the "problem" of welfare fraud. This analysis draws upon moral panic and social constructionist theory to examine not only the media's presentation of the "crisis" but also the government's response to the public concern that had been generated. The final section of this study presents a discussion of the front-line worker's response to the changes that have taken place within the Ministry of Social Services over the last four years. The analysis is centered around examining how these front-line government workers cope with the restrictive and regulatory policies they are responsible for enforcing. The study concludes with suggestion for further research on this topic. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

This thesis is a comparative case study of welfare reform in Alberta and British Columbia in the 1990s. It explores the predominant pressures on the social assistance systems emanating from the provincial, national and international arenas. It further identifies and compares the policy response of each province to these pressures and the consequences of the reforms for the respective governments and social assistance communities. Lastly, it attempts to account for the major similarities and differences between the two reformed welfare policies. This thesis argues that while Alberta's and British Columbia's welfare reforms share a number of notable similarities, they reflect fundamentally different models of welfare provision: Alberta's reforms follow a market-enforcement model while British Columbia's approximate a market-performance model. The similarities between the two policies are best accounted for as reactions to parallel pressures on the two welfare programs, specifically, rising welfare caseloads and program costs as well as the changing debate around the merits of government social assistance programs. Conversely, the differences between the two policies reflect the salience of distinctive pressures on each welfare system. In Alberta reform was driven by the influence of Alberta Family and Social Services Minister Mike Cardinal and the example of American welfare reforms while in BC the reforms were initiated on account of federal policy transformations and public perceptions of fraud. Finally, this thesis suggests that the specific models of welfare provision chosen in each case reflect the influence of each provinces' unique political context. The political ideology of the governing party in both provinces was a significant factor in determining the orientation of the reformed welfare policy. In Alberta the adoption of a market-enforcement model was further facilitated by the province's longstanding political culture while in British Columbia the influence of interest groups contributed to the creation of a social assistance policy closely resembling a market-performance model. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Descriptive studies of family living were part of many of the classic "social surveys" and there was a revival of such studies during the depression years. Today, statistical "minimum budget" studies continue, and there are many professional studies of aspects of family case work: but post-war prosperity has obscured the need for up-to-date descriptive accounts, seen from the family's point of view, of actual living-conditions among families on social assistance and mothers' allowance, and the physical and emotional effects, especially on children, of years of such marginal living. The study begins with a brief survey of previous poverty studies, chiefly those made during the depression. To obtain the material for a local descriptive study, twelve families were visited who had been on public assistance in Vancouver City for periods ranging from three-and-a-half to fifteen years. All were families with children, and four families had both parents in the home. The families were interviewed, and sizeable questionnaires completed giving information on housing, food clothing, education, recreation, health, budgeting, and general feelings about the situation. City Social Service files were read for pertinent information about the families and social workers' knowledge of them. School nurses and a Metropolitan Health nutritionist were also consulted. Although all the families were having difficulties in managing on the allowance, it became apparent that some were managing better than others. For convenience of analysis (not because the line of division is sharp), the families were divided into two groups. Each group is discussed in a separate chapter, and an attempt has been made to assess the factors involved in good and poor adjustment. Many of the effects found in previous poverty studies were found in these families. Housing is often very poor, especially among tenant families, who are worse off than home-owners. Clothing is difficult to obtain, and much of it is second-hand or received as gifts. It is difficult for children over the age of sixteen to continue their education. Recreation is restricted and life tends to be drab and monotonous. There is some feeling of humiliation on the part of most of the families. On the other hand, the regularity of the income provides more security than many families had during the depression. The provision of medical services has apparently prevented the health of public assistance recipients from deterorating as it sometimes did in depression families. As each family was interviewed only once or twice, this study is not extensive. Nevertheless it offers a realistic picture of life on public assistance, and indicates some lacks in the present program. The fact that none of the twelve families studied was living on the allowance without help from friends, relatives, or some organization or social agency is among the evidence that the allowances are too low. The case for study of the situation with regard to clothing and dental care is particularly indicated among needs inadequately provided for. It is clear that the person-to-person quality of case work can prove helpful; but also that material deprivation can limit the response. More thorough and long-term study would be necessary to assess more accurately the personality factors which are the most important variables in adjustment to marginal living. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The primary considerations in the administration of public assistance are (a) the method by which the need of a recipient is determined, and (b) what level of living the assistance should provide for the recipient. The purpose of this study has been to analyze the present policies for evaluating financial need in the mothers' allowances and the social assistance programs in British Columbia. The adjustment of an assistance grant to supplement a recipient's resources up to an amount that will permit the maintenance of health and decency, involves the use of accurate, efficient, and equitable administrative policies. The standard budget is accepted in this study as being the most effective administrative device for the determination of need and the amount of the grant. The budget standards formulated in this study include food, clothing and personal items. The content of the food standard and its pricing is the work of the Nutrition Service of the Vancouver Metropolitan Health Committee. The content of the clothing budget is developed from the Toronto Welfare Council's study, A Guide to Family Spending, (1949). Several changes are made to simplify this standard as compared with the Toronto allowances. The personal items standard is compiled from the writer's own judgement of the content, replacement and prices for minimum personal needs. Standards for other requirements are reviewed, and the methods by which adequate allowances could be calculated for these more difficult budget items are discussed; but no study of prices is made. The use of a standard budget in the administration of public assistance is of little value unless proper administrative policies are used to define how these standards should be used, and also to determine accurately the amount of resources available to a recipient. An evaluative survey of the present policies for determining need serves to show certain discrepancies and requirements in the administrative direction in them. Three areas in particular are given consideration, (a) the exemptions and deductions method of evaluating a recipient's resources; in some ways this is a contradictory policy and may have no relationship to the need of the recipient, (b) the stress that is placed upon the group method of allowance may result in an unrealistic determination of need, (c) the present policy is incomplete, and this raises problems of interpretation. The study leads to four major suggestions: (a) A revision of the present method for determining need seems warranted. (b) This revision should include the use of the standard budget, and should provide for more specific policies on evaluating resources, (c) The group method of allowance is recommended as a special application of the budget deficit method, which ordinarily uses individual allowances, (d) A study committee should be appointed by the Vancouver Community Chest and Council to review the need for a Vancouver Minimum Standard Budget, and continue with its formulation if deemed necessary. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Abstract page blank / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This paper examines British Columbia's residency requirement on social assistance implemented by the NDP government on December 1, 1995. The policy created a three-month waiting period for newcomers to the province before they could apply for social assistance. Because it violated ;the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP), the residency requirement put the BC government at risk of losing, through federal penalty, many millions of dollars more than the intended savings. To explain the BC government's decision-making, I use a rational choice nested games approach. I argue that the residency requirement policy produced two sets of interactions in two separate policy arenas. In the principal arena, the British Columbia Social Services Ministry negotiated with the federal Department of Human Resources Development (HRD). The negotiations centred on the possibility of federal concessions in- exchange for BC withdrawing the residency requirement. In the secondary arena, the federal Department of Finance was consulting with its provincial counterparts regarding the' long-term funding formula for the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) set to replace CAP on April 1, 1996. Social Services interacted with the federal Department of Finance to influence the outcome of the funding decision. I propose that the BC government risked minimal resources in the primary arena to gain substantially higher payoffs from the CHST funding formula. The government linked these two arenas through a 'trade-off strategy that allowed them to apply the political pressure and communication generated by the residency requirement and negotiations with HRD to the Finance arena. This enabled them to. increase the possibility of a favourable payoff in that arena. I find that the rational, choice approach produces an explanation that reflected the government's actual decision-making more closely than other theoretical approaches.

This paper examines British Columbia's residency requirement on social assistance implemented by the NDP government on December 1, 1995. The policy created a three-month waiting period for newcomers to the province before they could apply for social assistance. Because it violated ;the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP), the residency requirement put the BC government at risk of losing, through federal penalty, many millions of dollars more than the intended savings. To explain the BC government's decision-making, I use a rational choice nested games approach. I argue that the residency requirement policy produced two sets of interactions in two separate policy arenas. In the principal arena, the British Columbia Social Services Ministry negotiated with the federal Department of Human Resources Development (HRD). The negotiations centred on the possibility of federal concessions in- exchange for BC withdrawing the residency requirement. In the secondary arena, the federal Department of Finance was consulting with its provincial counterparts regarding the' long-term funding formula for the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) set to replace CAP on April 1, 1996. Social Services interacted with the federal Department of Finance to influence the outcome of the funding decision. I propose that the BC government risked minimal resources in the primary arena to gain substantially higher payoffs from the CHST funding formula. The government linked these two arenas through a 'trade-off strategy that allowed them to apply the political pressure and communication generated by the residency requirement and negotiations with HRD to the Finance arena. This enabled them to. increase the possibility of a favourable payoff in that arena. I find that the rational, choice approach produces an explanation that reflected the government's actual decision-making more closely than other theoretical approaches. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Community organization as a basic social work method has taken on increasing emphasis during the past decade. There is a growing awareness of the contribution this method has to make in a variety of settings in social welfare and allied fields. This year, the School of Social Work, University of British Columbia, initiated courses and field work placements in this specialization for students in their second year of professional training. Partly because of the absence of this type of training in the past, there has been a dearth of studies of Vancouver neighbourhoods from a community organization point of view. Opportunity was provided through student placements to examine four disparate, dynamic and changing communities. The scarcity of previous studies denied access to any defined rationale. The examinations were based upon the tentative assumption that there should be a significant involvement of both physical and social planning at all stages of neighbourhood development. For the present studies, a variety of methods for obtaining information was employed. Primary among these were:- interviewing of key individuals in the communities and of representatives of agencies, institutions and associations knowledgable about the communities; an examination of pertinent agency records; attendance at a variety of meetings of local import; obtaining demographic statistical information. The findings of the West End study reveal it to be an area undergoing rapid change. The failure to establish decisive physical planning for the area creates uncertainty among local leaders otherwise well equipped to engage in social planning. A new community is thus evolving in haphazard response to this fact. Problems related to the behaviour of young people have given Fraserview, a veterans' housing area, a degree of notoriety which is not altogether deserved. Although the present density of teenagers was predictable seven years ago, the social planning process, at the agency as well as at the Community Chest and Councils level, was unable to marshall community resources to meet adequately the specific needs of this area. The mobilization of the professionals and their subsequent incorporation as the Fraserview Youth Services Society is designed to provide the needed local planning body. Skeena Terrace Public Housing is a major low-rental housing project located in an officially undefined community. Tenants have come from many parts of the city, but none from the area adjacent to the housing project. The findings indicate a degree of neighbourhood feeling developing on the project but little integration with the community of Sunrise Park. Strathcona, a severely blighted area, is presently undergoing planned physical redevelopment on a comprehensive scale. Results of this study which has been conducted in the very early stages of the changing environmental conditions indicate a need for extensive preplanning on the part of the governments, private agencies, and citizenry. Co-Ordination of all concerned is required so that satisfactory social arrangements for this community can be effected and thus ease the problems of relocation and redevelopment. These studies are of an exploratory nature - a deliberate effort to look at the communities without initial preconceptions. Although a few neighbourhood studies in Vancouver have been undertaken by students from this School, the value of this thesis may well stem from its community organization focus which could complement and supplement those with a case work and group work emphasis. These pilot projects may give rise to further analyses of Vancouver neighbourhoods and thus contribute to more comprehensive understanding of changing neighbourhoods within the city. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate