Workforce participation and DSP recipients

1
Workforce participation and DSP recipients

• Some policy issues

2
Overview

• Catholic Social Teaching
• DSP recipients
• key characteristics
• barriers to participation
• What has Govt done to date
• Disability Employment Working Gp

3
Catholic Social Teaching

• Support workforce participation in principle
• we all have an obligation to work
• work promotes dignity, contributes to the common
  good
• But we also have an obligation to look after
  each other
• employment services
• policies to promote employment of PWD
• maintain adequate income support

4
Workforce participation

• New portfolio for Workforce participation
  announced Oct 2004
• Minister Peter Dutton
• Transfer of programs, payments to DEWR
• Focus currently on DSP recipients
• Working Age agenda, Budget

5
Rise in no. of DSP recipients

• 696,000 recipients as at June 2004
• - 108 ? since 1991
• In 2004-05, Govt estimates it will spend 7.9
  billion on payments

6
Rise in no. of DSP recipients

• Once on DSP, recipients tend not to return to the
  workforce
• 48,000 left benefits in 2003-04
• - 12,000 returned to work
• - 24,000 moved onto the aged pension

7
Rise in no. of DSP recipients
8
Barriers to participation

• Low levels of workforce participation
• 90 of DSP recipients do not receive income
  related to work
• not clear how many looking for work, but about
  42,000 in Open Employment
• almost 30 on DSP for 10 yrs or more
• Other barriers
• mature aged 2/3s aged over 45
• skills 45 of recipients in Job Network have no
  higher than Yr 10 education

9
Experience in the labour market

• DSP recipients who do work are at the margins of
  the labour market
• 52 of those who work earn less than 100 per wk
• DSP recipients over 50 less likely to have
  employment income

10
Experience in the labour market

• Reflected in experience of PWD generally
• higher UE rate for PWD 8.1 vs 5.6
• 37 of PWD work P-T, vs 29
• having a disability increases the probability of
  UE by 22 for females and 28 for males

11
What has Govt done to date?

• Job Network DSP Pilot late 2004
• lessons for Job Network providers
• Discussion paper, Disability Open Employment
  Services Jan 2005
• links Open Employment to Job Network through
  active participation model

12
DSP pilot outcomes

• 1130 volunteered for pilot
• 788 were engaged in Job Network
• 671 commenced ISca
• 239 placed in employment in training
• 64 paid Intensive Support outcomes (for jobs
  lasting 13 weeks or more)

13
DSP pilot outcomes

• 45 of recipients who volunteered for the pilot
  exited
• 30 met with a provider but were not engaged 15
  existed after being engaged with a provider
• Clear criteria in pilot
• Job Network suited to recipients who do not have
  on-going workplace support needs

14
Lessons from DSP pilot

• No clear indications about ability of generalist
  providers to service DSP recipients
• only specialists participated in pilot
• More specialist disability Job Network providers
  may be needed

15
Lessons from DSP pilot

• Changes to fee structure?
• currently, 72 of the maximum fees available to
  JN providers depend on achieving a 26wk
  employment outcome
• Open Employment providers are guaranteed about
  60 of their funding up-front
• No maintenance payments for Job Network providers

16
Lessons from DSP pilot

• DSP recipients want to work
• 90 of those surveyed said they really wanted to
  work
• Employer concerns about employing a PWD
• - cost of making adjustments
• - reliability and productivity of job seekers,
• - likelihood of workplace accident or injury
• - lack of understanding about rights of
  dismissal

17
Lessons from DSP pilot

• Streamlined IT system for registration of DSP
  recipients
• Improvements to ability to refer DSP recipients
  to complimentary programs

18
Discussion paper Open Empl

• Discussion paper released Jan 2005
• Links Job Network and Open Employment through the
  Active Participation Model

19
Discussion paper Open Empl

• Job seeker account for OES
• 50 of pre-employment assistance
• 100 of maintenance funding
• Integrated IT system for Job Network, Open
  Employment to enable direct registration

20
Discussion paper Open Empl

• 12 month extension to funding agreement to bring
  into line with ESC4
• same has been done for PSP, JPET

21
Disability Empl Wk Gp

• Catholic Welfare Open Employment providers 2 Job
  Network providers (Mildura, Goodna)
• Response to discussion paper

22
Disability Empl Wk Gp

• Did not support introduction of JSKA in Open
  Employment
• if was introduced, would need to be limited to
  only 10 per cent of core fees
• Need to promote co-operation between services
• local area managers meeting
• integrated IT system

23
Disability Empl Wk Gp

• Role of Centrelink as the gatekeeper must be
  maintained
• Consultation on arrangements to apply from 1 July
  2006
• Open Employment specialist service in the APM
  (next slide)
• uncapped places
• performance benchmarks

24
Disability Empl Wk Gp

• Job Network vs Open Employment
• - ISca - six months in first 12 mths UE
• - OE funded for 12mths
• - ISca meet 24 times for an average of 10.5hr
  per client (lt 1hr per fortnight)
• - OE high levels of one-to-one support
• Work for the Dole and PWD
• 50,000 PWD on NSA
• 700,000 DSP recipients

25
Disability Empl Wk Gp

• Disability employment policy
• address low skill levels
• address employer concerns
• Having Job Network on the Wk Gp members was
  particularly valuable
• Might use the Working Group to look at other
  issues in the future

26

• Questions?