Press Releases

Intensified Support for Self-Reliance Measures

1. An Enhanced Active Employment Assistance (AEA) Programme

1.1 To refer, where appropriate, unemployed applicants whose resources render them marginally ineligible for CSSA to Intensive Employment Assistance Projects run by NGOs (see paragraph 3 below) to assist them back to work.

1.2 For those who are more job ready, to do direct job matching where possible within the first three months. For this purpose, district staff of SWD will muster more job openings within the district through their local network for matching and referral by Employment Assistance (EA) Co-ordinators.

1.3 To render post-placement support services for AEA participants being employed, including information on the availability of community support resources.

1.4 AEA participants have to fulfill their obligations to seek paid employment actively and achieve self-sufficiency. To tighten up the enforcement of sanction against those who fail to fulfill their obligations without good cause.

2. An Enhanced Community Work (CW) Programme

2.1 To re-schedule the CW arrangement with a view to arranging targeted participants enrolled in the AEA programme are arranged for CW within the first three months of their being on CSSA.

2.2 To shorten the CW participation period from the existing 12 months to six months to enable more targeted AEA participants to join the CW programme.

2.3 To arrange long term AEA participants to perform CW more intensively (say three/four full days a week for a period of six months) to help build up their confidence, strengthen their ability to find jobs in the open market and help them to move towards self-reliance.

2.4 To look for more CW placements and match suitable CW placements for targeted participants within the district of their place of residence as far as possible.

2.5 To tighten up the enforcement of sanction against those who fail to fulfill their obligations under the CW Programme without good cause.

3. Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAPs)

3.1 With proposed Lotteries Fund funding of $100 million, we will commission NGOs to launch new Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAP) for the longer term CSSA recipients and would-be CSSA recipients who come through the social welfare network to assist them back to work with the following features -

(a) Participation in the IEAPs would be made mandatory for AEA participants referred to these projects.

(b) There will be the provision of emergency funds for immediate and direct disbursement to those needy would-be CSSA recipients under the IEAPs. The arrangement is modeled on the successful experience to help street sleepers.

(c) Outcome-based performance indicators would be set as far as possible and the meaning of a successful job will be clearly defined to facilitate reporting and data collection and to better monitor the effectiveness of individual IEAPs.

(d) NGOs will be allowed to make modest incentive payments to CSSA participants in their IEAPs from proceeds generated from IEAP business where applicable.

4. Enhanced Disregarded Earnings (DE)

4.1 To allow no DE for all categories of recipients in the initial determination of eligibility and in cases which have been on CSSA for less than three months.

4.2 To raise the maximum level of DE from $1,805 to $2,500 a month for all categories of recipients in cases which have been on CSSA for at least three months, and correspondingly the "no deduction limit" within the disregarded earnings from $451 to $600 to provide recipients with more financial incentives to work. This improvement measure to induce work will be provided on a time-limited basis of three years and be subject to continuous review.