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Subgroups
Single parents ages 19 or older who had received income assistance in the month of random assignment and in at least 11 of the 12 previous months were randomly selected by the evaluator to undergo an interview with a Statistics Canada representative. During the interview, the interviewee provided baseline demographic information and could consent to participate in the study. From November 1994 to March 1995, eligible New Brunswick income assistance recipients were randomly assigned to one of three groups with equal probability: the SSP Plus (N = 293), SSP (N = 296), or control groups (N=303). This review focuses on the SSP Plus and SSP groups.
Randomization took place from November 1994 to March 1995. This study presents 18-month, 36-month, and 54-month follow-up data.
The study was funded by a contract with Human Resources Development Canada.
More than 95 percent of study sample members were female, most of whom had never been married (56 percent). More than half of sample members had not completed high school (52 percent). Although more than 90 percent had held a paying job at some point in the past, nearly half (44 percent) had received income assistance payments continuously over the past three years.
Province SSP centers
The SSP Plus program was conceived as part of the broader SSP demonstration and implemented simultaneously.
In addition to being eligible for the earnings supplement provided to the SSP comparison group, people in the SSP Plus group were eligible to receive several services to assist them with employment, including an employment plan, a resume service, job clubs, workshops, job coaching, and job leads. People assigned to this group could select among several services to meet their self-identified needs and could receive the services at any time in the year following random assignment. Participation in services was voluntary.
Eligible people in the comparison group (SSP) received financial incentives to work in the form of an earning supplement. To be eligible, single parents who had been on income assistance for at least one year had to leave income assistance for full-time work (of at least 30 hours per week) within one year of entering the SSP program. They could sign up to receive an earning supplement in the amount of half of the difference between their earnings from full-time work and a benchmark level, which was set separately for each province in each year. The supplement amount was not affected by unearned income such as child support, and it roughly doubled the earnings of many low-wage workers. The earning supplement was voluntary and lasted up to three years as long as participants continued to meet eligibility requirements.
None.
People in the SSP Plus group were eligible to receive additional services if they initiated participation in those services within a year of random assignment (duration of the services was not specified). They received an earnings supplement for up to three years.
Human Resources Development Canada
The SSP Plus program took place in New Brunswick, Canada, only and was offered through independent SSP program centers.
Financial assets