A profile of Albertans experiencing different client pathways in the income support and income support learners programs

Abstract

A large proportion of individuals using income support programs face barriers to permanent employment and often re-enter income support programs. This report profiled 35,368 Albertan’s (18 to 25 years old) use of and transition between Income Support and Income Support Learners programs using administrative data from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that individuals receiving income support had higher rates of residential mobility, injury/harm diagnoses, hospitalizations, corrections-involvement, and non-full-time healthcare registration than persons not accessing income supports. This report also found that income support access patterns varied by an individual’s demographic characteristics. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to reduce young adults’ sustained reliance on income support programs.