Exploring the Programming Needs of Long-term OW Clients

This means that more people in our communities are accessing OW and for longer periods of time. This is a concern because people on OW are generally living at or below the poverty line, making it difficult for them to meet their everyday needs.

Another concern is that our labour market is now in need of every potential worker.

We will investigate why the numbers of long-term OW clients are rising and which demographic groups are most affected. In partnership with the four Ontario Works offices and the Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford Workforce Planning and Development Board, we will review caseloads to determine who these long-term clients are.

Once we determine who is on the long-term caseloads, we would like to conduct a literature review to determine how to best assist these individuals in developing the skills and contacts they need for employment. With this information, we can develop a theory of change that will tell us what impact we expect to see from interventions and how we can evaluate interventions.

We look forward to working with our Local Employment Planning Council and the London Economic Region Ontario Works offices (St. Thomas-Elgin, Oxford County, Middlesex County and the City of London.)  

Literacy Link South Central would like to thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for funding our SEED project to research a concerning regional trend.