Income Support News

The New Year poses new challenges and opportunities for us. When you long for financial success this year, it is important to know great ways to achieve this. Here are some options:

Part-time writing jobs

Part-time writing jobs online abound. You can search practically any marketplace for freelance work and you’ll find a bevy of part-time writing jobs. The writing jobs in these cases mostly involve search engine optimization articles and white papers. Hence, it is important to have good research and marketing write-up skills. Also, since work is part-time, you are expected to have the necessary tools for the trade; that is, a computer and Internet access.

Online business ideas

Online businesses are another direction to consider when you want extra income. The type of online business you can opt for varies, depending on your skill sets. If you are a techie, you will find a multitude of opportunities, from reselling web hosting and registration to becoming your own telco through wholesale VoIP companies. Another option online is online marketing through various referral programs. The earning schemes in these programs are different and their prerequisites vary.

There are many opportunities for you online. All you need is some time and the drive to get things done.

Last February, Mal Brough MP, Minister for Families, and the Community Services and Indigenous Affairs announced that the Australian government would reform aspects of the Child Support and family payment systems to protect the best interests of children. What is this reform all about? This reform aims to balance the interest of parents and reflecting expectations. These changes followed a detailed test of how Child Support Scheme might be changed to address the issues in the best way possible.

It is known that since the current Child Support Scheme was established in 1988, the circumstances of many Australian families have changed drammatically. There have been considerable community concerns about contact and residency issues following marriage and relationship breakdown recently. There is also much more recognition of the significance of parents remaining actively involved in their children's lives after separation.

According to Brough, the new system will be fairer. It will be more transparent for both parents and more focused on the needs and costs of children. This reform will be better integrated with the family law and income support systems. Also, he expects to reduce conflict between parents about parenting arrangements, to encourage shared parental responsibility and ensure child support is paid in full and on time.

According to a recent study, low-income mothers who experience difficulties in finding better jobs in order to become independent from social benefit need special assistance from government agencies. The study, which was conducted by the University of Michigan, found that around 9% of women entitled to welfare support after its implementation in 1996 have been disconnected. Not only are these women jobless, but they also do not receive financial support in order to help them meet their family's needs. Based on various reports, these women have been disconnected for many reasons such as administrative sanctions.

It must be noted that prior to the 1996 welfare reform, single mothers who couldn't find a steady job were able to rely on social assistance programs in order to meet their needs. According to the study, reforms for the current policies could be a more effective approach in order to help women who have been disconnected not only from work, but also from welfare support. It must be noted that the welfare agencies usually do not maintain contact with a former member once she is disconnected. Still, there are some states, which extend their help to families at risk of losing their social benefit.

Based on recent reports, over 50% of Australian welfare recipients including school dropouts and homeless citizens have not had any access to employment and training programs during the last 2 years. Melbourne Citymission, which is one of the leading Victorian Charity institutions in Australia, reported that despite the efforts of the Federal Government to reduce the people's dependency on pensions and other social benefits, its recent survey suggested that more efforts were still needed to open more work opportunities for the unemployed.

Melbourne Citymission spoke with 186 welfare recipients such as single parents and disabled people who would have to face more strict qualifications next month in order to avail the social assistance. The result of its study showed that many people remain unemployed not because they lack the motivation to find good jobs, but rather there are some structures in the government that impede in the process of their job search. Melbourne Citymission also said that requiring tougher exams on the already vulnerable people would only make their life more difficult. As such, the charity institution urged the government to assist the people who prefer to be employed rather than depend solely on social benefits. Most of the participants have preferred employment over the social benefits since it boosts their security and self-esteem.

During the past 2 years, 878 asylum seekers in Ireland were found guilty of welfare fraud. The Justice Department informed the Public Accounts Committee that benefits worth more than 6 million euros were recovered within that period. Sean Aylward, the secretary general of the department, reported that 6.1 million euros was recouped between August 2004 and May 2005. During that period, a total of 878 illegal immigrants were found guilty of welfare fraud. During the operations, the Justice Department was supported by officials from Social & Family Affairs. According to Mr. Aylward, these asylum seekers frauded documents in order to avail of the social benefits provided by the government.

The welfare fraud covered benefits such as disability, child benefit, single-parent allowance, unemployment benefit, and rental allowance. Mr. Aylward said that the criminals used multiple identities, passports, and various forms of ID in order to milk cash out of the welfare programs. The secretary general added that the Irish immigration officials along with the Garda national Immigration Bureau (GNIB) continued to detect and track illegal immigrants to illegally claim social benefits. Mr. Aylward said that these people penetrate Ireland in order to get the benefits and then move to another location when they are close to being deported.

Last Wednesday, Governor Dave Heineman announced several child protection measures, which will be observed by welfare workers in order to boost Nebraska's child welfare system. The steps, which were handed to Health and Human Services System, are aimed at lessening the caseloads of the employees thus leaving them more time to focus on kids who are most at risk. The announcement was finally made after a series of weekly meetings with the HHSS staff and supervisors.

According to Mr. Heineman, he wanted to continue the progress made by his predecessor Mike Johanns. The former governor of the state organized a special task force, which gave important recommendations in order to further improve the child welfare system. Currently, Nebraska holds one of the country's highest rates on out-of-home-placement. Mr. Heineman stressed that money was not always the solution to boost the system. According to him, the more important thing was the cooperation of the people in looking for creative and effective solutions to the current problems faced by Nebraska's child welfare system. He further said that there were plenty of other resources, which the state could use in developing its welfare program. The governor is optimistic for more future improvements.

Income support and other forms of social assistance exist to help jobless or low-income people cope with the basic needs and daily expenses. Needless to say, there are some people who, out of dire need, take the risk of abusing these social benefits. Some people falsify documents in order to qualify and amass as much cash as they can. Of course, receiving a financial support, which you are not entitled to or which is more than the amount allotted to you, is a serious crime. Yet people are forced by extreme poverty to engage into this grave offense.

In fact, a recent study conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that people who work illegally claim for financial support due to extreme financial burdens. According to the study, these people were formerly hard-working individuals who strove to meet their daily needs. Yet, they are forced to do such illegal act in order to pay for their food and debts.

Due to the alarming result, the study then recommended a reform both in the benefit and tax system. It must be noted that the JRF research was based on 6 years of study by the East London Community Links program. The said project provides assistance and advice to the poorest citizens of the nation.

Finally, after a 2-year investment worth $320 million, the troubled and deficient child welfare system of New Jersey has shown some significant developments in protecting kids. The state though needs more reforms and changes before it could fully restore the efficiency of its welfare system. The Association for Children of New Jersey published its 1st NJ Child Protection Report Card as the state is in the process of deciding over three major issues, which are all critical to the future of its child welfare system.

At present, the state has to deal with a revised settlement agreement, the creation of a state division dedicated to families and kids, and an upcoming state budget. As such, the ACNJ released the report card, which according to its chief executive Cecilia Zalkind would be helpful in the deliberation. Based on the recent report, the number of siblings put together in foster care is increasing. In addition, more foster kids are living near their home. Meanwhile, Ms. Zalkind said that the state should continue investing more money in order to improve its welfare system. According to her, a continuous support and funding from the state would ensure the success of the move in the near future.

The Social Fund exists to assist low income families in meeting their daily and most basic needs. Such financial support is provided by the government in the form of repayable interest-free loans as well as grants. Yet according to a recent report, the government program intended to help the needy has failed many people especially those who are in need of it most. The study was conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Considering the alarming result of the survey, the institution has thus called for immediate review and reform of the Social Fund.

Based on the latest survey, the Social Fund has sometimes failed the poorest recipients of the financial assistance. According to some people, the program is failing many people due to the fact that many applications have been rejected or if they were accepted, only a fraction of the support was given. Moreover, the people complained that the process of the application often takes a long time. Due to this problem, the poor are forced to avail commercial loans, borrow money from relatives and friends, skip meals, sell properties, and resort to other tactics just to cope up. Obviously, these options make life more difficult for the poor citizens of the nation.

The cost of living is increasing and yet the maximum income mothers must earn in order to get their kids a child support from the government which still remains the same -too high and too impossible to attain. According to the latest study, children had to be poorer than their current status by 50% in order to be able to receive child support from the African government. Such situation is contrary to the principles promoted by the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative of SA (Asgi-SA) that focus on the reduction of inequality and helping the people rise from poverty.

The child support grant was launched during 1998 in order to provide the caregivers of the less fortunate children with a small regular income to buy the children's most basic needs. In 1998, children from birth until the age of 6 were qualified for the support. Then the age limit was changed to 14 years. Needless to say, despite the progressive implementation of social assistance for kids, there is one area that needs to be addressed - the income threshold which has been lowered. Only a few mothers qualify for the support and only a few children are able to enjoy the social assistance because of the lower level.

Sefton's former mayor John Walker was accused of cheating taxpayers out of an estimated amount of 65,000 pounds for more than 7 years. Mr. Walker though denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty to 7 counts of benefit fraud at the Liverpool Crown Court. The ex-mayor has been charged of 3 counts of falsely claiming for income support and benefit fraud. Moreover, he faces 4 counts for failure to inform the Department of Work and Pensions (DPW) regarding a change of circumstances.

According to reports, Mr. Walker has been charged due to his failure to notify the DPW about his mayoral expenditures and the employment of his wife. The Liverpool Crown Court has reviewed the allegations from 1999 up to the present. Prosecuting lawyer Teresa Loftus said that the court would not seek to disprove the disability of Mr. Walker, but rather on how it affected the former mayor's benefits. Meanwhile, Mr. Walker appeared in court in order to clean his name and to enter his pleas. He was accompanied by his wife Catie who sat at the back of the court. The trial is expected to last more than 5 months depending on the developments of the case.

Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur recently announced that the McGuinty government has decided to remove more impediments to employment and education in order to help residents attain a better future through social assistance. Ms. Meillure further said that the government was on the side of the people who have been struggling to improve their standard of living through education and through finding good employment. According to her, those who are striving to become financially independent from welfare support deserve the assistance of the government.

As such, the announced reform would remove certain rules that prevent the recipients of social assistance from a life of poverty. There are four major changes introduced to Ontario Works program as well as the Disability Support Program. First, the "quit/fire" rule would be eliminated in order to encourage people to look for jobs. Second, recipients are allowed to keep and maintain a car to help them find a job. Third, all 16-17 year olds dropped out of school and who were cut from the program could have the chance to reapply for support in case they resume with their studies. Fourth, all adult recipients would be encouraged to save some of the money they get from social assistance to ensure their future.

According to a recent government report, there are more Tasmanians getting welfare support than residents who are fully employed. Based on the figures provided by the Commonwealth Department of Human Services, more than 160,000 Tasmanian residents depend only on income support benefits, with over 50,000 parents relying on the family Tax Benefit system. Meanwhile, the state's workforce slightly increased last May up to 151,400.

It must be noted that the Tasmanian state also gets a bigger share of the $90 billion welfare budget compared to the other states with almost $4 billion benefits to be paid in 2006. The Commonwealth Government also predicted that the number of dependents to income support would continue to increase in the succeeding years. Although the employment boom in Tasmania during the recent years has decreased the number of Newstart Allowance (unemployment benefit), it was countered though by the sudden increase of Disability Support Pensions. Currently, there are 25,000 Tasmanians receiving the disability pension.

The island of Tasmania is found 200 km south of the eastern side of Australia. The Australian state boasts itself as a Natural State considering its largely unexploited natural environment. Less than half of the state pertains to reserves, World heritages, and National Parks.

Recently, an alarming report was released regarding the poverty endured by thousands of children in Norwich. Based on the latest survey, 3 out of 10 children in the city belong to low income families. As such, these approximately 6,500 kids have been classified as deprived. The result of this study then dispels the myth that the city enjoys affluence.

Chief executive officer of the Norwhich Citizen's Advice Bureau Steve Wiseman said that many people have been calling their agency in terms of problems with debts, benefits, housing issues, and other financial problems linked to deprivation. The said agency is dedicated to helping people get the benefits to which they are entitled to. Moreover, the CAB also helps families readjust their budget in order to deal with their problems regarding debts.

It must be noted that Norwich has the highest proportion in terms of recipients of housing and council tax benefits in the East. Needless to say, with about 14,100 Norwich households claiming these benefits, the children suffer inevitably. It must be noted that according to the UK government regulations, households categorized as deprived are those that rely on social benefits, income support, jobseekers allowance, and family support among others. Meanwhile, there are also several charity organizations that are willing to provide the needs of the deprived families especially the kids.

According to the latest report of Central Texas Council of Child Welfare, more than 7 thousand kids in Central Texas have suffered from child abuse during the past years. Despite the presence of numerous child welfare agencies across the United States, it seems that cases of child abuse continue to increase in the nation. As such, Central Texas Council of Child Welfare has decided to launch a new ad campaign in order to strengthen the fight against the neglect and abuse of children. Part of the new campaign is the putting up of billboards.

The Central Texas Council of child Welfare is also considering to make use of the local media in order fortify its campaign. The institution is thinking of running announcements via the local radio and television stations. David Woodberry, the current chief of the Child Welfare Board, said that Americans must realize that child abuse is a serious problem that needs to be reported. According to him, a lot of kids are reported to have died of child abuse due to the failure of people to do their responsibility. The child welfare institution then encouraged the locals to report any cases of child abuse in order to protect the rights of children.

Infants and tiny toddlers were all smiles when Minister for Health and Family Welfare P. K. Sreemathy visited the State Council for Child Welfare last Tuesday. The institution is one of the many centers in India dedicated to protecting and taking care of abandoned and disabled babies. The minister rounded the nursery of young kids with disabilities. Until now, the issue regarding the adoption of these infants has not yet been resolved by the administrators of the welfare institution. The minister has also shown the babies who have recently been abandoned at the so-called "Amma" electronic cradle. Since the cradle was set up in 2002, around 60 babies were found abandoned in it.

Before she left, the health and welfare minister said that the Indian government would take the necessary measures in order to improve facilities of the welfare center and to make it as one of the best institutions of its kinds. It must be noted that during the last 2 years, an administrator delegated by the government was put in charge of the child welfare center. Ms. Sreemathy also talked with the rest of the staff of the Council.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socratesto said in an interview published last Tuesday that employees with less than 2 kids would have to pay more for their government pensions under the proposed reforms. The new law was proposed in order to support the collapsing retirement system of the nation. Meanwhile, Mr. Socratesto said that workers with 2 kids would maintain their current contributions. If they would have more children in the future, their payments would decrease.

Under the welfare reform, some employees would be given the option of either working beyond the retirement age of 65 or increasing their contributions to the government. Health Ministry officials stated that the Portuguese government intended to present the reform rules to the Parliament in July. The government of Portugal has decided to undertake the new measures in order to resolve the pension crisis faced by some members of the European Union as a result of the declining birth rate and increased life expectancy. Previously, Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos stated that at present levels of expenditure and income, the pension fund of Portugal might be unable to cover the benefits after ten years.

Many of Australia's largest charity organizations have strongly opposed the new welfare regulations approved by the John Howard government. With the new law, the federal government expects that each year, approximately 18,000 individuals will lose their respective payments for about 8 weeks when welfare rules take effect on July 1. According to reports, only 23 charity institutions have signed a government registry in order to financially case manage the unemployed people who will mostly be affected by the stricter rules.

Meanwhile, The Brotherhood of Saint Laurence told reporters that the latest change was not fair to the people. It must be noted that under the new set of welfare rules, about 18,000 people will lose their benefits for infringements related to job search regulations. However, those who have dependents or those with special cases are entitled to receive case management to be given by the charity organizations included in the government registry.

Many of Australia's charity institutions strongly reject the new policy that will strip the benefits of thousands of unemployed people. Moreover, they fear that single parents as well as the disabled people will also be affected by the new rules.

A mother along with her daughter is now a step closer to the bars after being charged with a massive welfare fraud. According to investigators in Isle of Wight County, the two had scammed the government out of hundreds of thousands of taxes. A week ago, Carrie (51) and Melinda (32) Bailey appeared before a judge to whom they pleaded not guilty to more than 100 charges filed against them. The trial is said to be one of the biggest welfare fraud scandals in the state.

Don Hill, a fraud investigator at the Isle of Wight County Department of Social Services, has led the massive investigation. Through an anonymous phone call, he was informed about the alleged crime being committed by the pair. After undertaking a thorough investigation, Mr. Hill along with his team, discovered that the mother and daugher have milked more than $250,000 from the government during the past 15 years. Carrie Bailey is currently facing 78 charges of welfare fraud. On the other hand, her daughter Melinda faces 28 charges of receiving Social Security benefits by false pretenses.

The US government provides financial support to qualified individuals or families in order to help them meet their most basic needs. Unfortunately, there are many people who take advantage and abuse such privileges. They do this by falsifying documents for the purpose of increasing their benefits. Cases of welfare fraud have increased over the past years. The government though is doing what it can to track and punish perpetrators of this crime. As a US citizen, you are also part of this massive campaign against welfare fraud. Do your responsibility and help fight welfare fraud!

Some of Afghanistan's less fortunate women felt proud and happy after finishing their training in one of the 6 centers of Medair in Kabul. It must be noted that Medair along with ECHO has offered skills training to Afghanistan women during the last seven years. In 2005, there were about 455 graduates produced by the training centers.

Eric Sinclair, Medair's director in Afghanistan, reported that millions of refugees have settled into Kabul with the hope of finding work and starting a new life. According to him, most of them usually arrive with only a few boxes of belongings. Unfortunately, there are only a few opportunities available. He also said that thousands of refugees froze to death because they could not afford to buy glass for their windows.

With its training centers, Medair offers the less fortunate women the chance to earn income by working at home. The programs are designed to teach them some skills such as: embroidery, poultry husbandry, broom-making, and tailoring. More importantly, Medair includes literacy training and health education as part of the training package. After the training, many of the graduates are also provided with loans in order to help them start up their own business. With Medair, there is hope not only for Afghanistan women, but also for all poor families in the country.

Agencies in charge of protecting the rights of children continue to campaign against child abuse. These agencies promote such awareness as cases of child abuse continue to rise in the United States. Just recently, a man was accused in court for severely punishing his stepson by placing him under a scalding shower. Otis McKinney has been charged with assault in the 1st degree, child abuse, and also causing emotional injury. He was also charged of endangering the welfare of a child in the 1st degree. According to reports, the scalding shower was a regular punishment of Mr. McKinney to his stepson.

Thousands of child abuse cases are reported yearly all over America. That's why welfare agencies with the support of the government as well as public and private institutions are doing what they can in order to stop these incidences. In act, almost half of the states in the US do not favor child punishment especially at schools where many of these abuses often take place. Families and schools must always seek the safety and security of kids considering the effects of such incidences to their lives.

Oregon currently faces a big and potentially costly reform of its welfare program that provides financial assistance to many poor families. At present, around 16% of adults entitled to the monthly support are employed. However, in October, the new federal welfare rules will require about 50% of these beneficiaries to either look for work or to join a program that would enable them to find and get good employment opportunities.

Officials of the state, however, declined to discuss the possible repercussions of the new rules until the government would release more details next month. The state though already said that it would probably encounter some difficulties in meeting the 50% quota. As such, the options of the state include: declaration of the ineligibility of some families to get financial assistance and limiting the number of people qualified for the program. Meanwhile, some residents who have depended on the welfare program have already expressed their worries on the new rules that would take effect in October. In the meantime, officials are looking for other possible alternatives and solutions to the possible effects of the new law.

Tom Morton faces a big challenge in his new post as chief of Clark County Department of Family Services. Only a few months ago, residents of the valley were shocked by a report highlighting problems and issues at the agency, which was supposed to protect helpless kids. Thus, Mr. Morton was called in order to assume the task of repairing current issues at the welfare agency.

Earlier this year, a board of child welfare experts studied 79 cases of child death. Alarmingly, the result of the review indicated that 50% of the reported deaths were caused by abuse and neglect on the part of Clark County CPS employees. Mr. Morton, then, faces a critical task considering that any failure in the system of the welfare agency could put the lives of many children at risk.

Meanwhile, Mr. Morton stressed the need of identifying the dynamics causing the problems. He added the necessity of reforming and improving the management of the agency in order to increase protection and security for children. Mr. Morton founded the Child Welfare Institute (Atlanta) and has served as its president for 22 years. The CWI is a non-profit organization the offers development aid to both private and public welfare agencies.

The US welfare policy of 1996 regarding women and children was said to be the most dramatic change in welfare policy since its establishment in the Social Security Act of 1935. Such reform implements the rule that poor families, especially the mothers and children, need to start earning for their living necessities.

Promoted and established by President Bill Clinton, the reform generally confined to the five-year limit on receipt of cash assistance, as well as the need for mothers to work for their checks. What most US citizen don't know is the fact that women with children will be penalized in almost half of the country's states. Such child-exclusion policy states that if a woman receiving cash benefits bears a child, there will be no increase in her cash grant due to her larger family size. Issues, however, regarding the said reform on women's grant welfare are rising.

The reform clearly advises and promotes the need for poor women not to have children, to abstain and consider marriage, to use contraception, and to reject abortion as option. As stated earlier, issues regarding the reform were coined by conservative, and family-values supporting policymakers. What they wanted to point out is the reform's consequence side such as it discourages poor women from conceiving children, the deprivation of women from a poor family background to have a bigger family, and the intention to make women's life harder if they decide to have more children.

Single parents are required to take part in quarterly interviews before they can claim income support when the youngest of their children turns 14. The quarterly interviews will focus on work related issues so that the parents can still be aware about the work environment around them. The said rule or regulation was announced by Ms. Margaret Hodge. She is the Minister for employment and welfares reform.

Ms. Hodge stated that the quarterly interviews for the single parents will be helpful for the latter to get adjusted to work when time permits. She also added that the interviews will focus mainly on guidance, advices, some information about chosen work environments that the single
parents might choose to engage in. Also, the interviews will inform the single parents about any job vacancies that are open in some companies.

Other issues that were discussed by Ms. Hodge was the fact that the single parents could earn £40 per week in addition to the salary that they will have, given that the single parents already have found some work. Also. Ms. Hodge said that the parents have nothing to worry about
moving into jobs. She added that it will take some getting used to, but the working single parents will definitely see that they will enjoy the rewards of their hard work.