Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services is receiving an extra $20 million in its budget to cover increased demand. This was announced in Monday’s first quarter fiscal update, and supplements the $1.1 billion budget outlined in April.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said that much of this funding is due to an increased demand in Child and Family Services.
“Just on the high level, my understanding is that the cost per caseload, because there are a number of more complex children, which of course cost more as well as the number of children,” Harpauer explained.
The province is not alone in tracking this increased demand. It has also been noticed by the Saskatchewan Foster Families Association (SFFA).
“We have seen an increase in the amount of children coming into foster care, and our families having to open their homes and their hearts to children that are in need of out-of-home care,” SFFA executive director Deb Davies said.
The amount of children in out-of-home care has been trending upwards. On June 30, 2014 there were 4,557 children in out-of-home care. As of June 30, 2018, that figure grew by 730 children to 5,287.
While the number of children in this type of care increased, the proportions of children in direct care, like foster homes and in the care of a family member of court appointed guardian, remained static. Sixty-three per cent of children were in government care and the remaining 37 per cent are considered non-wards.
These percentages hold steady from June 30, 2014 to June 30, 2018.
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Davies said the SFFA membership are seeing increased challenges around children with more complex needs entering the system.
“We’re seeing that there’s many more diagnosed disabilities, children with complex needs, and having to meet those needs to support the children,” Davies said.
Foster families generally receive $689 – $1,051 per month for a child. The amount varies depending on the age and whether they are located in the southern or northern part of the province.
In addition to out-of-home care, the SFFA is working with the Ministry of Social Services to provide supports for in-home services. These are described as intensive supports, which allow children to stay at home with their parents. Approximately 1,500 families receive these supports.
Social Services Minister Paul Merriman said in-home services are among three trends contributing to the added costs.
The other two are increased amounts of emergency call-outs, where social workers attend situations with first responders to provide immediate care to children of families in crisis.
Population growth is the other identified trend. The SFFA also attributed growing demand to population growth in addition to a variety of social issues.
Davies added that the SFFA is always looking for ways to better recruit and retain foster families in order to meet their growing demand.
Income Assistance
While Child and Family Services was the primary concern identified by the province in the first quarter financial update, demand for income assistance is on the rise.
Between April and June, the start of the fiscal year, the income assistance caseloads grew from 36,174 to 37,089. This was primarily driven by increased demand for the Transitional Employment Allowance (TEA). Those caseloads grew from 6,343 to 7,119.
The amount of people of the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP) and the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program remained relatively static; approximately 14,000 and 15,000 caseloads respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, TEA has routinely seen the largest annual increases. In the 2013/14 budget year average TEA caseloads were 1,950. In this budget year, the expected average caseload figure is 6,703.
SAID average caseloads grew from 11,386 to 15,418 between 2013/14 and 2018/19. SAP has consistently stayed in the 14,000 range.
In total, average income assistance caseloads between the three programs have ballooned by nearly 9,000 caseloads between 2013/14 and 2018/19; 27,821 to 36,647.
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