It must become easier for people entitled to social assistance to participate in society, for example through voluntary work, concludes the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) in a research report. In the report, the SCP advises the government to broaden the purpose of the Participation Act. The law, which should guide as many people as possible to the labor market, is not working as intended. Social assistance recipients with the most complex problems in particular receive insufficient support.
In 2019, SCP already concluded in an evaluation of the Participation Act that paid work is difficult to achieve for many people entitled to social assistance. The advisory body now states that municipalities and welfare recipients themselves state that the focus on paid work is “unrealistic”. Earlier this year, the SCP also concluded that an approach that is too focused on getting people to work does not work.
People on benefits often face more problems than just the fact that they don’t have a job. For example, they more often than average have a small social network or have limited administrative skills. That is why SCP recommends broader support. Loneliness can be reduced, for example, by helping people entitled to social assistance to expand their network. Activities such as trial placements or voluntary work can still lead to paid work at a later stage, according to the SCP.
Also read this article about the Participation Act of 2020: Politically aware: municipality does not help citizens better
The workload of client managers can make a comprehensive approach more difficult
The SCP also points out that the needs for support are often not well understood. In particular, people who depend on social assistance for a longer period of time lose sight of the municipality, as a result of which it is insufficiently clear what they need. And it is precisely the groups that have been dependent on social assistance for a longer period of time that receive the least support. Client managers, who have specific knowledge about cases of welfare recipients on behalf of municipalities, often struggle with a high workload, which can make the broad approach advocated by SCP more difficult.
The Participation Act was introduced in 2015 when the government implemented a system change in the social domain. Municipalities had to take over tasks from the national government regarding labor participation, but also in youth care (via the Youth Act) and the reception of people who need support in functioning independently in society (via the Social Support Act).
The system change was accompanied by many implementation problems. The government is currently working on an amendment to the Participation Act, in which it wants to take a more human approach and simplify implementation. Among other things, the coherence with the Social Support Act (Wmo) and the Youth Act must be improved.
Also read this research story: How editor Jeroen Wester got lost in the healthcare system when he helped his old, single uncle with a healthcare application