Tougher rules for Government aid have been given a cautious assessment by the Island’s social agencies.The stricter measures for both Financial Assistance and Child Day Care will see Government requiring certain clients to take “mandatory life skills programmes, such as money management and parenting skills courses”.Known or suspected drug abusers could find themselves meeting with social workers in cases where it’s determined “assessment and treatment” could help.And able-bodied and jobless applicants who qualify for assistance would be obliged to do community service if not working three months after the initial grant.The initiatives were announced in last Friday’s Throne Speech by Governor George Fergusson.Family Centre director Martha Dismont said Government appeared to be moving toward “much more of a best practice model” for Financial Assistance.“I believe that it will still need to be tailored to individual circumstances, while presenting a standard of practice that always empowers the individual towards financial independence and self-reliance,” she said. “It is the better model, though — and requires working with other stakeholders and organisations that can support Financial Assistance to meet the objectives of empowerment.”Added Ms Dismont: “What we do not want to see is a model that asks for certain pre-skills and pre-requirements that are beyond the individuals’ capability, and that become a barrier to getting the help that they truly need and are qualified to receive.”Her sentiments were echoed by the Coalition for the Protection of Children.Director Nicola Feldman said the extra conditions could work well, if they were directed at helping the needy to help themselves.“Having experience working with clients who largely depend on Financial Assistance for their livelihoods, the Coalition believes the new requirements for Financial Assistance clients to be positive if they are implemented in a way that genuinely seeks to empower individuals,” Ms Feldman said.“While they do place demands on clients, which some may see as unfair, our view is that Financial Assistance needs to try to find ways to better assist clients in transitioning from dependency to self-sufficiency and a way to operate less punitively.“If programmes such as life skills and money management can aid in this effort, then surely this is better than continuing with the same methods — which have not been effective in terms of positive client outcomes.”More important, however, was for “individuals with limited skills” and in need of Financial Assistance, to go back to school to upgrade their skills, Ms Feldman said.“Difficulties are often not about poor parenting or bad budgeting but the inability to access jobs that provide a liveable wage. Unskilled jobs do not pay wages adequate enough to afford a basic standard of living due to the high cost of rent, leaving clients to still require financial assistance subsidisation,” she said.She said it was “futile” to require beneficiaries to go through weekly search forms for jobs that “do not exist, for which clients are unqualified for, or which pay minuscule wages”.“If individuals are instead supported by financial assistance while they upgrade their skills, this is a win-win situation and better use of Government’s welfare funding.”Ms Feldman said encouraging education was the “superior” option, but continued: “The requirement for mandatory community service is also a good idea.“If individuals need government assistance due to unemployment, then they can also provide a valuable service to the community during this time.“For example, if parents volunteer at their child’s school, it builds a connection between the parent, the school and the child — benefiting the family, benefiting the school and benefiting the community. It is a triple win. These are exactly the kind of creative solutions we need in the face of incredibly complex social and economic circumstances. “The stipulation on community service got a guarded appraisal last night from Danielle Riviere, programme manager for the Centre on Philanthropy.“We prefer to promote charity work or volunteering as a positive way to gain skills, experience and a sense of accomplishment and giving back,” she said.“Volunteering serves to root people in the community and we wouldn’t want to see it used as some sort obligation or punishment.”Ms Riviere said the Centre had seen a number of cases where charitable volunteers ended up creating work opportunities for themselves.Anyone out of work and in need of “a positive and fulfilling way to keep busy” should consider volunteering, she said.“The Centre’s overall desire would be to ensure that as these conversations in Government continue, non-profit are included in the discussion as there needs to be consideration about how the sector can manage and sustain an influx of potential volunteers who may require additional support and supervision,” she added.Useful website: www.volunteer.bm.