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A LEAP forward or a LEAP back? Revelations about the Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) program of Ontario Works

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2010

Tracy Smith-Carrier
Tracy Smith-Carrier*
Affiliation:
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In juxtaposition to the sizeable literature on workfare, there is a significant gap of research on the Learning, Earning, and Parenting (LEAP) policy of Ontario Works, a workfare program for teen parents in Canada. The purpose of this article is to discuss a qualitative study exploring the adequacy and efficacy of the program. Findings indicate that while some amendments are necessary for LEAP specifically, significant modifications are needed to the overall workfare policy. A paradigmatic shift in the characterisation of workfare recipients is also necessary to extricate mothers from the cycle of poverty associated with social assistance access.

Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 155 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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