WelfaretoWork and the Job Seeker Classification Instrument

1
Welfare-to-Work and the Job Seeker Classification
Instrument

• Presentation to Centrelink Community
• Reference Group
• by
• Chris Foster
• Friday 4 November 2005

2
Briefing Outline

• Overview of the JSCI
• Principles for moderation
• Adjusting for parenthood and disability

3
Overview

• The Job Seeker Classification Instrument
  (JSCI) is an objective measure of a job seekers
  relative labour market disadvantage based on
  regression analysis.
• There are 14 personal and socio-economic factors
  that are allocated weights or points within the
  JSCI. These points reflect the relative and
  separate impact of each of these factors in
  contributing to an individuals likelihood of
  becoming a long-term job seeker (i.e. 12 months
  or longer).

4
Job Seeker Classification Instrument (JSCI)
Factors

• Listed below is a description of the factors that
  make up the JSCI
• Age and Gender
• Personal Characteristics
• Language and Literacy
• Indigenous/Australian born South Sea Islander
  status
• Disability or Medical Condition
• Country of Birth
• Recency of Work Experience
• Geographic Location
• Stability of Residence
• Vocational Qualifications
• Educational Attainment
• Family Status and Living Arrangements (including
  lone parenthood)
• Disclosed Ex-Offender
• Contactability

5
Overview Cont.

• Those individuals that are considered to be the
  most disadvantaged are given immediate access to
  Intensive Support customised assistance. This is
  the highest level of assistance that is available
  to job seekers through Job Network.
• The JSCI has been in operation since 1998 and
  has been periodically revised. The fourth
  version is scheduled to be introduced with the
  Welfare to Work (WtW) reforms on 1 July 2006.

6
Why Adjustment may be needed for Welfare to Work

• Not a comprehensive review of JSCI
• the 14 factors remain reliable and significant in
  identifying existing labour market disadvantage
• a comprehensive review would be best done after
  implementation of WtW when data on experience of
  parents/PWD will be available
• But several changes may be necessary for WtW
• increased proportion of lone parents and people
  with disabilities customer flows
• some expert judgment required in the absence of
  outcome data on appropriate weights for
  parenthood/disability.

7
Other Considerations

• Part of integrated system, so decisions need to
  be taken so system design can be undertaken
• the more complex, the greater the risks
• JSCI already picks-up lone parents/people with
  disabilities with disadvantage question whether
  picking-up those with highest disadvantage.

8
Principles for Moderation

• Minimum number of changes -
• to ensure objectivity, reliability and accuracy
  and
• an increase in the JSCI score for a particular
  group may affect relative disadvantage of other
  groups.

9
Principles of Moderation Cont.

• Should be based on individual circumstances
• the identification of Highly Disadvantaged
  Status should continue to be determined on the
  basis of a combination of individual
  characteristics and circumstances rather than on
  membership of a particular target group.
• Consistency
• the instrument needs to operate consistently
  across different groups of job seekers, different
  labour markets, special and disadvantaged groups.

10
Lone Parents

• What we know
• limited experience in activity tested world
• much of the labour market disadvantage (eg
  recency of work experience education, age,
  disability) would be picked-up by existing
  factors
• in addition there is a lone parent factor in the
  current JSCI
• different outcomes according to age of youngest
  child
• Possible approaches
• moderate weights
• change factor based on age of youngest child and
  moderate weights

11
People with Disabilities

• What we know
• limited experience in activity tested environment
• labour market disadvantage likely to be more than
  just whether single or multiple disabilities
• Possible approaches
• moderate existing weights
• moderate and supplement with information from CWCA

12
Questions for discussion

• Do you see any issues with adjusting the living
  arrangement factor in the JSCI for lone parents
• based on age of youngest dependent child?
• or just adjusting the points for the living
  arrangement factor?
• Do you see any issues with supplementing the
  disability factor based on Outcomes from the
  Comprehensive Work Capacity Assessment?
• or just adjusting the points for the existing
  factor?
• Other approaches?