Patterns of economic and social participation among FaCS customers

Recent debate on welfare reform has acknowledged the important role of economic and social participation. Economic participation in the form of paid work is a major source not only of income, but also of self-esteem. Social participation helps to strengthen community networks in ways that may increase the opportunity to participate and may enable people to develop the skills required to participate economically. Encouraging participation has thus become one of the explicit goals of the welfare system. This report reviews current knowledge on social and economic participation by FaCS customers, identifies the factors that determine different types and levels of participation among different groups of customers, and examines how income support recipients view the purpose and value of different kinds of participation. The available Australian and overseas (mainly United Kingdom (UK)) research indicates that participating in part-time work while on income support significantly increases the chance of coming off benefit, particularly for unemployed recipients and sole parents. There is also evidence from Europe that participating in volunteering has the potential to improve confidence and skills and can lead to paid employment. Volunteers also tend to be more integrated into the community and more likely to be involved in other forms of social interaction and participation.