In this chapter four different models of selecting lone parents into work activation have been discussed. They are compared with the age of child approached and summarised in figure 6.2. The five different approaches base the selection of lone parents into work activation on the age of the youngest child, transition status, employability, caseworker decision or are voluntary. It can be argued that the level of focus on lone parents and even their agency to influence whether they are looking for employment is increasing
towards the bottom of the table. The first approach, selecting lone parents on the basis of the age of their youngest child, is defining ‘ability to work’ based on the age of the youngest child. This approach is in place in many countries where lone parents are financially supported to stay at home while the children are very young and then required to move into the labour market when the children reach usually the age of three because of the assumed effects on the development of the child. Development in this case refers to cognitive and behavioural development, which is measured in terms of school performance and the stranger test. According to the current regulations in place in Britain, the characteristics and work orientation of the lone parent do not play a part in the assessment whether a lone parent is seen as ‘able to work’ and therefore transferred to JSA. The exception to this is if the lone parent has multiple disadvantages. However, those disadvantages are more on a par with the Wisconsin Works regulations, i.e. refer more to a temporary crisis (such as being homeless or addicted to drugs – Pleace and Bretherton 2006) than an accumulation of characteristics that are likely to make the entry into the labour market more difficult as in the concept by Berthoud (2003a), which has been applied in the previous chapter.
The transition approach assumes that all lone parents will move into work but that some may need a period of time to adjust to being the sole parent and sole breadwinner. The two countries, France and Norway, which have introduced transition models, have high employment rates for mothers and lone mothers backed up by a more extensive service and benefits infrastructure than is the case in Britain. In other words, the transition approach is based on the assumption of high labour market participation of mothers generally and lone mothers in particular. The age cut-off points for eligibility in the transition model also suggest an underlying assumption of either the majority of entries into lone parenthood taking place when the children are young or at least, that the parents only need this transition period if the children involved are young.
It does not leave room for alternative circumstances such as lone parents whose children are older than seven requiring a transition period or not being able to work due to multiple disadvantages. While all the other approaches tend to have an explicit or implicit age cut off for lone parents with very young children, the W2 model is focused much more on the lone parents in terms of their ability to compete in the labour market.
In other words, ‘ability to work’ is modelled as ability to obtain a job and logically, lone parents who are seen as able to obtain a job when they sign up with the respective agencies are then placed in different programmes which are meant to provide them with the required work experiences to be able to obtain a job.
The caseworker approach is arguably able to take into account both labour market as well as personal factors of the lone parent families when deciding whether a lone parent should be available for work while at the same time providing the lone parents with information and advice about in work benefits. It is arguably the most flexible and holistic approach. However, it relies heavily on highly trained caseworkers who are in agreement with the guidance they receive on what to take into account when deciding on whether a lone parent should be available for work or not.
Finally, the voluntary approach which gives agency to the lone parents themselves by trusting them to decide when it is best for them and their family to move into the labour market. As discussed in the introduction to this chapter, the focus is on the timescale of lone parents for moving into work for the purpose of potentially informing any profiling of lone parents.
Figure 6.2 Different policy models in practice
Selection criteria
Selection by Characteristics of model Social
assistance the age of the youngest child only. The age cut off varies between countries.
Social assistance can be claimed for up to one year after separation until child is three or for
47 In all these models lone parents would also lose their entitlement to social assistance upon re-partnering and/or when moving into work of over a specified number of hours.