More than half of calls to Sask. income support line went unanswered, auditor says

Saskatchewan's provincial auditor says the government needs to improve how income support clients apply for benefits after finding that 60 per cent of calls went unanswered by the ministry over a six-month period.

Provincial auditor Tara Clemett released Volume 1 of her 2023 report on Tuesday.

Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) came into effect in 2019, replacing two other programs that provide financial assistance for basic needs. In 2022-23, there were more than 17,000 people on SIS, with $261.5 million in benefits provided during that period.

Clemett said the Ministry of Social Services encourages SIS clients to apply online or over the phone, but people prefer to use the phone.

"We attempted to apply for SIS three different times over the phone and never connected with a ministry client service representative," Clemett said."Social services stats showed 64 per cent of over 250,000 calls to the ministry service centre went unanswered. Almost 50,000 of these calls are specific to SIS applications.

"People experiencing difficult circumstances in struggling to meet their basic needs require clear and accessible ways to apply for income assistance." 

Clemett said social services need to improve case management.

"For 10 SIS clients we tested, we found that the ministry took between 40 and 220 days to complete the initial planning meeting with clients."

Clemett said that wait delayed clients working toward goals like finding housing or addiction counselling.

She said the ministry should also analyze causes of evictions and unpaid utilities. The audit found that more than 5,000 SIS clients had not paid SaskPower or SaskEnergy bills with a balance of more than $100 for more than 30 days. The result was $4.2 million in unpaid bills as of February 2023.

The audit found 228 SIS clients were evicted in a 10-month period, a number "a lot higher than the ministry's figures," Clemett said.

She said analyzing unpaid bills and evictions more closely will help the ministry understand root causes of issues of SIS clients and determine what changes are needed.

The audit found the ministry responds to SIS applications within five business days 90 per cent of the time, but said it does not address barriers to SIS including:

Clients are able to apply for SIS online or over the phone. The ministry's service centre has 170 staff who work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.