The Nova Scotia Compass program was funded under the federal strategic initiatives program. This program ended in December 1996.
Compass was delivered by the N.S. Department of Community Services and was designed to provide employment opportunities and/or work experience to job ready clients from both provincial and municipal social assistance caseloads. Total expenditures were $12.5 million over two years from October 1994 to December 1996.
A summative evaluation was conducted in the winter of 1997 to measure labour market outcomes of program participants as compared to a comparison group. In addition to the participant/non-participants surveys, an econometric analysis was conducted to determine program impact.
Program outcomes at time of survey: 56% of participants were working as opposed to only 37% of non-participants; 33% of participants were on social assistance while 57% of non-participants were on social assistance; 25% of participants were on EI compared to 12% of non-participants.
Econometric analysis: Evidence showed that the Compass program increased participants proportion of time spent working by 12% to 14%; participants showed reduced reliance on social assistance.