School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
School of Law, University of Leeds, Liberty Building, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Nov;24(6):e81-6. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.08.006. Epub 2013 Sep 9.
An emphasis on welfare reform has been a shared concern of recent UK governments, with the project of transforming the provision of welfare gathering pace over the past six years. Replicating active labour market policies pursued across the globe, successive governments have used welfare-to-work programmes as mechanisms to address worklessness. Since 2008, problem drug users (PDUs) have been added to a list of groups for whom intervention is deemed necessary to encourage, enable, and sometimes coerce them into paid employment. This approach is underpinned by three beliefs relating to paid work: it sustains recovery, has a transformative potential and should be the primary duty of the responsible citizen. Using policy developments in the UK as a case study, the article explores the implications for methadone maintenance clients of connecting drug policy (premised on the belief that work is central to recovery) with welfare policy (which at present is preoccupied with reducing worklessness).
A critical analysis of policy documents, including drug strategies, Green and White papers and welfare reform legislation, alongside a review of relevant academic literature.
The 'work first' approach which underpins current labour market activation policies in the UK and elsewhere is insufficiently flexible to accommodate the diverse needs of PDUs in recovery, and is particularly particular problematic when combined with a 'social deficit' model which concentrates on individual rather than structural barriers to employability. The use of payment-by-results mechanisms to provide employment services, coupled with the use of sanctions for those who do not engage, is likely to be particularly problematic for methadone maintenance clients.
Welfare reform in the UK is likely to undermine the recovery of methadone maintenance clients. Further research is urgently needed to explore its impact on this sub-group of PDUs, alongside comparative studies to determine best practice in integrating drug and welfare policies.
福利改革一直是近年来英国政府共同关注的焦点，过去六年，福利提供的改革项目步伐加快。效仿全球推行的积极劳动力市场政策，英国历届政府都将福利转就业计划作为解决失业问题的机制。自 2008 年以来，有问题的吸毒者（PDU）已被添加到需要干预以鼓励、使能、有时甚至强制他们从事有偿工作的群体名单中。这种方法基于与有偿工作相关的三个信念：它维持康复、具有变革潜力，并且应该是负责任公民的主要职责。本文以英国的政策发展为例，探讨了将毒品政策（基于工作是康复的核心这一信念）与福利政策（目前主要关注减少失业）联系起来对美沙酮维持治疗客户的影响。
对政策文件进行批判性分析，包括毒品战略、绿皮书和白皮书以及福利改革立法，同时对相关学术文献进行审查。
目前英国和其他地方劳动力市场激活政策所依据的“先工作”方法不够灵活，无法满足康复中 PDU 的多样化需求，当与专注于个人而非就业能力结构性障碍的“社会缺陷”模式结合使用时，尤其存在问题。使用按成果付费机制提供就业服务，并对不参与的人实施制裁，可能对美沙酮维持治疗客户尤其成问题。
英国的福利改革可能会破坏美沙酮维持治疗客户的康复。迫切需要进一步研究其对这一 PDU 亚组的影响，以及进行比较研究以确定整合毒品和福利政策的最佳实践。
