Effective Practices

Facilitating transitions to economic independence

Bay St. George Community Employment Corporation
The Bay St. George Community Employment Corporation of Stephenville, Newfoundland, supports people with developmental disabilities in their efforts to participate in self-employment. It began when a private employer in Bay St. George approached the Canada Employment Centre to provide an opportunity for an individual with a severe developmental disability. Ken Caul got the help he needed to start an industrial bolt refurbishing and refinishing business. In succeeding years, Ken has added new services to his company and has expanded his customer base.

Community members rallied around Ken to make sure his efforts would be successful. The Canada Employment Centre tapped into community resources to make sure he had the legal, financial, business and personal support he needed. Ray McIsaac, a director with the Newfoundland Association for Community Living says, "Examples like Ken's demonstrate that in a larger sense, the community adopted the vision that people need to support individuals with disabilities in order to support the economic and social fabric of the society... All supports must be sensitive to opportunities that enable the individual to fully interact with the community. Support should be discreet and enable persons with disabilities to reach their full potential in a community setting. It is essential that the support does not overshadow the individual."

Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH)
Alberta's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program provides a flat-rate benefit outside the welfare system for people with severe disabilities. AISH reduces financial disincentives to seeking employment by providing an income exemption as an incentive for people to find paid work. The program allows for rapid reinstatement, so if a participant leaves the program for work or school they can return during a two-year period without needing to go through medical eligibility again. Individuals manage their own funds, and if they aren't able to do so, a family member may act as financial administrator. AISH provides extended medical benefits and if an AISH recipient earns enough to leave the program, their medical coverage is extended for one year.

Peggy Thiessen, Manager of the AISH program says, "We're telling people that if they're willing to risk working, we're willing to support them. Employment specialists and client support workers are encouraging people to go back to school or to work. We want AISH recipients to take an active part in determining their own course, but we make it clear no one is forcing a course of action on them."

Networking Employment Opportunities Now
Networking Employment Opportunities Now is a regional network in Prince Edward Island that was established to help people with disabilities and people recovering from injuries to find employment. Network members include federal and provincial government agencies and community organizations.

One of the network's initiatives, Rural Outreach Support for Employment, is designed to help persons with disabilities in outlying areas match their job skills with the needs of employers. The program pays for short-term wage subsidies and the services of a job coach who works with local employers to develop long-term career opportunities for clients.

Mette Halley, a worker with Employment Assistance for the Physically Disabled, in Montague, says: "Identifying barriers and partnering with organizations that can work to overcome them has been the network's goal. While the initial job placement may be relatively easy to make, the more difficult task lies in helping the employer, the workplace and the employee to establish a longer-term relationship which meets the expectations of all parties involved."

The Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses
The Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses is a unique provincial organization that assists in the development of small businesses with and for people who have been through the mental health system. The council is an association of businesses that employ more than 800 psychiatric survivors. The council manages several economic initiatives and provides resources to the survivor community. It actively promotes the notion of "real work for real money."

An employee in one of these businesses said, "The reason consumer/survivors are doing this is not just to create successful businesses, it is to rebuild human lives. Survivors are using the economy toward that end, not using the people to build the economy."

Breaking down barriers to workplace participation

Ontario Disability Support Program
The Ontario Disability Support Program demonstrates an evolution in attitude. People with disabilities are no longer viewed as permanently unemployable. The program recognizes that many people with disabilities can and want to work, and can also assume responsibility for planning their careers and choosing the services and supports they need. The Ontario Disability Support Program has two main components — income support and employment support. A person may be eligible for both types of support, and those who don't require income support may still receive employment support.

The program's Employment Policy Manager Peter Amenta says: "The program has taken the approach that individuals know best what kinds of support they need. The program is designed to approve and provide these supports so the person can prepare for, find or keep a job. We make direct funding available so individuals can purchase the goods and services they need."

Multi-Partner Pilot Project — Returning to Work
Programs designed to meet individuals' needs through employment income increase their likelihood of success when they use a collaborative approach that involves all levels of government, community agencies and the private sector. This was demonstrated through a Canada Pension Plan pilot project in British Columbia: "Returning to Work — Removing the Barriers."

Blake Williams, Director of the Workers Advisors Branch at the British Columbia Ministry of Labour says, "We recognized that we needed to create a federal and provincial project that included private sector representation in order to really begin making headway. We needed to replace a fractured, uncoordinated safety net with approaches that assist rather than confuse, delay and frustrate people trying to return to work. We wanted to create a fast track that would coordinate services better."

The Return to Work Pilot demonstrated the importance of continuing to provide a base of income and disability supports to assist people during their transition into the labour market. All eleven clients who were accepted into the program found employment at higher than entry-level salaries, despite the fact that they faced significant employment barriers.

Providing opportunities to retain earned income

Saskatchewan Benchmarking Project
The Saskatchewan Benchmarking Project separates the cost of residential services from eligibility for income security. People with disabilities who require residential support and have earned income are expected to pay a rate reflecting standard room and board. Residential support costs in excess of standard room and board are considered a cost of disability and are not income-tested against the individual's earned income. Those who pay the full room and board rate and are no longer eligible for income security, continue to receive supplemental health services that cover their additional medical costs.

Murray Nurse is involved in the on-going administration of the project. He says, "Someone who earns $800 per month can keep the difference once their benchmark amount is paid. As with transportation, telephone and health care initiatives begun in Saskatchewan, the goal is to help people deal with the cost of a disability. For individuals involved in the benchmarking project, any residential costs over $410 are the provincial government's responsibility."

Recognizing the additional costs of disability

New Brunswick's Disability Supplement
In its 2000 budget, the Government of New Brunswick introduced a new provincial benefit for people with disabilities. The Disability Supplement is a yearly financial benefit that is provided to social assistance recipients who have been certified as deaf, blind or 'disabled.' The benefit recognizes that people with disabilities face considerable disability-related expenses and require additional support to purchase these essential goods and services.

The benefit began at $250 per person per year and will increase over four years to $1,000 per person in 2003. There are about 4,000 people in New Brunswick who meet the Disability Supplement's criteria.

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