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Disability issues have become more visible in public policy over the past few decades. Depending on how one defines "disability", there are between 2.5 and 4.8 million Canadians with disabilities.¹ These numbers are steadily increasing as the population ages.² In addition, proportionally more people with disabilities live below the poverty line compared to those without disabilities.³ The federal government's commitment to support people with disabilities includes spending more than $6 billion annually to provide programs, services and support, including employability and employment-related initiatives.⁴

Since 1986, when people with disabilities were guaranteed equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, federal/provincial/territorial policies, programs and publications have approached disability as a citizenship rights issue. Citizenship means equality, inclusion, rights and responsibilities, and empowerment and participation in all aspects of Canadian society. By enshrining citizenship rights to all people with disabilities, the government acknowledges the important role people with disabilities have in shaping public policy and the contribution they make to Canada's social fabric and economy.

The focus on citizenship has changed the public's perception of disability. Instead of narrowly focusing on an individual's inabilities, attention is now given to measures such as accommodations in the workplace and barrier-free architecture to create more inclusive environments. Human rights and employment equity legislations have been passed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and to remove disincentives and barriers in welfare and labour market programming.

In spite of these advances, barriers, disincentives and discrimination against people with disabilities remain, preventing their full economic participation in society. In early 1997, federal, provincial and territorial governments began working together to explore ways to improve and build on elements of the jointly-funded Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons (VRDP) program, a program that had been in place since 1962. In October 1997, Ministers responsible for Social Services endorsed a Multilateral Framework for Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities (EAPD). EAPD replaced VRDP.

The EAPD multilateral framework guided the subsequent negotiation of bilateral agreements between Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) and provincial governments for the sharing of eligible costs of programs and services that help Canadians with disabilities acquire the skills, experience and supports necessary to prepare for, obtain and maintain employment.⁵

Review of EAPD Promising Practices

The Promising Practices Project (PPP) is a multilateral EAPD research project designed to provide a core base of knowledge on what works for whom in employability programming for people with disabilities. Specifically, the objectives of the PPP were to:

• Research and document nine Promising Practices case studies in employability projects and services cost-shared under EAPD in British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island;
• Provide a completed template for each of the nine Promising Practices, which clearly delineates the practice and includes the context /background, challenges faced, solutions, results, and future outlook; and
• Provide an integrated analysis of the cases and existing literature/knowledge in terms of lessons learned and what works in employability programming for people with disabilities.

Provincial representatives identified these Promising Practices (PPs), each of which is perceived as an organization that provides programs and services that are successfully improving the employability of people with disabilities.

Findings about What Works in EAPD Promising Practices

The following represents the core findings from the nine Promising Practices on what works for whom in employability programming for people with disabilities:

All nine Promising Practices are highly client focused. The basis for their success and high client satisfaction come from the fact that programs are flexible or tailored to the needs of each individual. This allows clients to enhance their learning and employment preparations. Employment or educational plans are created according to each client's abilities and limitations. Client centered services also tend to raise clients' self-esteem and confidence, an issue for all clients interviewed for this study.

All nine PPs look at their clients in a holistic way. They consider a person's likes and dislikes, abilities and limitations, housing and family situations, technological needs for school and work, and social and interpersonal skills. Clients appreciate this approach. The approach also allows for trust between the client and the Promising Practice.

All nine PPs recognize the importance of education and/or on-the-job training as a starting point in clients' employment pursuits. Many clients have few or no marketable skills. Others have skills that are outdated. Yet others have skills that they are no longer able to use as a result of a disability. Literature demonstrates that education is key to employment and level of income. Also, it shows that the nature of work is changing. As a result, initiatives to encourage people with disabilities to further their education and develop their skills are essential to their acquiring gainful employment.

Staff in all PPs mentioned educating and raising awareness of employers and the general public on the value that people with disabilities bring to our society and workplaces as highly important. Employers interviewed for the purpose of this study indicated that they knew very little about disabilities and accommodations before they entered into a partnership with a Promising Practice. Many staff members as well as the employers themselves indicated that educating employers is one of the most important activities to undertake for the purpose of increasing the representation of people with disabilities in the general workforce.

Staff in the PPs emphasized partnerships with employers as one of the most important tools to allow clients a chance to get a job placement as well as increasing their chances of employment after the placement. Employers interviewed for this study were mostly employers who had opened their doors for a job placement. In several cases, employers hired the client upon the completion of their placements. In other cases, when employers did not have the resources to hire anyone, they sometimes extended offers of volunteer work placements.

According to PP staff and their clients, volunteer work is valuable in that it allows clients a chance to enhance their skills and to build their resumes. Yet, volunteer work is not paid work and, in many cases, does not hold the promise of greater financial independence and getting off social assistance. As such, the focus should be to enter into partnerships with employers to balance clients' needs for work experience and skills enhancement with opportunities that have a chance of leading to permanent employment, and finding employment that pays more than minimum wage.

PPs that have work placements as part of their programs facilitate on-going communication that assists both employers and clients for the duration of the placement. Meetings and open lines of communication between Promising Practice staff, employer and client are instrumental in helping all parties understand what they can and cannot do. For example, employers may have certain work-related requirements that a client cannot meet. Clients and employers alike value this three-way communication as it provides both parties a point of contact to discuss issues that arise. Employers interviewed for this study indicated that this support is often a catalyst for them to provide job placement opportunities for PP clients.

The PPs reported having highly dedicated and committed leadership and staff. Staff are the backbone of these organizations. All PPs stressed the importance of getting to know their clients well in order to provide the individual services clients need. Their ability to develop client trust impacts on both the success of the programs as well as the employment opportunities the programs facilitate. Staff are highly knowledgeable about employability issues as they pertain to people with disabilities and see it as essential to be up-to-date on the latest approaches, methods and research to be able to continue providing the best services possible.

The PPs straddle the line between being supportive and challenging in their interactions with their clients. PP staff indicated that it is important to allow clients to make their own decisions (i.e., they are allowed to make their own mistakes) and assume certain responsibilities (i.e., showing up on time to courses and work placements). Some Promising Practices, such as Gastown Vocational Services, give clients two or three chances and if they still do not meet the expectations, they may be asked to come back to the program at a later time when they have addressed their issues and are ready to engage fully with the program. Others, such as the Behavioural Health Foundation, have a zero tolerance policy in place when it comes to any addictive substances. At the same time, support is given generously when needed, and assistance is provided to help clients graduate to greater levels of responsibilities and decision-making.

The Promising Practices have produced positive results. Clients' satisfaction with the service provided by the Promising Practices is high. Some clients are in the process of realizing their dreams of fully participating in society. For other clients, the Promising Practices offer the first rays of hope that they too can achieve their dreams.

There have also been positive results in terms of the number of individuals who became employed after graduating from a Promising Practice program (Appendix A features PP templates that outline their respective qualitative and quantitative results). Some Promising Practices are collaborating with federal and/or provincial governments to offer wage subsidies for employers. These financial incentives often make it more feasible for employers to provide job placements and allow for financial flexibility when taking on clients who may need a longer training period. Another factor that must be taken into account when talking about results and sustainability of results is that most disabilities are permanent and many are characterized by periods when the disability is more intense or debilitating.

Each of the nine Promising Practices can be defined as a creative or innovative employment focused project or service that has demonstrated solid performance or has demonstrated potential to achieve high levels of performance in meeting its employability objectives for people with disabilities.

Footnotes

1	The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) indicates that there were 2.5 million Canadians living with disabilities in 1994, the Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) reports that there are 3.5 million Canadians living with disabilities in 1991, and the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) reports 4.8 million in 1994. These are attributable to the definitions used. For example, HALS defines "disabilities" as any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within range considered normal for a human being. NPHS and SLID define disabilities as individuals having a restriction of activity if respondents answer positively to a series of questions related to activities performed at home, school or work (Bunch and Crawford, Persons with Disabilities: Literature Review of the Factors Affecting Employment and Labour Force Transitions. June 1998).
2	In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues, A Vision Paper, Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services, 1998, Appendix B.
3	HALS data from 1991 showed that people with disabilities who were employed had a poverty rate of 13.4 %. HALS uses Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-offs (LICO), which are based on family income and adjusted according to family size and the community in which they live. The proportion of people with disabilities living below the low income cut-offs varies considerably, depending on whether a person's livelihood is derived from earnings, from one of the income support programs, or through support from family or friends. People with disabilities who must rely on social assistance for their income support have by far the greatest likelihood of living in poverty. Almost 28% of those receiving CPP/QPP disability benefits were poor; 14.5% of those receiving Workers' Compensation were poor; and 64.1% of those on social assistance were poor. http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/sdd-dds/odi/documents/living_with_disability/chap52_e.shtml#2.
4	HRDC, Lessons Learned: Disability Policies and Programs, October 1997. Final Report and Technical Report, pp.1.
5	Quebec did not endorse the Multilateral Framework although it has signed an EAPD Agreement with the Government of Canada. EAPD Agreements are not yet in place with Northwest Territories, Yukon, or Nunavut. Northwest Territories and Yukon, however, have endorsed the Multilateral Framework.