Annex A: Technical and Reporting Guidance on Income Assistance's Pre-employment Supports

For information on recipient and expenditure eligibility, please consult the Income Assistance National Program Guidelines.

1. Definitions

Action plan: A personalized plan developed between a case worker and an Income Assistance client or dependant that outlines the client or dependant's barriers and challenges, and the activities (e.g. life skills training, job skills training, etc.) and services (e.g. transportation to training) in which they commit to participate and receive as part of pre-employment supports.

Work Plan (or Proposal): A plan developed by a funding recipient and submitted to an Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) regional office to request funding for pre-employment supports that they plan to deliver in one or more First Nations.

2. Overview

ISC provides funding to First Nations ("funding recipients" or "recipients") to deliver Income Assistance on reserve and in Yukon. The Income Assistance program is a program of last resort that provides financial assistance to eligible individuals and families who have demonstrated a financial need for food, clothing, rent and utilities (shelter) or other goods and services that are essential to the well-being of the individual or family.

Income Assistance's pre-employment supports assist Income Assistance clients and dependants access individualized supports to increase self-sufficiency and help them transition to the workforce or employment readiness opportunities, or further their education.

Pre-employment supports funding is available for:

3. Eligibility

3.1 Funding Eligibility

Pre-employment supports funding is allocated on a yearly basis, though funding may be approved in principle for two years. To access these funds, a recipient needs to meet the eligibility criteria listed in Section 4.1 of the Income Assistance National Program Guidelines.

Given the limited funding, recipients that meet the criteria will be invited to submit a work plan or proposal for review and approval. Regional ISC representatives will be available to provide recipients additional information or support during the application process. All pre-employment supports recipients, including new and existing recipients, need to submit a work plan or proposal in order to be considered for funding, unless otherwise specified by ISC.

Subject to the availability of funding, successful recipients will receive funding for pre-employment supports according to their approved work plan or proposal based on projected caseloads and expenditures.

3.2 Client and Dependant Eligibility

The following criteria must be used to determine if an Income Assistance client or dependant is eligible to receive pre-employment supports. The individual must:

  • be a new or existing Income Assistance client or their dependant
  • be a minimum of 18 years old [or 19, where 19 is the age of majority, or between 16-18 years old if emancipated from their parent(s)/legal guardian(s)]; and
  • meet the definition of "expected to work" by the province or territory of residence

4. Pre-Employment Supports: Managing the Process

Pre-employment supports consist of a continuum of activities and services aimed at enhancing a client or dependant's participation in the labour market and improving their quality of life. By supporting clients and dependants to build on their strengths, further develop their skills and address their barriers to participation in the labour market, these supports are expected to benefit individuals as they move from Income Assistance to employment or education.

A collaborative approach, involving Income Assistance administrators and case workers, should be used for developing and implementing a case management process that includes the following elements:

4.1 Intake Process

The process typically starts when an individual walks into an Income Assistance office to apply for Income Assistance. A case worker will open a client file and determine if the individual is eligible to receive Income Assistance.

Once the intake process has been completed, the case worker will work with the client and their  dependant(s) to determine if they are eligible to participate in pre-employment supports.

4.2 Pre-employment Supports Assessment and Planning

A pre-employment supports assessment is used by the case worker to establish the client or dependant's eligibility to participate in pre-employment supports and help determine what the client or dependant requires to transition to employment or education based on their, barriers and needs.

A pre-employment assessment typically contains:

  • A comprehensive evaluation of the client or dependant's skills and barriers, taking into consideration and containing their:
    • work history
    • skills and education
    • basic literacy/numeracy
    • job seeking ability, including access to housing, transportation, phone/internet, childcare
    • physical and mental health
  • the length of time the client or dependant is anticipated to require pre-employment supports
  • a statement confirming the client or dependant's eligibility to receive supports and services through pre-employment supports funding
  • the client or dependant's signature to confirm they understand their responsibilities while they participate in pre-employment supports

Note: An example of a pre-employment supports assessment can be found at the end of this document.

4.3 Action Plan

The information gathered from a pre-employment supports assessment becomes the basis for the development of a client or dependant's personalized action plan. The action plan is an essential component of a client or dependant's pre-employment supports journey, and is developed jointly by the case worker and the client or dependant.

The action plan outlines the client or dependant's commitment to participate in Income Assistance's pre-employment supports and includes the activities the client or dependant agrees to complete (e.g. life skills training, job skills training, etc.), and the services that they will receive (e.g. transportation to training) in order to develop their skills and address barriers to participation in employment and education. Action plans should be tailored according to each individual client or dependant's needs, aspirations, and barriers, with some requiring more intervention than others.

The case worker should ensure the client or dependant understands that incentives may be proposed by the pre-employment supports provider to encourage completion of the requirements of their action plan, and that disincentives will be imposed by the provider should it be determined that the client or dependant has not made all possible efforts to complete their action plan.

4.4 Monitoring and Following Up with Clients and Dependants

The case worker will document a client or dependant's participation in pre-employment supports activities and provide follow-up support throughout each intervention identified in their action plan. To ensure a seamless continuum of service delivery, the case worker will coordinate supports by liaising with each service provider/employer assisting the client or dependant.

To increase the likelihood of a successful outcome for the client or dependant, the case worker is expected to work with service provider(s)/employer(s) to help a client or dependant overcome any difficulties impacting their participation in pre-employment supports.

Any adjustments to an action plan should be discussed with the client or dependant and the service provider(s)/employer(s) involved, and both the case worker and the client or dependant must agree to the changes.

5. Partnerships with Service Providers/Employers (Referral/Cost Sharing Strategy)

Collaboration between the case worker and service provider(s)/employer(s) is a key factor for a client or dependant's success. The recipient will need to partner with service provider(s)/employer(s) that offer various types of pre-employment supports, based on the needs of clients and dependants (e.g. training, academic upgrading, life skills, health services or employment opportunities).

As part of effective individualized case management, recipients should develop a referral and/or cost sharing strategy which will establish service standards with service provider(s)/employer(s) and outline how they will work together to serve clients and dependants participating in pre-employment supports. The strategy outlines how and when clients and dependants will be referred to service provider(s)/employer(s).

Referrals to service provider(s)/employer(s) are not limited to the activities and services offered within Income Assistance's funding for pre-employment supports. For example, if a client or dependant needs mental health supports or educational activities that are not offered under the Income Assistance program, they can be referred to outside programs and organizations (e.g. First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, community Education programs or Indigenous organizations).

From the client's initial assessment through to the client or dependant transitioning to employment or education, the case worker and service provider(s)/employer(s) will need to work together to enhance prospects for success.

6. Eligible Expenditures

For information on eligible expenditures, please consult section 7.1.3 of the Income Assistance National Program Guidelines.

As the purpose of pre-employment supports is to address barriers and help clients and dependants acquire the training and skills they need to find employment, the bulk of this targeted funding should be allocated to Client Supports (Q2AL). Unless otherwise specified by ISC, a minimum of 60% of a recipient's pre-employment supports allocation should be spent on this expenditure category, and should not be transferred to any other expenditure category.

Funding for Case Management Capacity (Q2AK) and Service Delivery Infrastructure (Q2AM) can be reallocated to any other pre-employment supports expenditure category. ISC recommends that 30% of a recipient's pre-employment supports allocation be spent on Case Management Capacity and that 10% be spent on Service Deliver Infrastructure.

7. Documenting Client Information

Documentation on each client and dependant must be maintained in order to support their eligibility for pre-employment supports, as well as to keep a record of plans and progress. Please contact your ISC regional representative for a complete list of required documentation.

At a minimum, client's case file must contain the following forms:

8. Accountability

All funds allocated by ISC for pre-employment supports must be identified and tracked using budget activity code B3514 and the following functional area codes:

Expenditure categories Functional area codes
Case Management Capacity Q2AK
Client Supports Q2AL
Service Delivery Infrastructure Q2AM

Pre-employment supports funding is targeted and time-limited, and it cannot be re-allocated to other programs or Income Assistance core funding. Unexpended funds may be carried forward from one fiscal year to the next, according to the terms of the recipient's funding agreement.

9. Reporting and Monitoring

Recipients of pre-employment supports funding are required to report results quarterly, along with results from Income Assistance core funding, in the same Data Collection Instrument (DCI) (#455897A). Reporting requirements are listed in the recipient's funding agreement. This applies to Block, Non-Block/Non-NFR, and New Fiscal Relationship (NFR) 10-year Grant recipients, as well as self-governing First Nations.

The following Questions within Income Assistance's DCI report are mandatory when reporting quarterly on pre-employment supports funding:

Section 1: Clients and dependants

Section 2: Financial management

Section 3: Case management

A case worker is defined as an individual whose salary is paid by the Income Assistance program and who provides standard case management through client intake and monitoring, and if applicable, individualized case management through pre-employment supports to Income Assistance clients and dependants. At the very least, a case worker is responsible for onboarding new clients and keeping client or dependant files updated to confirm ongoing eligibility to receive Income Assistance.

In addition, all recipients of pre-employment supports funding are required to complete an annual survey for each year of funding received, as outlined in their funding agreement and funding approval letter. The survey is to be provided to all recipients by ISC regional representatives and must be completed by May 31st of the following fiscal year.

For NFR Grant recipients, annual reporting within the NFR Grant Results Report (DCI #33315098) is required and should include the total number of unique clients and dependants supported over the entire fiscal year. It should not just include the total number of clients and dependants at the end of the fiscal year on Mar 31st.

10. Further Information

If you have any comments or questions regarding matters discussed in this document, please contact your local ISC regional representative or ISC regional office.

Pre-employment Supports Assessment example

Recipients can use any tools they wish for documenting pre-employment supports activities, ensuring they are in line with the requirements as listed in this annex, the Income Assistance National Program Guidelines, and the terms and conditions for the Income Assistance program.

What follows is detailed description and list all of the preliminary information the form captures that should be documented in a pre-employment assessment:

Client information

  • Surname
  • Given name
  • Current address
  • Telephone
  • Date of birth
  • Social Insurance Number (SIN)
  • Date of assessment
  • Case number
  • Client or dependant Identifier Number
  • Office location

Assessment questions

These questions help case workers understand a client's recent work history, education, income support use, language abilities, and assess a client's current employability and the type of employment‑related supports or expectations that may be appropriate.

Listed below are the:

  • assessment questions
  • employee's possible responses
  • points associated with each response

Each question has an assigned score for each possible response. After all applicable sections are completed, the scores based on the client's responses are added together to produce a total screening result.

Question 1. Have you applied for or received Employment Insurance in the past 3 years, (or past 5 years if maternity/paternity)?

  • a – Yes (unscored)
  • b – No (unscored)

Question 2. What is your age?

  • a – under 18 (0 points)
  • b – 18 to 24 inclusive (1 points)
  • c – 25 to 34 inclusive (1 points)
  • d – 35-44 inclusive (1 points)
  • e – 45-64 inclusive (1 points)

Question 3. Apart from your current application, how many times have you been on Income Assistance anywhere in Canada in the last 3 years?

  • a – Never (0 points)
  • b – 1 to 3 times (1 points)
  • c – More than 3 times (3 points)

Question 4. What is the total amount of time you have spent on Income Assistance (or social assistance) in the last 3 years?

  • a – Less Than 3 months (0 points)
  • b – 3 to 12 months (2 points)
  • c – More than 12 months (7 points)

Question 5. What is your highest level of education completed?

  • a – University/college (0 points)
  • b – Trade certificate (0 points)
  • c – Some post-secondary education (0 points)
  • d – High school/GED (0 points)
  • e – Some high school (2 points)
  • f – Less than high school 10 (3 points)

Question 6. What is the total amount of time you have spent in paid employment over the past 3 years?

  • a – 12+ months (0 points)
  • b – 3 to 12 months (1 points)
  • c – Less Than 3 months (2 points)
  • d – None or limited (4 points)
  • e – Volunteer work only (3 points)

Question 7. What is your English speaking ability? (for English-speaking communities)

  • a – Fluent/strong (0 points)
  • b – Basic/ESL/none (3 points)

Question 8. What is your French speaking ability? (for French-speaking communities)

  • a – Fluent/strong (0 points)
  • b – Basic/ESL/none (3 points)

Screening results total score

  • Score 0-14 – Expected to work  –  Immediately Employable/Employable with Short-Term Interventions
  • Score 15+  –  Expected to work – Employable with Longer-Term Interventions

Further determinations

The case worker must also determine if situation warrants no employment related obligations.

  • Expected to work
  • No employment–related obligations

Client Employability Profile Completed?

  • Yes
  • No

Client or dependant has service barriers?

  • Yes
  • No

Client employability profile

This employability profile is used by case workers to assess the level and type of barriers the client (or dependant) may face in preparing for, finding, or maintaining employment. Rather than producing a numerical score, the table supports a qualitative assessment of employability by organizing common barriers into 3 broad levels:

  • low/no barriers
  • medium barriers
  • high barriers.

For each factor, the case worker selects the checkbox descriptions that best match the client's situation.

Labour Market Attachment

Low / no barriers:

  • Stable full time or part time work within the past year

Medium barriers:

  • Various short term jobs or volunteer work within the past 2 years

High barriers:

  • Never worked

Marketability

Low / no barriers:

  • More than one year at the same job

Medium barriers:

  • Able to secure jobs but has difficulty keeping them
  • Temporary, part time only, seasonal
  • Inadequate pay
  • History of layoffs

High barriers:

  • Currently unemployed and not need help in seeking employment

On the Job Training

Low / no barriers:

  • Recent skilled practical experience (on the job training) within the past 2 years

Medium barriers:

  • No recent on the job training or volunteer experience

High barriers:

  • No on the job training or volunteer experience

Qualifications

Low / no barriers:

  • Qualifications match  current labour market demand

Medium barriers:

  • Has previously completed training but training no longer meets current labour demands and/or not able to perform the type of work trained in

High barriers:

  • No qualifications or no match to current labour market demands

Education

Low / no barriers:

  • Has completed education and training needed to be employable
  • Degree
  • Diploma/certificates
  • Apprenticeship papers
  • High school education
  • Skill training matches labour market needs

Medium barriers:

  • Needs additional education or training to improve employability situation

High barriers:

  • No high school education
  • Limited high school education
  • Special education / vocational
  • Diagnosed learning disability
  • Never attended school

English/French Language Skills

Low / no barriers:

  • Speaks, reads, writes and understands english/french

Medium barriers:

  • Some issues speaking, reading, writing and/or understanding english/french

High barriers:

  • Unable to read, write and/or speak English/French – interpreter required

Literacy

Low / no barriers:

  • Speaks, reads, writes and understands in own language

Medium barriers:

  • Some issues speaking, reading, writing and/or understanding in own language
  • Literacy issues many impact training and employment options

High barriers:

  • Limited ability to speak, read, write and/or understand in own language
  • Has difficulty sharing and understanding information

Essential Skills

Low / no barriers:

  • No essential skill needs identified
  • Completes forms without assistance
  • Comfortable dealing with a range of workplace documents

Medium barriers:

  • Some essential skill needs identified
  • Essential skill needs may impact training or employment options
  • Comfortable with less complex workplace documents
  • Requires assistance completing forms

High barriers:

  • Extensive essential skill needs identified
  • Cannot complete written materials
  • Has difficulty understanding information

Job Skills Search

Low / no barriers:

  • Has a range of job search skills and has successfully secured employment in the past
  • Has a current resume
  • Has access to internet or newspaper
  • Has good interview skills
  • Able to self-market

Medium barriers:

  • Has limited job search skills and needs job search support
  • No resume or needs revising
  • No current and/or access to references
  • No understanding of current job market
  • Not comfortable in an interview setting
  • Does not know how to complete application forms

High barriers:

  • Has never looked for work
  • Has never been for a job interview
  • Job readiness support required

Housing

Low / no barriers:

  • Housing is safe, stable, and adequate for family size/needs

Medium barriers:

  • In transitional, temporary or substandard housing and current rent is unaffordable.
  • Rent and utilities paid by income assistance due to budgeting concerns
  • History of evictions

High barriers:

  • Homeless or threatened with eviction
  • Feels unsafe in current accommodation

Childcare

Low / no barriers:

  • Childcare is available and reliable
  • Has reliable back up support
  • No care required
  • Close to home/accessible

Medium barriers:

  • Childcare is inadequate, unreliable and/or unaffordable
  • Limited child care options to meet needs
  • Needs to explore back-up options as current care is unreliable
  • Does not meet employment needs

High barriers:

  • Needs childcare but none available/accessible and/or child not eligible
  • No back up support available

Legal

Low / no barriers:

  • No criminal history or active justice involvement

Medium barriers:

  • Legal issues impacting planning
  • Criminal record but no funds to apply for a  pardon
  • On probation or parole

High barriers:

  • Current outstanding warrants, tickets or serious unresolved legal issues
  • Recent charge/trial pending
  • Serious offences that impact some job choices

Financial

Low / no barriers:

  • Able to plan and keep a monthly budget; pays bills on time

Medium barriers:

  • Limited ability to budget; often late paying bills
  • Does not pay own bills
  • High debt load
  • Student loan in default

High barriers:

  • Requires full support to budget and/or pay bills

Presentation

Low / no barriers:

  • Appropriate dress/ presentation; well groomed

Medium barriers:

  • Some changes needed

High barriers:

  • Support required to assist with resources that impacts marketability – e.g. poor grooming/ hygiene

Transportation / Mobility

Low / no barriers:

  • Transportation is accessible and reliable; able to get to where they need to go

Medium barriers:

  • Transportation is generally available, but unreliable/ unaffordable
  • Vehicle, but no insurance
  • No licence

High barriers:

  • No access to transportation

Attitude Toward Work

Low / no barriers:

  • Demonstrated work ethic
  • Open to suggestions to explore work/training options
  • Willing to respond to labour market changes

Medium barriers:

  • May  to looking for lower paying jobs

High barriers:

  • Accepts dependency and/or motivational issues
  • Values may not coincide with work

Health/Disability

Low / no barriers:

  • Good health/no identified disabilities
  • Good physical health
  • Good mental health
  • No disability

Medium barriers:

  • Condition managed by medication or suitably supported by services
  • Limitations that may impact some job choices
  • Minor accommodations for training or workplace may be required

High barriers:

  • Physical or mental condition significantly impacts employability and has been verified by a physician
  • Major accommodations for training or workplace are required

Rationale

Given the assessment information selected above, the pre-employment supports required for the client should be summarized into one of 2 statuses:

  • Ready to seek employment/training

or

  • Support services are required to prepare for work and/or maintain a client in an action plan

Status: Ready to seek employment/training

Pre-Employment Supports

  • Independent job search
  • Career research and exploration
  • Diagnostic assessment
  • Employment counselling
  • Skills development- essential skills
  • Skills development – academic upgrading
  • Work experience
  • Occupational skills training
  • Self-employment
  • Job search preparation strategies
  • Job starts supports
  • Employment retention supports
  • Other (specify):

Estimated Duration of Support(s)

  • 12 months or less
  • 12 to 24 months
  • Over 24 months

Or


Status: Support services required to prepare for work and/or maintain an individual in an action plan

Pre-Employment Supports

  • Basic and life skills
  • Medical
  • Basic literacy/numeracy
  • Personal and family services
  • English/French as a second language
  • Diagnostic assessment
  • Driver's licence
  • First Aid /CPR
  • Other (specify)

Estimated Duration of Support(s)

  • 6 months or less
  • 12 to 24 months
  • Over 24 months

This assessment confirms that the client (or dependant) will participate in pre-employment supports through the Income Assistance program.

The client's eligibility for Income Assistance is conditional upon their full participation in the pre-employment supports identified in their action plan:

  • Yes, I Agree
  • No, I Do Not Agree

The assessment must be dated and signed by the client and dated and signed by the case worker.

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