partnerships will help to maintain the business as autonomous by identifying common interests and expectations of the multiple stakeholders, roles and responsibilities of shared human resources, conditions of resource allocation, etc. A particular concern is the capacity to create a relationship that can undergo ongoing monitoring, open dialogue, and refinement in relation to issues emerging that undermine (even if unintentionally) business autonomy.
Key message 9: Guidelines with respect to defining social business costs and revenues are necessary to enable meaningful and consistent cost-benefit analyses.
Economically, social businesses strive to be as financially self-sufficient as possible by balancing costs with revenues and generating a profit sufficient to contribute to their social missions. In this study, these social goals included creating employment opportunities for people with mental illness and increasing the wealth of people with mental illness working in the business. Determining the cost-benefits of social businesses is complicated by an array of complex relationships that involve forms of resource sharing; the receipt of financial subsidies;
relationships with health or social services that include the sharing of equipment, supplies, and human
resources; and the ongoing need for mental health supports for individuals working in the business. This
“resource sharing” occurs in the absence of accepted guidelines for how to determine whether the business is generating sufficient income to be considered a worthwhile investment. These guidelines could, for example, provide guidance on defining actual business costs, defining costs occurring in the context of partnerships, defining business vs. mental health support costs, and accounting for subsidies in the form of operating and other grants. At this point in their development, it appears that the financial sustainability of social businesses is being evaluated with respect to the balance of revenues with the costs involved in the direct production of goods and services.
Administrative/business development, worker support, and other management costs are necessary and important to the smooth functioning of businesses, and will likely require subsidized funding.
Key message 10: The field would benefit from the development of a conceptual framework to guide the development of social businesses as models of social inclusion.
Social inclusion through employment is a complex phenomenon. The findings from this study suggest the need to develop a multi-layered conceptualization of inclusion that can account for a broad range of individual and business-level interactions between people with lived experience of mental illness and the broader community.
Key Messages for Evaluation, Research and Education Key message 11: Advancing knowledge and practice related to social businesses should be supported by systematic evaluation and research.
To date, social businesses have not had the
infrastructure to support evaluation or to advance the important questions that research might address.
Evaluation and research related to social business using methods and designs consistent with the philosophies and orientations of social business models should be supported.
Key message 12: There are distinct competencies associated with the development and management of social businesses for people with mental illness that should be identified and supported.
Individuals involved in social business development have largely developed related competencies on the job as they respond to emerging challenges and potentials. There are currently no formalized processes or structures in place to proactively support the
development of these competencies. The potential for training in these competencies through recognized business programs in Canadian universities and colleges, and other organizations that support training in the field, should be developed.
A Legislative Model of Income Support in Canada for People with Mental Illness
Principal Investigator
John Trainor, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Susan Eckerle Curwood, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Wendy Nailer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Reena Sirohi, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
John Stapleton, Open Policy Research Team
Nick Kerman, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Anne Tweddle, Open Policy
partnerships will help to maintain the business as autonomous by identifying common interests and expectations of the multiple stakeholders, roles and responsibilities of shared human resources, conditions of resource allocation, etc. A particular concern is the capacity to create a relationship that can undergo ongoing monitoring, open dialogue, and refinement in relation to issues emerging that undermine (even if unintentionally) business autonomy.
Key message 9: Guidelines with respect to defining social business costs and revenues are necessary to enable meaningful and consistent cost-benefit analyses.
Economically, social businesses strive to be as financially self-sufficient as possible by balancing costs with revenues and generating a profit sufficient to contribute to their social missions. In this study, these social goals included creating employment opportunities for people with mental illness and increasing the wealth of people with mental illness working in the business. Determining the cost-benefits of social businesses is complicated by an array of complex relationships that involve forms of resource sharing; the receipt of financial subsidies;
relationships with health or social services that include the sharing of equipment, supplies, and human
resources; and the ongoing need for mental health supports for individuals working in the business. This
“resource sharing” occurs in the absence of accepted guidelines for how to determine whether the business is generating sufficient income to be considered a worthwhile investment. These guidelines could, for example, provide guidance on defining actual business costs, defining costs occurring in the context of partnerships, defining business vs. mental health support costs, and accounting for subsidies in the form of operating and other grants. At this point in their development, it appears that the financial sustainability of social businesses is being evaluated with respect to the balance of revenues with the costs involved in the direct production of goods and services.
Administrative/business development, worker support, and other management costs are necessary and important to the smooth functioning of businesses, and will likely require subsidized funding.
Key message 10: The field would benefit from the development of a conceptual framework to guide the development of social businesses as models of social inclusion.
Social inclusion through employment is a complex phenomenon. The findings from this study suggest the need to develop a multi-layered conceptualization of inclusion that can account for a broad range of individual and business-level interactions between people with lived experience of mental illness and the broader community.
Key Messages for Evaluation, Research and Education Key message 11: Advancing knowledge and practice related to social businesses should be supported by systematic evaluation and research.
To date, social businesses have not had the
infrastructure to support evaluation or to advance the important questions that research might address.
Evaluation and research related to social business using methods and designs consistent with the philosophies and orientations of social business models should be supported.
Key message 12: There are distinct competencies associated with the development and management of social businesses for people with mental illness that should be identified and supported.
Individuals involved in social business development have largely developed related competencies on the job as they respond to emerging challenges and potentials. There are currently no formalized processes or structures in place to proactively support the
development of these competencies. The potential for training in these competencies through recognized business programs in Canadian universities and colleges, and other organizations that support training in the field, should be developed.
A Legislative Model of Income Support in Canada for People with Mental Illness
Principal Investigator
John Trainor, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Susan Eckerle Curwood, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Wendy Nailer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Reena Sirohi, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
John Stapleton, Open Policy Research Team
Nick Kerman, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Anne Tweddle, Open Policy
partnerships will help to maintain the business as autonomous by identifying common interests and expectations of the multiple stakeholders, roles and responsibilities of shared human resources, conditions of resource allocation, etc. A particular concern is the capacity to create a relationship that can undergo ongoing monitoring, open dialogue, and refinement in relation to issues emerging that undermine (even if unintentionally) business autonomy.
Key message 9: Guidelines with respect to defining social business costs and revenues are necessary to enable meaningful and consistent cost-benefit analyses.
Economically, social businesses strive to be as financially self-sufficient as possible by balancing costs with revenues and generating a profit sufficient to contribute to their social missions. In this study, these social goals included creating employment opportunities for people with mental illness and increasing the wealth of people with mental illness working in the business. Determining the cost-benefits of social businesses is complicated by an array of complex relationships that involve forms of resource sharing; the receipt of financial subsidies;
relationships with health or social services that include the sharing of equipment, supplies, and human
resources; and the ongoing need for mental health supports for individuals working in the business. This
“resource sharing” occurs in the absence of accepted guidelines for how to determine whether the business is generating sufficient income to be considered a worthwhile investment. These guidelines could, for example, provide guidance on defining actual business costs, defining costs occurring in the context of partnerships, defining business vs. mental health support costs, and accounting for subsidies in the form of operating and other grants. At this point in their development, it appears that the financial sustainability of social businesses is being evaluated with respect to the balance of revenues with the costs involved in the direct production of goods and services.
Administrative/business development, worker support, and other management costs are necessary and important to the smooth functioning of businesses, and will likely require subsidized funding.
Key message 10: The field would benefit from the development of a conceptual framework to guide the development of social businesses as models of social inclusion.
Social inclusion through employment is a complex phenomenon. The findings from this study suggest the need to develop a multi-layered conceptualization of inclusion that can account for a broad range of individual and business-level interactions between people with lived experience of mental illness and the broader community.
Key Messages for Evaluation, Research and Education Key message 11: Advancing knowledge and practice related to social businesses should be supported by systematic evaluation and research.
To date, social businesses have not had the
infrastructure to support evaluation or to advance the important questions that research might address.
Evaluation and research related to social business using methods and designs consistent with the philosophies and orientations of social business models should be supported.
Key message 12: There are distinct competencies associated with the development and management of social businesses for people with mental illness that should be identified and supported.
Individuals involved in social business development have largely developed related competencies on the job as they respond to emerging challenges and potentials. There are currently no formalized processes or structures in place to proactively support the
development of these competencies. The potential for training in these competencies through recognized business programs in Canadian universities and colleges, and other organizations that support training in the field, should be developed.
A Legislative Model of Income Support in Canada for People with Mental Illness
Principal Investigator
John Trainor, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Susan Eckerle Curwood, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Principal Investigator
Wendy Nailer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Reena Sirohi, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
John Stapleton, Open Policy Research Team
Nick Kerman, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research Team
Anne Tweddle, Open Policy
We know that work is good for mental health, we know that most people with mental illness want to work and can work with the right supports, and we know that employment is the best way to fight poverty. Yet, in Canada, up to 90% of people with serious mental illness are not in the labour market, and the numbers of people with mental illness transitioning onto disability income support programs are rising. The current Canadian-policy environment often acts to exacerbate the link between disability and exclusion. Correcting this will require comprehensive changes in policies and systems. Policy reforms in a number of countries have led to improved workforce outcomes for people with disabilities – we know this can be done. Implementing this type of change will require collaboration by all sectors, including government, mental health partners, employers, and society, in order to be successful.
This research involved a comprehensive review of disability support policies across Canada and internationally, as well as interviews with key informants from multiple jurisdictions in Canada and abroad. Based on information about policies that have successfully improved workforce outcomes for people with disabilities, we bring forward the following recommendations:
• A capacity-focused paradigm shift in disability support policy is necessary. Policies must address supporting individuals in their strengths, while also addressing barriers they may face.
• Disability support policies should recognize that individuals with mental health issues often have intermittent work capacity, and provide flexibility.
• Early intervention is necessary to promote return-to-work. People should be linked with employment supports immediately upon entering the disability system
• Disability support policies should seek to reduce disincentives to return-to-work. Mechanisms should be piloted and evaluated based on their efficacy in promoting workforce attachment.
• Policies should ensure that funding is available for the development of evidence-based employment supports and opportunities – including supported employment and social enterprise formation, as well for innovative practice-based supports.
• The system capacity should be increased to allow
people receiving disability support to establish supportive relationships with case workers; this contact should include both benefits counseling and connecting clients with employers and employment services.
• Income support programs should operate in collaboration with other stakeholders, including employment support programs, mental health service providers, and employers. Interaction between policies should be examined to ensure unintended barriers are not being created.
• Experimentation and innovation in disability support provision, employment support provision, and other services should be encouraged to develop new best practices for engaging people with mental health issues in the workforce on an ongoing basis.
• Effective communication strategies need to be developed alongside reforms. It is critical to recognize that reforms cannot succeed without clear communication to those who are affected, in order for the benefits of positive change to be reaped.
We know that work is good for mental health, we know that most people with mental illness want to work and can work with the right supports, and we know that employment is the best way to fight poverty. Yet, in Canada, up to 90% of people with serious mental illness are not in the labour market, and the numbers of people with mental illness transitioning onto disability income support programs are rising. The current Canadian policy environment often acts to exacerbate the link between disability and exclusion.
Correcting this will require comprehensive changes in policies and systems. Policy reforms in a number of countries have led to improved workforce outcomes for people with disabilities – we know this can be done. Implementing this type of change will require collaboration by all sectors, including government, mental health partners, employers, and society, in order to be successful.
The purpose of this research was to create
recommendations for a system of disability supports that will best support the workforce attachment of people with serious mental illness. Methods were a comprehensive review of disability support policies across Canada and internationally, as well as interviews with key informants from multiple jurisdictions in Canada and abroad.
summary executive summary the current
environment
Currently, a disproportionate number of people living with mental illness are using disability income support systems. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has noted there is almost double the risk of poverty for Canadians with a disability compared to the non-disabled population. Mental health conditions are a rising cause for entering disability support programs in Canada, with the
percentage of Canada Pension Plan-Disability (CPP-D) recipients with a mental illness having increased from 12% in 1990 to 28% in 2008. Similar findings have been noted across many disability income support programs.
Disability income support programs were not designed with mental illness in mind and don’t often work well for people with mental illness. Many programs draw a defining line between those who can work and those who cannot work, without creating space for those with intermittent work ability - common for people with episodic mental health conditions. Poorly designed income support systems can act as poverty traps that do not allow people to fully benefit from periods of good health, and instead cause people to remain distant from the labour market even when they want to work, and are capable of working and contributing to the economy. To address the unique challenges of people with serious mental illness, disability income support systems need to be flexible and individualized in order to allow people with serious mental illness the opportunity to participate in the labour market
We know that work is good for mental health, we know that most people with mental illness want to work and can work with the right supports, and we know that employment is the best way to fight poverty. Yet, in Canada, up to 90% of people with serious mental illness are not in the labour market, and the numbers of people with mental illness transitioning onto disability income support programs are rising. The current Canadian-policy environment often acts to exacerbate the link between disability and exclusion. Correcting this will require comprehensive changes in policies and systems. Policy reforms in a number of countries have led to improved workforce outcomes for people with disabilities – we know this can be done. Implementing this type of change will require collaboration by all sectors, including government, mental health partners, employers, and society, in order to be successful.
This research involved a comprehensive review of disability support policies across Canada and internationally, as well as interviews with key informants from multiple jurisdictions in Canada and abroad. Based on information about policies that have successfully improved workforce outcomes for people with disabilities, we bring forward the following recommendations:
• A capacity-focused paradigm shift in disability support policy is necessary. Policies must address supporting individuals in their strengths, while also addressing barriers they may face.
• Disability support policies should recognize that individuals with mental health issues often have intermittent work capacity, and provide flexibility.
• Early intervention is necessary to promote return-to-work. People should be linked with employment supports immediately upon entering the disability system
• Disability support policies should seek to reduce disincentives to return-to-work. Mechanisms should be piloted and evaluated based on their efficacy in promoting workforce attachment.
• Policies should ensure that funding is available for the development of evidence-based employment supports and opportunities – including supported employment and social enterprise formation, as well for innovative practice-based supports.
• The system capacity should be increased to allow
people receiving disability support to establish supportive relationships with case workers; this contact should include both benefits counseling and connecting clients with employers and employment services.
• Income support programs should operate in collaboration with other stakeholders, including employment support programs, mental health service providers, and employers. Interaction between policies should be examined to ensure unintended barriers are not being created.
• Experimentation and innovation in disability support provision, employment support provision, and other services should be encouraged to develop new best practices for engaging people with mental health issues in the workforce on an ongoing basis.
• Effective communication strategies need to be developed alongside reforms. It is critical to recognize that reforms cannot succeed without clear communication to those who are affected, in order for the benefits of positive change to be reaped.
We know that work is good for mental health, we know
We know that work is good for mental health, we know