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Employment Program for Persons with Disabilities (EPPD)


Overview: August 5, 2008

Effective: August 05, 2008

The Ministry’s Employment Program for Persons with Disabilities (EPPD) provides a range of specialized services to help individuals with disabilities participate in their communities, pursue their employment goals as they are able, increase their self-reliance, and build skills and experience that may lead to further employment or volunteer opportunities.  The strategic goal of EPPD is:

To assist persons with disabilities to achieve their economic and social potential to the fullest extent possible.

The EPPD is a province-wide program with individualized services provided through Service Provider contracts.  In addition to client outcomes of full time or part time employment, successful results of EPPD participation also include:

  • Employment placement;

  • Self-employment services;

  • Better understanding of the disability as it relates to employment;

  • Increased access to needed disability supports; and

  • Increased connection to the community.

The Ministry recognizes that many persons with disabilities require more support and need more time to make progress toward realizing their independence and employment goals.  Some EPPD clients will potentially be in the program for multiple years.

EPPD Service Providers work with clients to complete comprehensive Service Planning including individual plans to enhance the client’s job readiness and employability skills, and to obtain employment.  They assist clients to set reasonable employment goals and provide the individualized services and supports needed to achieve those goals.  The EPPD also delivers services to employed clients who are in imminent danger of losing their employment due to their disability.

Examples of EPPD services include:

  • In-Depth Planning – to build on the Service Planning activities outlined above, potentially including the completion of specific Formal Assessments;

  • Pre-Employment Services – offering modules for Disability Management, Job Readiness, Employability Skills and Work Experience/Work Simulation;

  • Employment Based Services – focusing on Employment Placement or Place and Train Placement;

  • Purchased Services – which include Disability Supports, Training/Tuition Costs and related training expenses, Formal Assessments, and general Client Supports such as transportation, childcare and work clothing.

Participation in the EPPD is voluntary. The program’s clients are British Columbians whose primary barrier to employment is a medically verifiable disability, although they may have other significant employment barriers that need to be addressed.

EPPD clients may or may not be BCEA clients.  In 2006, under the original EPPD program, approximately 70% of clients were in receipt of Income Assistance.  In summary, eligible EPPD clients include:

  • BCEA recipients with a PWD designation who have a medically verified disability which is a primary barrier to employment,

  • BCEA recipients without a PWD designation who have a medically verified disability which is a primary barrier to employment; and

  • Persons with disabilities who are not BCEA clients and who have a medically verified disability which is a primary barrier to employment.