u/pastafusilli

Is there anything you'd want to share? What else could happen here that would be beneficial?

https://open.alberta.ca/publications/adjudication-guide

It's definitely worth a read. I posted a link several days ago and it wasn't talked about but it's really important for those of you who want to be on AISH to give it a read.

Here's a really important portion from "Part 2 – Impact of impairment on ability to work (page 8)":

>Applicants will be placed on ADAP if any of the following situations are true:

> - The applicant is currently working above the nominal threshold of employment allowed in AISH.

• The applicant has a condition that does not meet AISH criteria (e.g., non-permanent medical condition).
• The applicant has expressed willingness to work.
• The applicant does not have proof of prior participation in employment services (public or private).

>!It's a trick question.!<

>!If you're answering from an AISH perspective, "episodic" and "continuous" are the wrong frame. Those terms describe whether employment is impeded episodically or continuously, whereas the AISH question is whether the severe disability permanently prevents employment.!<

>!The answer isn't "episodic" or "continuous." The relevant word is "permanently."!<

>!In plain English, "continuous" feels like the obvious answer, but it does not match the statutory wording.!<

>!TL;DR: Don’t just document that your disability affects you every day. Document how and why it medically and functionally permanently prevents employment under the AISH test.!<

>!Credit to caseofthepunks for helping highlight that this distinction needs to be clearly reflected in the reassessment documentation.!<

Just wanted to share a heads-up with the community. While commencement meetings used to take place within days or a couple of weeks of receiving the commencement letter, timelines appear to be stretching out significantly to several weeks, and potentially months.

This bottleneck might be impacting other administrative tasks across the board. If you're waiting on action or require an immediate answer, don't sleep on your file, stay proactive and follow up early.

Also, it's not clear what's causing these long delays or how long they are expected to persist. It hopefully is either short-lived, or just an error that will be corrected. In the event either of those are true this message will be edited accordingly.

Welcome to our community space for sharing what keeps us going!

Whether you make music, paint, garden, game, or write, use this thread to connect with fellow Albertans, share your creative outlets, or talk about how hobbies help you cope day-to-day.

Keep it respectful, supportive, and on-topic for peer connection.

Doesn't have to be dramatic. Sometimes it's just someone who returned a call when they didn't have to, or explained a form in plain English instead of government-speak.

I'll go first: this community, and a few people in this community seem really genuinely helpful and wanting the most for AISH recipients and the other people who participate in this community.

Would love to hear who your people are. And if it happens to double as a "here's a good resource/program that person connected me to," even better! But mostly just want to hear the stories.

Hey everyone,

Navigating life on AISH can be a grind, but I’ve found a few "hidden" tricks that have the potential to save money and headaches. I wanted to start a thread to crowd-source the best tips for the community.

Here are a few to get the conversation started:

• Banking: If you are an RDSP beneficiary you can get the free chequing account at most of the big banks with no minimum balance.
• CIBC might be a little better, they don't require you to be an RDSP beneficiary but only a recipient of the Disability Tax Credit and their accounts are their full-service account (Smart Account) with unlimited transactions and e-transfers are free rather than the normal minimum accounts many of the others offer.

• Internet/Mobile: TELUS has an Internet for Good program that offers discounted rates for AISH recipients. Rogers also runs Connected for Success which provides lower-cost internet and mobile bundles. It’s worth checking both to see which works better for your specific area.
• Access2 Card: If you need a support person to join you at events or venues, the Access2 Card allows your support person free or discounted admission at many places across Canada. It’s a one-time fee. More info here.
• General Info: If you're ever looking for official support or help navigating benefits like AADL or housing, the Alberta Disability Supports page is the best place to start.
• Maximize the AISH and ADAP Financial Benefits https://manuals.alberta.ca/media/izhfb202/2026-07-02-aish-and-adap-financial-benefits-summary.pdf

What about you? Does anyone have other tips for saving money, local programs, or hacks for dealing with the bureaucracy or just making life easier?

Hi everyone,

I have been moderating r/AISH_Alberta for about a month and I have decided that it is time for someone new to take over as moderator.

When I revived this subreddit, it was because it had been restricted, which prevented anyone from posting during a critical transition period. Now that the transition from AISH to ADAP is better understood and the initial uncertainty has subsided, the demands on the sub have fallen significantly.

The subreddit deserves a mod with a fresh vision for the community rather than my "keeping the lights on" approach. This space serves an important purpose for Albertans, and I want to ensure it continues to be a helpful, safe, reliable, and supportive place to vent. Because of this, I am looking for one or two community members interested in stepping into the role.

What the role involves:

• Monitoring posts and comments: Ensuring content follows our rules and remains constructive.
• Spam control: Managing occasional off-topic content.
• Community support: Being a point of contact for members.

To be honest, the workload is very manageable. The community is largely self-moderating. Bad posts are typically downvoted, spam is rare, and the need for active intervention has decreased substantially. I anticipate this role requires only 2 to 5 minutes, twice a day, or even less.

What I am looking for:

I am looking for someone who is active here and understands the importance of this space. You do not need previous moderation experience. I had zero experience a month ago and just learned as I went.

How to apply:

If you are interested in helping out or taking over, please comment below and include:

1. Why you are interested in moderating r/AISH_Alberta.
2. Your general availability to check in on the subreddit.

I believe the community itself is the best group to help identify who would be the best fit for this role. Feel free to upvote comments from users you think would make great moderators. I am happy to work closely with whoever steps up to ensure a smooth transition of the tools and settings before I officially step down.

Thank you all for being a part of this community.

TL;DR 📢 DO NOT FORGET TO DO THE AISH RE-ASSESSMENT. 📢

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The ADAP letter being sent to those transitioning to the program is posted here: https://old.reddit.com/r/AISH_Alberta/comments/1uh0te6/this_message_is_now_being_delivered_to_those_who/

Note that the letter does not specify AISH, ADAP, or any particular benefit level when it promises "financial and health benefits" will continue. That language is technically accurate at every tier, including Income Support.

The ADAP regulation (s.15(4)) gives directors explicit authority to discontinue ADAP benefits if someone refuses to seek or accept employment, reduces or terminates their employment, or refuses to participate in employment supports. If someone is cut from ADAP under s.15(4), they may qualify for Income Support, provided they meet that program’s separate eligibility requirements. Income Support is not a guaranteed safety net, as it is a distinct program with its own criteria.

The final support level may not be ADAP but may be Income Support. That is not a safe landing. Income Support has two tiers:

• Expected to Work (ETW): $790 to $824 per month
• Barriers to Full Employment (BFE): $919 to $959 per month

(CBC, March 2024) Alberta's auditor general found that the province provides no public evidence that these amounts are sufficient to meet basic needs.

The 2026 budget introduced a six-month cap on ETW clients who fail to meet program obligations such as actively seeking employment or participating in assigned training. The government says exemptions exist for people assessed as having barriers to work. However, a 2024 Calgary pilot program targeting long-term income support recipients gives reason for caution: about 34 per cent of those clients turned out to have circumstances that prevented them from holding a job — meaning they were initially placed in the wrong category. Of the cases that were closed, only about 20 per cent of clients got jobs. The remaining 80 per cent were closed for other reasons including transitioning to other programs or non-compliance with program rules. I have not been able to find a breakdown of where those people ended up.

People with episodic disabilities face particular risk. The same regulation (s.4(2)(b)) that defines ADAP eligibility explicitly contemplates disabilities that impede employment "continuously or episodically" — meaning the program was designed with this population in mind. Yet people with episodic conditions are more likely to miss employment obligations during a bad period, and less likely to be successfully reclassified to BFE because their condition may not appear severe enough on any given assessment day.

Another group, people with executive function difficulties, face similar risks. Missed appointments, incomplete job search requirements, and failure to navigate the exemption process can all appear as non-compliance to a director, even when the underlying cause is the disability itself. The re-assessment process for AISH, which requires sustained organization, documentation, and follow-through, presents the same barrier. Executive function difficulties are also not always visible on a single assessment day, making successful reclassification to BFE harder to achieve.

It is structurally possible for someone to be transitioned from AISH to ADAP, cascade down to Income Support, be assessed as ETW, and finally lose all financial support after six months.

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While not covered here, AISH offers far greater protection against downward cascades than ADAP; removing a recipient from AISH is much more difficult for the director and the province.

The criteria for AISH have shifted from a 'substantial' limitation to a strict 'permanent' barrier to employment, and medical adjudication replaces standard administrative staff. If the program's medical review process denies your application, that decision is administratively final. There is no standard appeal process to override them; this is not like the old Citizens' Appeal Panel process. You have exactly one opportunity to get this right.

📢 DO NOT FORGET TO DO THE AISH RE-ASSESSMENT. 📢

I originally wrote "Do not forget to do the AISH re-assessment" (with some unwritten urgency) but do this with caution and preparation. The gates are even higher than I originally laid out.

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⚠️ Not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

Can't log in, API credentials not working, can't watch anything.