Co-Innovation Page

 

Re-Imagining AAHS to Foster One Health for People, Pets, and Partners™

Health in this context includes the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of people of all ages and the health and welfare of pets and other animals involved in delivering AAHS. Read more...

  • Relevant private AAHS standards and current practices inform the National Standards of Canada (NSC) development process.
  • NSCs do not duplicate or replace existing private company standards. Instead, developing NSCs unites interested stakeholders from different disciplines, sectors, and communities to establish impartial minimum or essential best practices to establish national benchmarks to improve quality of life, ensure public safety, inform and engage interested stakeholders, and respond to consumer needs and demands through marketplace innovation.
  • Published NSCs provide a means to identify common objectives to be proactive instead of reactive when responding to industry sector challenges.
  • NSCs are a tool to measure outcomes and the impact of those outcomes.
  • NSCs promote quality and enhance industry sector recognition and competition to meet growing market demands.

NEWS RELEASE


Veterans Affairs Committee Recommends Creating a Psychiatric Service Dog Program for Veterans

Ottawa, June 16, 2022

"It is not currently possible to identify programs or businesses that can guarantee that their dogs meet the requirements of a structured program for psychiatric service dogs. That is why it is imperative that the Government of Canada mandate a competent independent authority to establish an industry-wide standard. The Committee is recommending that this responsibility be given to the Canadian Foundation for Animal Assisted Support Services." 

Read more...


The Rationale for Voluntary National Standards of Canada {NSC}


Animal-Assisted Human Services (AAHS), commonly referred to as Animal-Assisted Services, encompasses a variety of multi- and interdisciplinary practices (such as breeding, training, and placement of Assistant/Service Animals), and Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) that include Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA), Animal-Assisted Learning (AAL), and Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) which support humans while safeguarding the welfare of the Human Service Assistance Animals (HSAA). AAHS is delivered by an Animal-Assisted Human Service Provider (AAHSP). AAHS is a subcategory within Canada’s human services industry. This evolving industry is a significant driver within an all-encompassing socio-economic sector and growing marketplace.


AAHS are not standardized through published National Standards of Canada (NSCs) or regulated by Canada’s public sector. Consequently, access to AAHS, such as animal-assisted healthcare, social, justice, and corrections services, is inconsistent, ambiguous, and confusing, and quality cannot always be ascertained. The absence of NSCs has the potential to harm consumers, the public at large, and the animals involved in service delivery while impacting the credibility of service providers and essential resources to sustain and foster innovation. This NSC outlines the requirements for the development of a management system for an AAHSP. It aims to:
• increase transparency and accountability of the delivery of AAHS;
• establish essential requirements and best practices for AAHS administration and governance; and
• promote a voluntary, third-party AAHS conformity assessment program to cultivate a credibility chain.

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It is the responsibility of the user of this NSC to judge its suitability for the user’s intended purpose. This NSC may be used for conformity assessment. For more information, please scroll down to access the infographic. 


Canada's First Voluntary National Standard of Canada {NSC} for Animal-Assisted Human Services
Download this Standard          Téléchargez la norme

Download/Télécharger Press Release/Communiqué

Scope

This NSC is intended for all Animal-Assisted Human Service Provider (AAHSP), whether they be an individual or organization, forprofit or not-for-profit, held publicly or privately, engaged in the business of AAHS delivery.

“Shall” vs “Should”: In this NSC, “shall” indicates that the requirement is mandatory and is supported by normative references, whereas “should” indicates that the requirement is recommended or a best practice statement.


Notice of Intent for the voluntary development of a National Standard of Canada for Animal-Assisted Human Services {AAHS}

CAN/HRSO-500.01-2021 - THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ANIMAL-ASSISTED SERVICES (AAS) Status: Published

For more information, please visit our Managing Quality page. 

National Standards of Canada {NSC} are considered voluntary because interested stakeholders recognize the need for and voluntarily participate in the development process. NSCs become mandatory if referenced in government legislation and/or regulations.  



Types of Standards

According to the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), a standard is a document that provides a set of agreed-upon rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results. Standards establish accepted practices, technical requirements, and terminologies for diverse fields.

Most standards aim to achieve an optimum order in a given context. Because they are easy to recognize and reference, standards enable organizations to ensure that their products or services can be manufactured, implemented and sold worldwide.

Standards can be either voluntary or mandatory:
  • Standards are voluntary when organizations are not legally required to follow them. Organizations may choose to follow them to meet customer or industry demands.
  • Standards are mandatory when enforced by laws or regulations, often for health or safety reasons.

How Industry Standards Differ from National Standards of Canada (NSC)

Business or organizational standards are private and only apply to those that create them and their members if applicable. Standards in this context refer to standard operational procedures {SOP}. NSCs are not SOPs but a compilation of national mandatory requirements and best practice statements. 

Published NSCs

Published NSCs do not certify service providers or accredit their programs {services, activities, etc.}. 

For example, 'program accreditation' within this industry sector does not refer to an impartial ‘third party’ contractual or governmental accreditation through legislated or regulatory requirements. But instead, a service provider's self-attestation or a peer review process determines whether a business or membership-based organization has met the brand performance, their private SOPs, and recognition criteria. Another way to understand this is to consider the following example outlining the need for adequate insurance coverage. 

  • The published NSC stipulates that all Animal-Assisted Human Services businesses ‘shall’ have {are required to have} adequate insurance coverage.
  • The business may have a policy that states an objective/SOP concerning what constitutes adequate insurance coverage for their business and the need for adequate coverage.  To achieve this objective (adhere to the policy), the business would have a corresponding SOP that outlines how to get good insurance coverage to achieve its stated purpose. 
  • With this in mind, the business or membership-based organization could attest that they comply with this NSC requirement. If a stakeholder asks the business to provide proof, the service provider could present their certificate of insurance from a recognized insurance underwriter. If the business uses an impartial third-party assessor, the assessor will ask the business to provide proof of insurance coverage, e.g., the certificate of insurance. 

Users and Benefits

Read more...

The Infographic Text Version

This list of potential users (interested stakeholders} is not exhaustive.

Consumers

Enhance consumer confidence.

NSCs are impartial and updated to remain current and useful to inform choices. 

Service Providers

Manage risk and quality.

Improve business practices where applicable.

A tool to determine whether a service provider meets or exceeds the NSCs.

Enhance credibility in the marketplace.

Public Sector

Inspire the development of new public policy or revise an existing public policy to meet shared objectives with interested stakeholders.

Reference NSCs in part or whole in legislation and regulations.

Private Sector

Inform and reference published NSCs in policies and best practices.

Reference NSCs when considering sponsorship.

Grant-Makers and Donors

Invite Animal-Assisted Human Service Providers and Professionals that use published NSCs to apply for grants.

Public and Private Foundations

Use published NSCs to inform giving options.

Federally Regulated Businesses

Make educated decisions about AAHS that directly or indirectly impact your businesses.

Responsibility of the Users

It is the responsibility of the users of an NSC to judge its suitability for the user’s intended purpose.

Click here to access the downloadable infographic.