New ADAP Employment Services Details: What Disabled Albertans Need to Know About EmployNext
Important new information about ADAP employment services in southern Alberta has been passed along to me.
The information comes from a June 2026 package prepared by EmployNext, powered by Serco. It explains how EmployNext plans to coordinate employment services for people going through the Alberta Disability Assistance Program, or ADAP, as well as Income Support Stream C.
This package is not currently easy for the public to find. Because these services could directly affect disabled Albertans, I believe people deserve to understand what the document says before they are expected to navigate the process.
I have uploaded the file to my website, and you can download it to read at your leisure, but I reviewed the 22-page package and broke it down into plain language.
The package gives us new information about:
How people may be referred to EmployNext
Disability Employment Readiness Assessments
Individual Action Plans
Employment service providers
Disability-related accommodations and supports
Follow-up after someone finds employment
What may happen when someone cannot be contacted
It also leaves several serious questions unanswered.
Here is what people going through ADAP, their families, support workers and advocates need to know.
ADAP and EmployNext at a Glance
What is EmployNext?
EmployNext is the main contractor coordinating certain employment services for people going through ADAP in Alberta’s South Zone.
Can you sign yourself up?
No. The package describes this as a referral-only service. The Government of Alberta must first refer you.
What assessment may you complete?
People receiving ADAP may complete a Disability Employment Readiness Assessment, also called a DERA.
What happens after the assessment?
EmployNext or a local employment service provider is expected to create an Action Plan with you and connect you with employment and community supports.
Can you request accommodations?
Yes. You should clearly explain the accommodations you need to participate safely and meaningfully.
Could this process affect your ADAP benefits?
The EmployNext package does not clearly explain whether missing, declining or being unable to complete employment activities could affect someone’s benefits.
What Is EmployNext, and What Does It Have to Do With ADAP?
EmployNext is an employment-services program operated by Serco.
The Government of Alberta has selected EmployNext as the prime contractor for the South Zone. Its role is to coordinate the employment-service side of the system by connecting people with employment providers and other community supports.
EmployNext is not ADAP itself.
Based on the information provided, EmployNext does not appear to decide whether someone qualifies for ADAP financial benefits. Its role is focused on employment services and service coordination.
That may include connecting people with:
Employment service providers
Case managers
Peer mentors
Career-planning support
Résumé and interview assistance
Training and skill development
Employers
Disability-related employment supports
Transportation, housing and community services
In Calgary, EmployNext will be more directly involved in intake and case management.
Outside Calgary, EmployNext will normally connect people with a local employment service provider that will deliver the services.
Can ADAP Recipients Sign Themselves Up for EmployNext?
No.
The EmployNext package describes this as a referral-only intake process.
That means the Government of Alberta must first refer someone to EmployNext. You cannot simply contact EmployNext and independently enrol yourself in the program.
Once the Province sends the referral, EmployNext or a local employment service provider is expected to contact you.
The package says Income Support Stream C participants will be told that EmployNext should contact them within five days. However, it does not clearly state whether that exact timeline applies to everyone receiving ADAP.
What Happens After an ADAP Employment-Services Referral?
Here is the process in plain language.
The Province sends your referral
The Government of Alberta sends your information to EmployNext through a system called Compass.
Compass is used to track:
Referrals
Contact attempts
Referral status
Service-provider connections
Participation
Outcomes
This means information about your employment-services journey may be entered into a shared system used by the Province and service providers.
EmployNext or another provider contacts you
In Calgary, EmployNext is expected to contact you directly.
Outside Calgary, EmployNext will generally connect you with an employment service provider in your local community.
Pay attention to telephone calls, emails and letters after a referral is made. The person contacting you may not be your regular ADAP worker.
At the same time, a missed telephone call should not automatically be treated as refusing to participate.
Many disabled people cannot reliably answer the telephone. Some people need communication by email or text. Others may need an interpreter, plain-language information, support from another person or additional time to respond.
Those are accessibility needs. They should not be treated as signs that someone is unwilling to participate.
What Is the Disability Employment Readiness Assessment?
People receiving ADAP may be asked to complete a Disability Employment Readiness Assessment, also called a DERA.
The assessment is supposed to identify:
Your strengths
Your employment goals
Your disability-related needs
Barriers that may affect employment
Supports or accommodations you may require
In Calgary, EmployNext is expected to complete the DERA.
Outside Calgary, the local employment service provider will usually complete it.
This assessment should not be reduced to one question: “Can you work?”
It should look at your full situation.
That may include:
Your disability and health
Pain or fatigue
Fluctuating symptoms
Medical appointments
Transportation
Housing stability
Communication needs
Personal-care needs
Support-worker schedules
Workplace accessibility
Your ability to work fixed hours
Previous work attempts
The risk that work could make your health worse
A person may be able to do some work under the right conditions while still facing serious disability-related barriers.
That reality must be respected.
What Is an ADAP Employment Action Plan?
After the assessment, EmployNext or the local employment provider is supposed to create an Action Plan with you.
The words “with you” matter.
The plan may include:
Employment preparation
Training or education
Job searching
Résumé and interview support
Referrals to community services
Steps intended to address barriers
Accommodation planning
Connections with employers
You should be meaningfully involved in creating your Action Plan.
You should also ask for a written copy.
Read it carefully and make sure it accurately explains your:
Employment goals
Abilities
Disability-related limitations
Support needs
Accommodation requirements
Barriers to employment
Do not agree to information you know is inaccurate simply because you feel pressured to complete the appointment.
An employment plan based on an inaccurate understanding of your disability is not a meaningful or person-centred plan.
What Are Wraparound Supports?
The package says people may be connected with wraparound supports.
These could include help with:
Transportation
Housing
Mental health
Addiction services
Disability supports
Peer support
Accessibility services
Community resources
Disability Related Employment Supports applications
A warm handoff should mean more than giving someone another telephone number and telling them to figure it out.
It should mean helping the person connect with the organization, sharing information appropriately and making sure the referral does not disappear into a black hole.
That is what a coordinated referral is supposed to look like.
Now we need to make sure that is what actually happens.
How Long Can ADAP Employment Services Continue?
The EmployNext package says employment services may continue for up to 52 weeks.
Those services may include:
Career planning
Résumé support
Interview preparation
Skills development
Training
Job matching
Connections with employers
Help preparing to begin work
Support after starting a job
The package also describes follow-up after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months once someone has secured employment.
The stated goal is long-term employment and job retention.
However, employment should not be treated as successful simply because someone has been placed in any available job.
The employment must be realistic, accessible and sustainable.
A job that ignores someone’s disability, accommodation needs, health or transportation barriers is not a successful outcome simply because the person showed up for a shift.
How Are EmployNext Services Different Inside and Outside Calgary?
Services in Calgary
EmployNext currently lists service areas in:
Northwest Calgary
Northeast Calgary
Downtown Calgary
Southeast Calgary
Southwest Calgary
The package says Calgary locations will have case managers and peer mentors.
EmployNext is expected to:
Complete the intake
Conduct the Disability Employment Readiness Assessment
Create the Action Plan
Provide case management
Connect the person with employment services
Refer the person to community and disability supports
Services outside Calgary
Outside Calgary, EmployNext will generally act as the coordinator.
It will receive the referral from the Province and connect the person with a local employment service provider.
That local provider may then:
Complete the DERA
Develop the employment plan
Provide employment services
Deliver case management
Connect the person with other supports
Complete follow-up after employment begins
This means people may have different experiences depending on where they live and which organization receives their referral.
That makes clear standards, accessibility requirements and accountability extremely important.
What Happens if EmployNext Cannot Contact You?
This is one of the biggest concerns in the package.
It says that when EmployNext cannot contact someone, or when someone declines to participate, the referral may be returned to the Province.
However, the package does not clearly explain:
How many times EmployNext must try to contact someone
Whether more than one communication method must be used
What happens after a referral is returned
Whether this could affect someone’s ADAP benefits
How communication disabilities will be accommodated
What happens when someone needs more time
What happens when someone is sick or in hospital
How a person can correct an inaccurate claim that they refused services
Whether there is a review or appeal process
Those are not small administrative details.
They could affect a person’s income, health and sense of security.
A missed call is not the same as refusing services.
A disability-related communication barrier is not the same as non-compliance.
What Accommodations Can You Request?
The exact accommodation will depend on your disability and circumstances.
You may need:
Communication by email instead of telephone
Written instructions
Plain-language information
Extra time to process or respond
Online or virtual appointments
An accessible meeting location
An interpreter
Captioning
A support person at appointments
Breaks during longer meetings
Flexible scheduling
Appointment times that work with personal-care support
Documents in an accessible format
Request accommodations as early as possible.
You may wish to use wording like this:
I am willing to participate in the process. Because of my disability, I require the following accommodations to participate safely and meaningfully: [list your needs]. Please confirm in writing how these accommodations will be provided.
This makes it clear that you are not refusing to participate.
You are requesting equal access to the process.
What Should You Document During the ADAP Process?
Keep records from the beginning.
Write down:
The name of the person who contacted you
The organization they work for
Their telephone number and email
The date and time of each contact
What they asked you to do
Any deadline they gave you
Any accommodation you requested
How they responded to your accommodation request
What they said would happen next
Whether information was sent to the Province
Ask for important instructions and decisions in writing.
Save copies of:
Emails
Letters
Assessments
Action Plans
Appointment notices
Accommodation requests
Referral information
Notes from telephone calls
Good records can help if there is later a disagreement about what you were told, what you agreed to or whether you requested an accommodation.
Be Honest About Disability-Related Barriers
Do not minimize your disability because you are afraid of being judged.
Tell the worker about barriers such as:
Pain
Fatigue
Fluctuating symptoms
Medical appointments
Transportation problems
Inaccessible workplaces
Communication barriers
Sensory barriers
Mental health limitations
Difficulty working fixed hours
The need to work from home
Personal-care needs
Memory or concentration challenges
Support-worker schedules
Previous unsuccessful work attempts
The risk that employment may make your health worse
The goal should not be to prove that you cannot do anything.
The goal should be to create an honest picture of:
What you can do
What you cannot reasonably do
What conditions you need
What accommodations would help
What barriers must be addressed
Questions to Ask Your EmployNext Worker
During your first appointment, consider asking:
Who is my main contact person?
Can I receive all instructions and appointment information in writing?
What accommodations can you provide?
Can appointments be held online or through another accessible method?
Who will complete my Disability Employment Readiness Assessment?
Can I receive a copy of my completed DERA?
Can I receive a copy of my Action Plan?
What happens if I disagree with part of my assessment or plan?
What information will be shared with the Government of Alberta?
What happens if my disability prevents me from completing an activity?
How do I make a complaint or request a review?
Could anything that happens through this process affect my ADAP benefits?
Who pays for transportation or other costs connected to participation?
What happens if no suitable or accessible employment is available?
What happens if an employer refuses to provide accommodations?
Do not be afraid to ask the worker to slow down, repeat something or explain it differently.
You have the right to understand what is happening.
What the EmployNext Package Does Not Explain
The package gives us a better understanding of how the employment-service system is supposed to operate.
However, it still leaves major questions unanswered.
It does not clearly explain:
Who will be referred
Whether every ADAP recipient will be referred
What counts as refusing to participate
What happens if someone declines an activity
Whether employment-service decisions could affect ADAP benefits
How employment expectations will be adjusted for disability
Whether someone can challenge a DERA
Whether someone can challenge an Action Plan
How complaints will be investigated
What happens when suitable employment does not exist
What happens when an employer refuses accommodations
Whether virtual participation must be offered
Who pays for transportation
How privacy will be protected
How information in Compass will be used
What happens when someone’s disability becomes worse
How many attempts must be made before someone is considered unreachable
People deserve answers to these questions before they are expected to navigate the process.
My Advice for People Going Through ADAP
Document everything.
Ask questions.
Request accommodations early.
Ask for copies of your DERA, Action Plan and other important documents.
Correct inaccurate information as soon as possible.
Most importantly, do not let anyone treat your disability-related needs as a refusal to participate.
Employment support can be valuable when it is truly individualized, accessible and based on the person’s actual circumstances.
It becomes harmful when people are pushed into plans that ignore their health, disability, lived experience or need for accommodations.
The EmployNext package repeatedly uses words such as:
Client-centred
Trauma-informed
Accessible
Tailored
Coordinated
Now those promises need to show up in the real experiences of people going through ADAP.
People deserve more than polished language in a government-funded information package.
They deserve clear answers, accessible services and respect.
You are not wrong for asking questions.
You are not difficult for requesting accommodations.
You are not refusing to participate simply because you need the process to be accessible.
Final Thoughts on ADAP Employment Services
This information should not be difficult for disabled Albertans to find.
People going through ADAP should not have to rely on documents being passed around privately to understand a system that may affect their income, employment expectations and access to support.
I am sharing this information because people deserve the chance to prepare, ask questions and request accommodations before they enter the process.
I will continue reviewing information as it becomes available and sharing it in plain language, because people going through ADAP deserve clarity, not more confusion.
For service concerns or escalations, the package lists Kayla Terry, EmployNext Alberta Program Director, at kayla.terry@serco-na.com.
Please share this article with anyone going through ADAP, their family members, support workers or advocates.
The more people understand the process, the harder it becomes for confusion to be mistaken for consent—or for disability-related barriers to be treated as non-compliance.
This blog is based on the EmployNext Alberta Information Package, Version 1, dated June 2026. It provides general information and should not be considered legal advice.
