Re-imagining Animal-Assisted Human Services (AAHS): Developing Canada’s first voluntary National Standard of Canada (NSC) for AAHS

Due to gaps and related risks, the need for Canadian industry sector standards for AAHS was acknowledged more than two decades ago. On September 12, 2022, The Canadian Foundation for Animal-Assisted Support Services (CF4AASS, 2023) was pleased to announce the publication of Canada’s first NSC for AAHS. The purpose of the NSC is to address issues such as the need to:

Standards development within this arena in Canada and internationally are considered voluntary because interested stakeholders recognize the need for standards where none currently exist. Demonstrating the need for the standard was the first step, followed by the submission of the Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), which allowed SCC-accredited Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) to identify and resolve any potential duplication of standards and efforts within the specified timeline. Conversely, when a published NSC is referenced in part or whole within legal instruments such as legislation, the NSC will become mandatory.

In 1996, the quest to re-imagine AAHS began by planting seeds concerning the need to co-design a Voluntary National Standard of Canada (NSC) or suite of NSCs by tapping into Canada’s National Standards System/Network. Developing the standard united interested stakeholders to establish a seamless and cohesive framework to uphold public safety, quality, people’s well-being and the animals’ welfare within this emerging landscape. This initiative challenged the status quo back in the day mainly because of the magnitude of this vision, the intricacies in sharing the vision and the exponential barriers compromising innovation across Canada, such as uncertainties despite the status quo.

Although information about the bond between humans and animals is plentiful, the impact on Human Services Assistance Animals (HSAAs) is sparse, as is education and knowledge concerning transmittable disease or infection from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa (‘zoonotic diseases’ or zoonoses). Such gaps must be addressed to ensure One Health for People, Pets, and Partners™.

Sections 4.1.5.9 to 4.1.5.25 (Responsibility and Accountability) of the NSC emphasize that service providers shall have written procedures to safeguard the safety and welfare of HSAAs. This Section outlines relevant requirements and best practices.

Further, mixed methods research informed the development of the NSC because combining the concentrations of each methodology leveraged the benefits of qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform, safeguard, and advance AAHS to uphold and increase public safety, quality, consumer satisfaction, the well-being of Canadians, and the welfare of HSAAs (HRSO, 2023c).

Assessing readiness for change was an organic process over the last two decades, which encompassed extensive networking with interested stakeholders, advocacy efforts with and for the recipients (end-users) of AAHS, uniting, engaging, and collaborating with consumers, families, and service providers, for more than two decades.

Exploration of the sector’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, e.g. reviewing, initiating, or contributing to research, hosting and responding to surveys, and hosting or attending special events, reinforced the long-standing need to co-design NSCs for Canada’s evolving AAHS industry sector. Moreover, the NSC and any additional standards are not meant to exist in a vacuum but as a solid foundation needed to construct and sustain progress.

“In Canada, about 20 percent of jobs are regulated to protect the health and safety of Canadians by ensuring that professionals and tradespeople meet the required standards of practice and competency. (The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials, n.d.)”. It is also noteworthy that addressing gaps in the National Occupational Classifications (NOCs) would be instrumental in making recommendations to develop NOCs where none currently exist.

Depending on a business’s scope of practice, only credentialed and licensed professionals can deliver certain human services. Some service providers opt to work with multi-disciplinary teams that include certified professionals to expand their work’s reach or meet the emergent needs in their respective communities. In either case, emphasis on transparency and not offering services beyond the extent of an Animal-Assisted Human Services Provider’s (AASHP’s) or Animal-Assisted Services Professional’s (AASP’s) vocation and corresponding credentials is essential best practice. Consequently, honesty in brand advertising is an paramount to protecting the interests of all concerned.

Building consensus does not suggest unanimity but inquiry-based dialogues among the standard’s Technical Committee (TC) that nurtured, acknowledged, and considered the voices and views of all members of the TC.

Compiling relevant normative and informative documents further guided the TC, as did feedback from interested stakeholders during the 60-day public consultation, resulting in an objective and impartial National Standard of Canada (NSC). Published NSCs are more than just technical documents; they are designed to benefit many stakeholders for their intended purposes and to inform choices.

Contrary to popular belief, standards do not accredit businesses. Instead, the NSC promotes a voluntary, third-party AAHS conformity assessment to determine whether an AAHS business’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) meet or exceed the NSC. As such, evidence to this effect and third-party programme accreditation would augment service providers’ credibility, giving them a distinct advantage within the rapidly growing AAHS marketplace.

Overall, the principles and application of consensus decision making greatly accentuated the visibility, value, versatility, and viability of future advancement and harmonization of norms and best practices to take Canada’s AAHS sector to a new level.

AAHS business enterprise standards are private and, therefore, apply to those who create them and their members, if applicable, not the industry sector at large. Private standards may or may not be publicly available. A business’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are typically associated with and subject to brand performance, scope of work, internal practices, policies, evaluation, and marketing.

The NSC, in comparison, involved multi-stakeholder collaboration and consensus decision making. The NSC publication is available to the public at no cost and was published in English and French. Moreover, the NSC was subject to a 60-day public consultation and did not act as a barrier to trade due to its neutrality.

The published NSC does not duplicate or replace existing private company standards/SOPs. Instead, co-designing the NSC was an incentive to unite interested stakeholders from different disciplines, sectors, and communities to address and fill gaps by establishing impartial and essential requirements and best practice statements, thereby setting descriptive, doable, and measurable national benchmarks while providing a means for organizations and potential future third-party evaluators to measure success by comparing SOP to the requirements and best practice statements noted in the NSC.

One FAQ was, “Given the diverse applications of these services, how can one standard benefit all AAHS organizations”? Section 4 (Technical Requirements) reflects the characteristics that apply to most businesses regardless of the size, specifications, scope of work, or type of business (for-profit or non-profit). For example, if a small organization is volunteer-driven, employment labour laws would not be applicable. Still, there may be some excellent sources of information for volunteerism best practices these organizations would benefit from.

A User Guide was created as a complementary resource to help stakeholders navigate, understand, and benefit from for their intended purposes. For example, service providers can use the NSC by comparing their SOPs to the Section 4 (Technical Requirements) requirements to determine whether they meet or exceed the NSC requirements or highlight the need for improvement in a given area.

Likewise, the public sector may use the NSC to inform existing or demonstrate the need for new public policy to address mutual objectives. Published NSCs can also be referenced in legislation/regulations, making a standard mandatory in part or whole, providing a cost-efficient and value-added option for addressing public sector systemic issues.

A recent study, “Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs” (MPDI, 2022), was published on 4 August 2022. The authors highlighted “working definitions” for the following terms: “assistance animal,” “companion animal,” “educational/school support animal,” “emotional support animal,” “facility animal,” “service animal,” “skilled companion animal,” “therapy animal,” and “visiting/visitation animal.” Due to the industry sector’s continuous expansion, divergent scopes of work, branding, and marketplace advertising, businesses’ working terms will likely continue to vary. This study further explains, “Although animals are increasingly being employed for a growing number of roles to support people, the terms used to describe those animals (e.g., ‘therapy animal’ and ‘emotional support animal’) can be confusing.” How true, but this is one example of how a high-level vocabulary can be beneficial when referring to the different types of AAHS within a specific context. For example, Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) are informal, recreational, and motivational activities that incorporate HSAAs. AAA is delivered in community settings such as hospitals, nursing and retirement homes, educational institutions, and airports. Handlers should be skilled in the populations, species, and settings they work within.

As a result the highlighted working definitions are not and will not be exhaustive. Nevertheless they all have one thing in common – all the animals are Human Services Assistance Animals (HSAAs). In contrast, the term Emotional Support Animal (ESA) refers to a companion animal (pet) that may provide comfort and emotional support to its owners. Although the animal is not explicitly task-trained for a disability or evaluated for community engagement. Subsequently, ESAs are not recognized as HSAAs within the NSC.

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. Subsequently, the published NSC incorporates two distinct sections that list the normative and informative references that informed the development of the NSC.

Moreover, the vocabulary referenced in the NSC reflects consolidated high-level industry sector terms and definitions, which clarifies and promotes a common language in Canada instead of using terminologies that apply to specific businesses, their respective brands, and scopes of practice.

Canada’s national standard uses the term “Human Services Assistance Animal” (HSAA) because it includes all animals involved in Human Services regardless of species or how they are employed. It’s simple and concise, which brings us to another point. NSCs are not developed to micro-manage businesses, e.g., how businesses refer to their HSAAs for branding purposes, because NSC requirements are descriptive, not prescriptive. HSAA was coined to provide a high-level, consistent means to identify the animals involved in Canada’s AAHS industry sector to alleviate ongoing misperceptions.

A domesticated, healthy, suitable, appropriately socialized, often trained, and evaluated animal and positively motivated partner in the delivery of AAHS.

Examples of HSAAs are as follows:

This list was inspired by ISAAT’s species list (ISAAT, 2018) within a Canadian frame of reference.

The word competition tends to have a negative connotation. However, a fair, open, and competitive market builds a more robust socio-economic economy and national benchmarks, which can also increase productivity, quality, and more choices. A vibrant open marketplace supported by the government may also bolster the affordability and accessibility of goods and services, benefiting consumers, businesses, and other relevant stakeholders.

Dialogues before and during the development of the NSC included competition within this complex socio-economic marketplace. As of 2017, over 140 countries have enacted and implemented competition legal and institutional frameworks (United Nations, n.d.). Canada’s Competition Act is a federal law of general application that applies to businesses and organizations at all levels, not just in regulated markets.

For this reason, it would be in the best interest of AAHSPs and AASPs to be familiar with market-related best practices. The Act and Canada’s Competition Bureau provide a wealth of information on this matter.

Mention of this topic is by no means legal advice, but to highlight the importance of AAHS businesses regardless of the type of business they operate, e.g. registered charity, non-profit, for-profit, membership-based, or sole proprietorships, being familiar with the Act and the do’s and don’ts concerning marketplace collaboration among competitors, and marketplace best practices.

Finally, reimagining that healthy competition in Canada could be a catalyst to elevate the value, availability, quality, and mutual benefits of the priceless gift of the human-animal bond, and the overall recognition of this burgeoning sector may be a defining moment to take this sector to the next level - an esteemed sector second to none.

A User Guide was created as a companion document, an educational and high-level practical guide to help stakeholders navigate Canada’s AAHS industry sector through a more cohesive and mutually beneficial lens and framework.

The Users’ of this NSC are responsible for judging its suitability for their intended purpose. This Guide, in addition to the NSC, reiterates the added value of utilizing the NSC internally or through third-party assessment to determine compliance. The Guide goes on to echo the benefits of using the NSC.

For example, AAHSPs and AASPs may use the NSC to:

To prevent or guard against the appearance of a conflict of interest, third-party programme accreditation uses independent, objective, neutral auditors or assessors to enrich credibility. Evaluations would assess whether an organization’s (business) programme’s SOPs meet or exceed the NSC requirements.

Some professions require specific licensing, such as healthcare professions. Verifying a professional’s credentials, education, licenses, and experience ensures that they meet the standards of practice required within the discipline and bodies that oversee their field. To provide further context, please consider the three following explanations.