Social Assistance

Social Assistance Benefits

Social assistance benefits may be available as a source of income to persons who are unemployed, working-poor, or unable to work. For many, social assistance is the only source of income (Ross et al., 1994).

Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program

In 1995, the Province of Ontario reduced social assistance benefits by 21.6%. In 1998, the Ontario Works Act and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act replaced the old General Welfare Act and Family Benefits Act (SPC, 1999). Priority was placed on reducing welfare rates; tightening eligibility; fighting fraud; requiring people to do something in return for their benefits (e.g., workfare), with the ultimate purpose of saving taxpayers money (SPC, 1999).

Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is a program of income and employment assistance for people with disabilities. Those already receiving financial assistance from Ontario Works, can apply to ODSP if they meet all of the following conditions: they are disabled, are over the age of 18 years, and have a substantial health condition expected to last more than one year (Social Services Website, 2000). ODSP allows higher assets than what is allowed for Ontario Works.

Some recipients of Ontario Works and ODSP may receive other financial help with child care and medical care such as dental, glasses, medications. Families may receive a National Child Tax Benefit from the Federal Government. However, the federal government has tied the supplement to incomes, and has allowed provinces to "claw back" benefits from social assistance recipients. So, for families on social assistance, the Ontario provincial government deducts the amount of the supplement from the families' financial allocation, leaving them no better off than they were before (Child Poverty Action Group, November 2000).

Special Dietary Allowances

Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program recipients may be eligible for a special diet benefit for specific doctor prescribed diets. This allows clients extra money to accommodate special diet needs. Diets for which extra money is allowed include diets for diabetics requiring over 2400 calories, kidney disease, gluten free, high protein, restricted sodium, hyperlipoproteinemia and infant formula for therapeutic purposes or if breastfeeding is contraindicated. Many Registered Dietitians in the region feel the current diet benefit schedule is too limited in scope and out of date in terms of financial increments. Revisions to the diet schedule to reflect other special diets required for those diagnosed with other diseases is needed.

Who's receiving Social Assistance?

According to statistics available on the Social Services Website, as of June 2000, 58,684 residents of the Region of Ottawa-Carleton were receiving social assistance through Ontario Works.

·         Approximately 44% of those receiving social assistance were individuals while 56% were families.

·         Approximately two-thirds of families were led by a single parent while one third were two parent.

·         Approximately 67% cited employment related reasons for requesting assistance.

·         Twenty-six percent of clients had at least some post secondary education.

Table 1.   Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)

Table 2 illustrates the inadequacy of the current social assistance rates. The low income cut-off for a family of four in Ottawa $28,870 per year but Ontario Works pays a maximum of $14,136 or half of the low income cut-off level (Table 2). According to the Social Planning Council of Ottawa-Carleton (2000), the average poor family in Canada now lives $8,265 below Statistics Canada's low income cut-off. This is defined as the depth of poverty (Ross et al., 1994).

Income Security Advocacy Centre

Average rent of private apartments

in structures of three units or more (Oct. 2001) 

Source: CMHC 2001

III. Social Assistance Rates 

OW rates: single person: $520/month (max); single parent with one child: $997/month (max); two parents with two children: $1,250/month (max) 

ODSP rates: single person: $930/month (max); single parent with one child: $1,475/month (max)

IV. Permissible Asset Levels for Social Assistance Recipients

Ontario Disability Support Program 

Income Security Advocacy Centre

Social Assistance Shelter Allowance in Ontario 
 
 

*The numbers in brackets represent the increase in the average rent between 1995 and 2001 

(Source: Ministry of Community and Social Services; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 1995, 2001). 

Studies by the Income Security Advocacy Centre (www.incomesecurity.org) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have documented the bureaucratic nightmare people with disabilities face in trying to access ODSP.

In particular, the new telephone intake system presents barriers for

many people with disabilities to even successfully apply for ODSP.

The system is hard to navigate and is not appropriate for many

applicants given the nature of their disabilities.

A high rate of successful appeals among applicants initially refused

ODSP reveals serious problems in the processing of applications

While substantially higher than Ontario Works rates, ODSP rates do not

reflect the actual cost of living in Ontario. For this reason, ODSP recipients

make up the second largest group of food bank recipients in Toronto at

18.4% of all clients.

ODSP payments include a portion for shelter costs and a portion for all other

basic needs. As shown in the graph, ODSP shelter allowances do not come

close to covering the actual cost of rental housing in Toronto.

o ODSP shelter allowances for family sizes of 1, 2 and 3 people are

not sufficient to cover the average cost of a Bachelor apartment in

Toronto. For a family of four, the ODSP shelter allowance is

sufficient to pay the average cost of a Bachelor apartment only.

*

ODSP Shelter Allowances Compared to

Average Rents in Toronto

Lone Parent 3 Child

2-Parent 1 Child

Lone Parent 1 Child

Single Person

ODSP Shelter Allowance

$1,400

$1,200

$1,000

$800

$600

$400

$200

$0

768

707

652

414

Bachelor: $729

1-Bedroom: $891

2-Bedroom: $1,047

3-Bedroom: $1,246

Under the provincial Conservative government, the number of people with

disabilities turning to Toronto food banks for assistance has increased

substantially. In 2003, 40% of all clients have a disability compared to 30% in

1995. In 2003, 64,000 Torontonians in households headed by people with

disabilities are assisted by food banks each month compared to 34,500 in

1995.

50.7% of food bank clients with disabilities experience hunger at least

once a week despite the assistance of a food bank

The Provincial Government on ODSP

In 1998, the provincial Conservative government introduced the Ontario

Disability Support Program, replacing the Family Benefits Allowance.

According to the government, the ODSP “is intended to meet the needs of

people with disabilities and help them to become more independent.”

The Conservative government promoted the fact that under the new program,

ODSP recipients could retain a higher level of earnings and assets than under

the previous program. This tactic was used to gain support from the people

with disabilities community.

ODSP rates have not been raised for ten years.

Recommendations

For the Provincial Government:

Change the ODSP intake process so applicants can easily by-pass telephone

screening and have their application taken in person.

Have the Disability and Adjudication Unit specify and make transparent the

criteria used to determine an applicant’s disability status; make the criteria

publicly available and accessible. This will help applicants and required

professionals to fill out the forms accurately.

Provide the proper supports to ensure that applicants will be able to fill out the

forms correctly throughout the entire application process.

Shorten the processing time for applicants to begin receiving ODSP benefits.

Increase and index ODSP rates so that they reflect the present day living

expenses, including the cost of housing, in the recipients’ local communities.

For the Federal Government

Increase federal contributions to affordable housing programs to 2 billion

annually and ensure that all federal funds for affordable housing result in the

timely creation of housing that is truly affordable to those in need