Social Assistance Summaries [Ontario]
Posted on April 27, 2023 in Social Security Delivery System
Source: Maytree.com — Authors: Maytree
Maytree.com
April 2023
Ontario
The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory.
For the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance, visit the Welfare in Canada report.
Program details:
Social assistance is the income program of last resort. It is intended for households who have exhausted all other means of financial support. Every province and territory has its own social assistance program(s), and no two are the same.
- Ontario Works (OW), which provides income and employment assistance to people in financial need; and
- Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which provides income and employment support to people with disabilities who are in financial need.
Both Ontario Works and ODSP provide a range of allowances and benefits.
Ontario Works
Ontario Works income assistance includes an amount for shelter and basic needs such as food and clothing. In addition, employment assistance helps clients find, prepare for, and maintain a job.
Ontario Disability Support Program
ODSP income support helps with the cost of basic needs as well as providing certain health- and employment-related benefits.
People with disabilities can also voluntarily access support for employment to prepare for, find, and keep a job. Individuals do not have to receive ODSP income support to be eligible for employment programming.
Statistics
How many people claim social assistance?
In 2021-22, there were, on average, over 561,000 cases (families and single adults) and 855,000 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in Ontario’s social assistance programs.
Among the cases, 34 per cent (189,981) were recipients of Ontario Works and about 66 per cent (371,462) were recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program. And among the beneficiaries, almost 41 per cent (347,094) were recipients of Ontario Works and over 59 per cent (507,904) were recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program.
Ontario Works
On average, there were just under 190,000 households, families or individuals receiving Ontario Works in 2021-22, a sharp drop of over 27,000 from 2020-21. The number of beneficiaries also decreased to 347,000 in 2021-22, almost 54,000 fewer than the previous year.
The number of cases and beneficiaries, on average, decreased by 12.5 and 13.5 per cent, respectively, the second significant drop in a row. The 2021-22 number of cases and beneficiaries are the lowest since we began tracking social assistance numbers in 1996-97, and have for the first time fallen below the pre-2008 financial crisis levels.
Figure 1ON – Yearly cases and beneficiaries of Ontario Works, 1997 to 2022 *
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
In 2021-22, there was an average of over 371,000 cases in the Ontario Disability Support Program and nearly 508,000 beneficiaries. After steadily rising since the early 2000s, both numbers saw an initial decrease in 2020-21, and a sharper decrease in 2021-22. From the previous year, the number of cases and beneficiaries, on average, decreased by about 6,700 and almost 12,200, respectively.
Figure 2ON – Yearly cases and beneficiaries of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), 1997 to 2022 *
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2021-22, on average, 6.9 per cent of people in Ontario under 65 received Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which is about one in 14. The proportion of recipients receiving social assistance has followed a similar pattern as the total number of recipients.
The proportion of people under 65 receiving ODSP decreased for the first time in 2021-22 to 4.1 per cent. Previously, the proportion had increased consistently since 1997-98, reaching a high of 4.3 per cent in 2020-21.
The proportion of Ontario Works beneficiaries decreased steeply from 1997-98 to 2001-02, going from eight per cent to four per cent. Since then, the proportion has stayed in a range between 2.8 per cent to 4.1 per cent. In 2020-21, the average proportion of Ontario Works relative to the under-65 population reached its lowest value of 3.3 per cent.
Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of a given year, whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April to March).
Figure 3ON – Yearly beneficiaries of Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) as a proportion of the under-65 population of Ontario, 1997 to 2022 *
Who is receiving social assistance?
In 2021-22, on average, unattached singles comprised the majority of social assistance cases among households for both programs, with nearly 62 per cent of Ontario Works and almost 80 per cent of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). For both programs, single parents had the second largest percentage of cases, with 30 per cent for Ontario Works and nine per cent for ODSP.
For Ontario Works, single parent households had the highest proportion of beneficiaries, on average, with over 48 per cent, followed by unattached singles, with 34 per cent. Unattached singles comprised the majority of ODSP beneficiaries, with more than 58 per cent, followed by single parent households, with over 17 per cent.
Females made up the majority of Ontario Works beneficiaries, on average, in 2021-22, with 65 per cent. For ODSP, beneficiaries were almost equally split between males and females.
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* See https://maytree.com/social-assistance-summaries/ontario/ web site for charts & graphs.
Download the all-Canada report
Download the data for all of Canada
https://maytree.com/social-assistance-summaries/ontario/
Tags: disabilities, jurisdiction, poverty
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