Temporary Care Assistance in Ontario: Money for Relatives Caring for a Child

Maybe a child has come to live with you suddenly. You might be a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, or a close family friend, and a children's aid society (CAS) may or may not be involved. Food, clothing and housing for another person add up quickly, and many caregivers do not know there may be help available.

One possible source is Temporary Care Assistance (TCA), which is delivered through Ontario Works. This article explains who can apply, who is left out, how it fits with different CAS arrangements, and what the listed amounts are. Every situation is different, so treat this as a general guide.

What Temporary Care Assistance is and who applies

Under Ontario Works Policy Directive 3.10, the adult who is giving the temporary care is treated as the applicant, not the child. The child must be in that adult's temporary care and in financial need.

Grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends are often the ones who step in, so it helps to know how the law describes them. The Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) defines a "relative" to include a grandparent, great-uncle, great-aunt, uncle or aunt, including relationships formed through a spousal relationship or adoption. It also recognizes that someone who is not related can be a member of the child's community, such as a family friend with a beneficial and meaningful relationship with the child. Those definitions come from the CYFSA, though, and TCA has its own eligibility rules, which are set out below.

The eligibility rules

The TCA directive sets several conditions. In general, all of them need to be met.

• The child is in your temporary care.
• The child is in financial need.
• The child is not a dependent child under Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
• You have no legal obligation to support the child.
• You are not being paid for caring for the child under the CYFSA.

Whether your own circumstances meet each condition is decided by the local Ontario Works office, so it is worth asking early rather than assuming you do not qualify.

Who is left out: parents and those who treat the child as their own

A caregiver who is the child's natural or adoptive parent has a legal obligation to support the child and cannot get TCA. The same is true of a caregiver who has "demonstrated a settled intent to treat the child as a child of their own family".

That second wording matters for relatives. A grandparent who has simply stepped in for a while is in a different position from one who has taken on the role of the child's parent. Where a particular arrangement falls can depend on the facts, so a lawyer can help you understand how it may be viewed.

How TCA fits with CAS arrangements

A ministry policy directive draws a line between "kinship service", for children who are not in a society's formal care, and "kinship care", for children who are in the society's formal care. The TCA directive then addresses CAS arrangements this way:

Because TCA excludes anyone paid for care under the CYFSA, payments from a society can also affect your eligibility. What support a society offers for a particular arrangement can vary, so ask the society directly what, if anything, it provides.

Amounts, teens aged 16 and 17, and other benefits

• The listed maximums are $274 for the first child and $224 for each additional child.
• North of the 50th parallel in areas without year-round road access, the maximums are $440 for the first child and $326 for each additional child.
• A child who is 16 or 17 must also sign the TCA application, and may be eligible for assistance in their own right from age 16.
• Children on TCA get mandatory health benefits, but not the Transition Child Benefit.

These figures come from an Ontario Works policy directive. The amounts and the rules for kinship situations may have changed since the directive was written, and local Ontario Works offices (municipal service managers) apply them. Treat the numbers as a starting point and confirm the current ones.

What to do next

• Write down when the child came to live with you, who arranged it, and whether a CAS is involved.
• Ask the CAS, if involved, whether it is paying you anything for the child's care and how your arrangement is described.
• Gather identification and basic information about the child and your household.
• Contact your local Ontario Works office and ask about Temporary Care Assistance and the current amounts.
• If the child is 16 or 17, plan for them to sign the application too.
• Speak with a lawyer if you are unsure about your legal status toward the child or about what a CAS arrangement means for you.

Frequently asked questions