O.Reg.156/18: General Matters Under the Authority of the Minster

Policy

Children, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017

In Ontario, the provision of child welfare services is delegated by the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services exclusively to children's aid societies (societies) and is governed by the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA). Societies are independent legal entities accountable to the communities they serve through governance by local, volunteer boards of directors and in the case of two Indigenous societies, band councils. The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services provide funding and system oversight. Under s.42 of the CYFSA, the Minister may issue directives to societies, which societies must comply by.

Under the CW003-16 policy directive, societies are required to apply the 2016 Ontario Permanency Funding Policy Guidelines (OPFPG) when providing financial assistance for the purposes of facilitating admission prevention, kinship service, place of safety, customary care, adoption and legal custody. The guidelines reflect the principles that financial assistance should be based on the unique needs of the child, and the family's or caregiver's ability to meet those needs.

The OPFPG are being updated to include enhancements to financial supports including adoption and legal custody subsidies, kinship services funding and revisions to funding related to customary care.

Specifically, MCCSS is revising the 2016 OPFPG to include the following financial supports:

Adoption and Legal Custody
Introduction of a new Standard Adoption and Legal Custody Subsidy of $475/month for
eligible families who adopt a child who is seven or under and not part of sibling group.
Eligible families must have an annual net family income of $97,856 or less;
Increase to the annual net family income threshold for targeted subsidies to $97,856 from
$93,700; and
Transferability of standard and targeted adoption and legal custody subsidies to new adoptive
parents or legal custody guardians who meet eligibility criteria in the event of death of
adoptive parents or legal custody guardians.

Kinship Service
Introduction of new start-up funding of up to $1,000 for each new Kinship Service family to
assist with initial costs and home modifications to support the placement.
Introduction of new episodic funding for all children in Kinship Service arrangements (up to
$1,000 annually to provide additional supports, such as clothing, recreation, school
materials)

Customary Care
Increase the amount of one-time financial assistance per eligible child subject to a customary
care agreement from $5,000 to $6,000; and
Expand the definition for expenditures eligible for funding under the one-time financial
assistance.

Policy changes to the 2016 OPFPG will impact regulated entities such as societies, as they provide financial supports for children, youth and families. Direct compliance costs are anticipated related to administrative costs such as learning about policy changes, reporting and monitoring new subsidy agreements and assessing family eligibility.

21-MCCSS001

August 4, 2021

September 20, 2021

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