The Ontario Works Program provides income and employment assistance for people who are in temporary financial need.
To be eligible for Ontario Works, an applicant must be:
- a resident of Ontario;
- in immediate financial need; and
- willing to participate in employment assistance activities.
The amount of money that someone receives from Ontario Works varies depending upon housing costs and family size. Clients may also be eligible for drug and dental coverage, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and community and employment start-up benefits.
All recipients of Ontario Works are required to participate in one or more employment assistance activities as a condition of eligibility for financial assistance. This helps people move as quickly as possible to a job and to become self-reliant.
Ontario Works provides practical help in finding a job. It helps people determine what they need to become employed. Because different people have different needs, Ontario Works has a number of ways to help its clients. Some participants need to update or upgrade their skills. Some need to complete their basic education or training for a particular job. Others simply need help in finding a job and staying employed. Ontario Works addresses these needs through a range of employment assistance activities based on individual skills, experience and circumstances.
Practical services to help finding a job
Ontario works provides a number of services that assist participants to find employment. These services include:
- Workshops on looking for work, résumé writing, and preparing for an interview.
- Referrals to job counseling or training.
- Access to telephones, faxes, computers and job banks.
- Information on who’s hiring.
Basic educationJobs and employers demand a higher education today. Ontario Works can help clients complete high school, improve language skills, and upgrade reading, writing or math.
Job skills training
Ontario Works can help participants get the skills they need for today’s job market by providing access to job-specific training and special skills programs.
Literacy screening and training
Ontario Works literacy screening and training helps participants who are unable to get or keep a job because they do not have basic reading, writing and math skills. Participants who lack basic literacy and numeracy skills are connected to training providers who assess their specific needs and provide the training that is needed.
Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP)
LEAP is a special program that focuses on young parents between the ages of 16 and 21 and their children. It provides young parents who are receiving assistance through Ontario Works with the supports they need to finish high school, improve parenting skills, and achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Employment placement
When a client is ready for a job, Ontario Works can help — with direct connections to employers who are hiring, information on how to prepare for an interview and job training.
Community placement
A community placement helps individuals contribute to their communities and get valuable experience. It’s an opportunity for participants to practice their skills, improve their confidence, and develop up-to-date job references and contacts.
Supports to self-employment
If approved, Ontario Works can help a client pursue self-employment activities. If a participant is interested in becoming self-employed, that person will be referred to a self-employment development agency in the community. The agency will assess the viability of the individual’s business proposal and provide ongoing support in business development.
JobsNow
Launched in April 2005, JobsNow is an innovative pilot project in six communities across Ontario that is helping longer-term social assistance recipients find and keep sustainable employment.
Addiction Services Initiative
The Addiction Services Initiative is a program designed to help people on social assistance whose substance abuse makes it difficult for them to become or stay employed.
The program currently operates in Algoma, Brantford, Muskoka, Parry Sound, Peterborough, Prince Edward Lennox and Addington, Sault Ste. Marie, Stratford, and Thunder Bay and is being expanded to Chatham-Kent, London, Peel, Ottawa and Wellington-Dufferin.
Help with work-related expenses
Ontario Works provides a number of benefits and financial supports, such as extended health benefits and prescription drug coverage, to help clients make the transition back to work.
Earnings exemptions
In order to help people get back to work as quickly as possible, Ontario Works has earning exemptions that ensure that participants are better off working than they are on social assistance.
Earnings exemptions help participants make the transition to employment and self-sufficiency.
The exemption rate on employment income or amounts paid under a training program is 50%.
This means that no matter how much someone earns, only half of the employment income is deducted from their Ontario Works financial assistance.
Ontario Works is delivered at the municipal level through 47 Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (in Northern Ontario, they are called District Social Services Administration Boards), and 109 First Nations delivery agents. If you would like more information on the program, contact your local Ontario Works office.
For more information about Ontario Works, please see: