Ministry of Community and Social Services

John Milloy Minister of Community and Social Services » Biography

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Overview

The Ministry of Community and Social Services promotes resilient and inclusive communities by helping people achieve their potential, build independence and improve their quality of life.

Major Responsibilities

The ministry provides a broad range of services that support vulnerable Ontarians. Its key responsibilities include:

• Helping adults with a developmental disability live more independently and participate in their communities
• Enforcing court-ordered child and spousal support so that families get the money to which they are entitled
• Promoting accessibility and working to break down barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating in the social and economic life of Ontario
• Helping Ontarians recover from hardship and become more self-sufficient through work.

Programs of Interest

Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy is a comprehensive approach to reducing family violence in First Nations and Aboriginal communities and improving the health of Aboriginal people who live on or off reserves.

Accessibility For Ontarians With Disabilities - The ministry is establishing accessibility standards that impact key areas of everyday life and will help everyone participate fully. The standards apply to the provincial government, municipal governments, and all organizations and businesses, and will make Ontario accessible by 2025.

Adoption Disclosure legislation that allows more open access to adoption records and original birth registrations.

Developmental Services for adults with a developmental disability and their families, including:

• A range of residential and accommodation supports
• Caregiver respite services and supports to provide temporary relief for primary caregivers
• Professional and specialized services, including assessment and counselling, behaviour intervention, service coordination, and speech and language therapy
• Community participation services including vocational and pre-vocational, employment, recreational and volunteer supports.

Family Responsibility Office - ensures that support payments flow properly from payors (people who make support payments) to recipients (people who receive them).

Homelessness Prevention Programs - provides funding to municipalities for a range of services which help people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Interpreter and Intervenor Services help people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind so they can communicate in a variety of life settings.

Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) supports people with disabilities by providing:

• financial assistance to meet the longer term requirements of people with disabilities in need; and
• employment assistance through a voluntary program offering a range of supports aimed at helping people find and keep jobs.

Ontario Works provides financial and employment assistance to eligible people in temporary financial need. People receiving assistance through Ontario Works participate in a wide range of employment assistance activities which help them prepare for, find and keep a job.

Violence Prevention - The ministry funds many programs and services to help women and their children live free of domestic violence.  These programs and services are delivered through more than 100 community social services organizations across Ontario, and include:

• emergency shelters
• crisis and support services
• counselling services
• housing support services
• transitional support services, and
• a province-wide crisis help line (the Assaulted Women's Helpline).