Published plans and annual reports 2025–2026: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Ministry overview

Ministry’s vision

Working with community partners, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services funds, designs and delivers programs and services to protect and support people in Ontario during times of need. MCCSS works to improve outcomes for children, youth, families and individuals who need support, and advance social and economic opportunities for women across Ontario.

This includes supporting:

• Children and youth in need of protection or child welfare services
• Children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities
• Youth who are involved with the justice system
• Ontarians in need of financial or other support to build better lives for themselves through economic independence
• First Nation, Métis, Inuit and urban Indigenous communities across the province, including through Indigenous-led services and supports
• Women in the workforce, women-led businesses, women entrepreneurs, and women and girls who are building their skills and experience to prepare for the economy of the future
• Survivors and victims of violence including survivors of human trafficking, survivors of gender-based violence, and Indigenous individuals, families, and communities impacted by violence

At a high level, MCCSS investments in 2025-26 are being made across four key categories:

• Financial and employment services through the Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Programs and associated supports like the Ontario Drug Benefit
• Supports to individuals and families, including supports for adults with developmental disabilities, children and youth with special needs including autism, women and children experiencing violence, Ontario’s deaf-blind community, and youth in communities facing systemic barriers
• Supports for children and youth at risk, including child protection services delivered by children’s aid societies, youth justice services, as well as community and prevention support
• Direct financial support for low to moderate income families through the Ontario Child Benefit

At MCCSS, we deliver programs and services that support Ontarians at key moments in their lives and help them be the best they can be.

Investing in and protecting Ontarians

• Continued implementation of the Ready, Set, Go program with an investment of $170 million over three years starting in 2023-24. This program helps prepare youth in care for adulthood with the life skills they need after they leave care.
• It also offers financial supports for youth up to age 23 and additional financial assistance for post-secondary education and pathways to employment. In 2024-25, between April 1 and December 31, 2024, this program supported almost 3,500 youth as they prepared for adulthood.
• Announced a three-year $108.5 million agreement with the federal government through the National School Food Program, including $45 million in 2025-26, to increase access to nutritious food in schools for students. This investment is estimated to deliver healthy meals to an additional 175,000 students each day through the Student Nutrition Program and 375,000 more meals through the First Nations Student Nutrition Program.
• Extended the three-year investment in the Integrated Pathways for Children with Extensive Needs initiative for a fourth year. MCCSS will invest another $12.9 million in this joint initiative, which is co-funded with the Ministry of Health for a total of $32.3 million in 2025-26. This innovative service connects children with extensive, complex needs and their families to a multidisciplinary team of professionals who work together to provide tailored support based on the individual needs of the child or youth and their family.
• Invested an additional $11.8 million in ongoing funding for the Healthy Babies Healthy Children, Young Parent Services and Infant and Child Development Programs to better support family well-being and child development and ensure that children who need additional support are provided with specialized services as soon as possible.
• Exempted the new Canada Disability Benefit as income for ODSP, Ontario Works, and the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD) program to ensure the benefit gives meaningful support to social assistance recipients. The changes would allow social assistance and ACSD recipients who are eligible for the Canada Disability Benefit to receive the benefit, up to $200 per month per person, without seeing a reduction in their payments or entitlements.
• Increased rates for income support by 4.5% on July 1, 2024. Rates will increase an additional 2.8% on July 1, 2025 for individuals under the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), alongside the maximum monthly amount under the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program. With this latest update, our government will have increased rates by almost 20% since September 2022 for program recipients.
• Continued to invest in supportive housing options for adults and children with disabilities to empower and connect them to the services they need, including committing $16 million to the Luso Canadian Charitable Society in Hamilton and $21 million for Safehaven’s Bloor Site Redevelopment Project in Toronto.
• Invested an additional $59 million to support municipal and First Nations Ontario Works partners in administering Ontario Works and supporting clients. This included an additional $52 million to municipal Ontario Works partners and an additional $7 million to First Nations partners.
• Continued implementation of the Ontario Autism Program (OAP), including the ongoing enrollment of children/youth into core clinical services, caregiver-mediated early years and entry to school programs for young children, foundational family services and urgent response services. AccessOAP is serving thousands of children registered in the OAP with intake, registration, and care coordination.
• Awarded 70 capacity-building projects through the third round of the Ontario Autism Program Workforce Capacity Fund to build and retain a stable and skilled workforce, with a priority focus on Northern, rural and remote communities, and for Indigenous and Francophone families.
• Through Ontario’s action plan to end gender-based violence, we are investing approximately $98 million over three years in 85 new gender-based violence services and supports that prevent violence and address the needs of local communities and populations. During the course of the action plan, the province will invest $1.4 billion dollars towards our goal of preventing and ending gender-based violence across the province.
• Announced the renewal of Ontario’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy for the years 2025-2030, with an investment of more than $345 million over the same period to help support survivors, raise awareness, protect victims and hold offenders accountable. This includes supporting CARE units in Toronto, Durham, and the introduction of a third CARE unit in Northern Ontario in Kenora.
• Continued implementation of the Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s strategy in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was developed in partnership with the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council. Ontario’s Strategy is a whole of government response that sets the path forward to confront and address the root causes of violence and abuse, so future generations of Indigenous women, girls, and their families are safe to live their lives free of violence.
• Announced an investment of up to $26.7 million over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program to support 25 programs across the province that provide training opportunities for low-income women. The program helps women gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to find a job, start a business and achieve financial security.
• Launched the TPON case management system in 2025 for the Special Services at Home and Enhanced Respite for Medically Fragile and Technologically Dependent Children programs to reduce administrative burden in managing case files. The new system will increase efficiency at the Regional Offices and improve families’ experiences with the programs.

Ministry programs: 2024-25

The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services tracks key performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of its policies and better inform ministry decision-making and program design.

These statistical measurements of program outcomes allow the ministry to apply a quantitative lens in determining the success of its policies and programs and their impact on Ontarians who rely on them.

By setting target goals and tracking program outcomes against the ministry’s goals, key performance indicators ensure that the ministry has the information it needs to make cost-effective decisions on the best use of taxpayer dollars, and where changes should be made to strengthen existing programs.

As outlined below, MCCSS has achieved several key accomplishments over the past year to protect Ontario by empowering those who need support, modernize service delivery, and provide a sustainable system of social supports.

Social assistance improvements

The ministry’s vision for social assistance improvements is focused on building a more responsive, efficient, and person-centred social assistance system. The government has modernized the way that social assistance is delivered so that people get the support they need while helping people who aren’t eligible for social assistance to connect with other available benefits and skills training that will support their success.

The province centralized the initial eligibility decision-making and intake process for Ontario Works in all 47 municipal and District Social Services Administration Board partners as of May 2025. This transformation allows local caseworkers to focus on delivering high-impact person-centred supports.

As of March 2025, the Integrated Employment Services model has been fully implemented across the province, with social assistance employment services outside of First Nations delivery sites now provided by Employment Ontario. We have worked with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to create a better employment services system that is easier to use, more localized, and will improve access to employment and training services for Ontarians, including social assistance recipients.

In 2024-25, the ministry:

• Improved service delivery by centralizing intake and eligibility determination for all 22,000 social assistance applications every month. The centralized model features automated information verification with third party data sources so the ministry can more quickly determine eligibility, reducing applicant wait times for eligibility decisions, strengthening program integrity, and diverting potential losses. The new model has prevented over $35 million in loss as part of Ontario Works intake.
• Fully implemented Integrated Employment Services with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development for an employment services system that is easier to use, more localized, and will improve access to employment and training services for Ontarians, including social assistance recipients.
  • As of March 31, 2025, Service System Managers have helped more than 93,000 people referred from social assistance work towards finding meaningful employment.
  • Among social assistance clients who have completed pre-employment services, 69% have found employment. In 2024, the number of social assistance cases that exited to employment increased from 28,599 to 34,994, a 22% increase, continuing an upward trend since 2021.
• Made it easier and faster to apply for social assistance with a simplified online application process that lets people apply for Ontario Works and ODSP through one single application. The new digital application saves most applicants about 74 minutes when applying for social assistance programs. Improved disability forms were also introduced to make it easier for clients and healthcare providers to complete necessary elements of an application.
• Provided digital communication channels for clients to connect with their caseworkers more easily by sending messages and documents or accessing information and reporting changes online. As of March 2025, over 10.4 million messages have been sent and received through MyBenefits.
• Partnered with ServiceOntario to provide enhanced support for social assistance applicants needing assistance or additional information about existing provincial programs. This approach provides the support needed for applicants while enabling local offices to focus on supporting existing clients. ServiceOntario handles over 70,000 calls per month from social assistance applicants and clients.
• On July 1, 2024, increased rates for income support by 4.5%, for individuals under ODSP, and increased the maximum monthly amount under the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program.
• Began centralized provincial collection of new inactive Ontario Works overpayments as the designated delivery agent for all 47 municipal Ontario Works and District Social Services Administration Board sites, introducing 2,938 cases to provincial purview.
• Key accomplishments on dental care for social assistance recipients include ensuring sustainability in Ontario’s publicly funded dental programs by establishing that the federal government pays first for dental care for eligible Ontarians, and implementing an interim coordination of benefits strategy with the Canadian Dental Care Plan to maximize access to dental care for ODSP recipients.
• Centralized the administration of several benefits for ODSP clients across the province, resulting in the processing of 399,179 invoices, reimbursing 3,924 vendors for $162.9 million of services, and processing 73,157 clients’ eligibility approvals for special diet allowances and mobility devices.
• Recognizing the potential economic impacts of US tariffs, the ministry is engaging with delivery partners to better understand early and potential impacts to the social assistance system and opportunities for supports and resources in local communities.

Developmental services

The government is committed to protecting Ontario by empowering those who need support and providing a sustainable system that addresses their unique needs.

In 2024-25, Ontario invested approximately $3.5 billion in services for people with developmental disabilities. This included funding dedicated to supportive living services and supports.

Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion

In May 2021, MCCSS released Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion, a long-term vision for adult developmental services reform.

Since its release, MCCSS continues to take actions to improve current services and supports, streamline processes for people with developmental disabilities, families and service providers, and improve staffing capacity through recruitment and retention efforts. The ministry has also taken foundational steps to advance long-term reform commitments, including ongoing development of a new needs-based funding approach, and a strategy to build a Developmental Services workforce with the right skills to support people, adapt to changing service delivery models, and deliver quality person-centred supports.

Key accomplishments include:

• Continuing to partner with the Ministry of Health through a targeted initiative that supported 35 adults with a dual diagnosis (having developmental disabilities as well as complex mental health needs) and who are designated as requiring an alternate level of care to transition from hospital beds to community placements.
• Implementing the Microboards Ontario Pilot Project, an innovative approach to promote more collaborative and sustainable person-directed supports. Microboards formalize the support network for individuals with developmental disabilities, sharing support roles and responsibilities in a way that enables the individual to direct their life and make key decisions, and that is more sustainable and less likely to lead to crisis. The first cohort of ten families was successfully launched in January 2025 and is actively progressing toward incorporation.
• Continuing the partnership with the developmental services sector on the Developmental Services Workforce Initiatives, bringing together diverse sector partners to implement short and longer-term workforce capacity-building projects. These initiatives attract diverse talent and strengthen retention by equipping the workforce with skills for more responsive, person-centred support and focusing on the health and wellness of developmental service staff.
• Launched a technical table on the design of individualized budgets in Fall 2024 to engage and seek advice from sector partners on developing a new needs-based funding approach for adult developmental services that is person-centred, equitable and transparent. The table brings together people from the developmental services sector with diverse experiences in service delivery across various regions of the province.

Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT)

• The ministry-funded Knowledge, Translation, and Transfer Hub and Network provides a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to research, innovation, capacity-building and service delivery modernization in the developmental services sector and beyond.
• To date, the hub is engaging with 2,675 members weekly, with 647 agencies involved from the developmental services, children with special needs and anti-human trafficking sectors.
• The resources developed by the Knowledge, Translation, and Transfer Hub and Network were made bilingual in 2024-25, with translation of 7 modules, 5 webinar recordings and 15 videos into French, along with 65 presentations and other resources.
• The mentorship program available through this initiative continues to grow with 14 mentorship categories available, and 15 completed mentorship connections made between mentors and mentees.

Programs supporting Indigenous children, families and communities

Pathways to Safety

Ontario continued to implement Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s strategy in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was developed in partnership with the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council. Ontario’s Strategy is a whole government response that sets the path forward to confront and address the root causes of violence and abuse, so future generations of Indigenous women and their families are safe to live their lives free of violence.

This year's investments included $35.4 million in annualized funding to 34 First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous partners to deliver the Family Well-Being Program, which was co-developed with Indigenous partners to help children, youth and their families to heal and recover from the effects of intergenerational violence and trauma.

The ministry also invested $1 million in the Indigenous Anti-Human Trafficking Liaisons Program, which helps communities address trafficking and support Indigenous survivors of human trafficking, and $2.3 million in the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin / “I am a Kind Man” program, a holistic education and healing program for men and youth that is founded on Indigenous teachings.

Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy

The government continues to work with Indigenous communities and organizations to build thriving, healthy communities. This includes reducing family violence and violence against Indigenous women and children, and supporting the healing, health and wellness of First Nations, Inuit and Métis and urban Indigenous peoples and communities in Ontario through the longstanding Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy (IHWS).

As part of Pathways to Safety, MCCSS continues to invest $2 million annually to stabilize funding for Aboriginal Shelters of Ontario to build Indigenous women's shelter system capacity, and to support expanded IHWS Healing Lodges,which provide holistic, culturally responsive healing services.

Since 2018-19, under Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness, MCCSS and the Ministry of Health are supporting new or expanded Indigenous Mental Health & Addictions Treatment and Healing Centres and other mental health initiatives delivered through the IHWS. MCCSS also continues to support community-led responses to social crises and the urgent need for mental health care in northern and remote First Nations communities.

Through Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness which includes $3.8 billion investment over ten years, MCCSS is investing $2.6 million in ongoing operating funding starting in 2024-25 in a program that provides Indigenous youth victims of sex trafficking with specialized trauma-informed care and access to mental health and addiction supports. This innovative programming is the first of its kind and helps address a key gap in specialized, Indigenous-led supports for Indigenous youth.

In addition to MCCSS-led investments, Ontario provided funding to cross-government investments in Indigenous services under Roadmap to Wellness:

• A Plan to Build Ontario's Mental Health and Addictions System that includes $4 million to enhance and expand Healing Lodges and Indigenous MHA Treatment & Healing Centres through the Indigenous Healing & Wellness Strategy and $1.5 million to support a flexible approach to crisis response in First Nations communities through IHWS.
• In 2024-25, Indigenous partners received an increase of $23.5 million in funding for accessible Indigenous-led and developed programs. These programs include Community Wellness Workers, Health Outreach Workers, Mental Health and Crisis Response Programs as well as the Indigenous Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program. Furthermore, Ontario provided a $1.3 million investment for all Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy Healing Lodges and Mental Health and Addictions Treatment & Healing Centres.
• IHWS partners also received over $4.4 million in 2024-25 through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence to strengthen the gender-based violence sector through enhancements to existing programs and services.

Supporting Indigenous-led programs

The ministry continues to invest over $96 million in a suite of Indigenous-led programs that improve the health and well-being of Indigenous children, youth, families, and communities.

Indigenous child, youth and family community based well-being programs are part of the continuing work of MCCSS under the Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy and are supporting the development of a distinct Indigenous approach to delivering child and family services.

Through these ministry programs, Indigenous partners deliver flexible, culturally grounded, holistic community-based programs and services for First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous children, youth and families across the province.

• The Building Indigenous Women’s Leadership Program supports initiatives developed by Indigenous women to provide training and mentorship opportunities for Indigenous women to enable full participation of leadership roles in their communities.
• The First Nations Student Nutrition Program (FNSNP) provides over $4 million for breakfast, lunch or mid-morning meals at 161 sites in 66 First Nations and 27 urban Indigenous communities to support learning and healthy child development. The program provides approximately 1.65 million meals to Indigenous children and youth each year.
• In 2024-25, MCCSS signed a three-year, $108.5 million agreement with the Government of Canada, including $18.5 million in the 2024-25 school year, through the National School Food Program. Ontario’s existing Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition Program helped more children and youth across the province access nutritious foods by providing an estimated 9.8 million more nutritious meals to students in Ontario in 2024-25.
• The Family Well-Being program is a key investment under the Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy and the cornerstone of the child, youth and family well-being prevention architecture being built collaboratively by Indigenous communities and MCCSS. The total annual investment for the Family Well-Being Program is $35.4 million, including $5.4 million from the Ministry of Health’s Roadmap to Wellness Strategy investments. The program was co-developed with Indigenous partners and supports Indigenous communities to determine how to lead and deliver holistic programs and services that meet the unique needs of their local communities. The long-term objectives of the program are to:
  • End violence against Indigenous women and in Indigenous families and communities
  • Reduce the number of Indigenous children in child welfare and the youth justice systems
  • Improve the overall health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities
• Starting in 2023-24, $7.3 million over four years is being provided to the Family Well-Being Program through our four-year action plan to address gender based violence.
• The ministry also supports negotiations with Indigenous partners who are pursuing or implementing their own child and family service models, governed under Indigenous law. This includes negotiations pursuant to the Federal Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families. As of May 2025, Ontario has signed three Coordination Agreements with Indigenous partners to support the implementation their own laws, most recently in March 2025 with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.
• Starting in 2024-25, the ministry invested an additional $7 million to support First Nation partners in administering Ontario Works and supporting clients. This includes $5 million for the service delivery of Ontario Works in First Nation communities, bringing the total funding to $35.9 million, and $2.0 million in the Transitional Support Fund, bringing the total investment to $10 million. The Transitional Support Fund supports low-income individuals and families in First Nation communities who require housing related supports to secure, retain or maintain stable accommodation.

Services and supports for healthy child development

• Continued to modernize the Child Development Information System with enhancements to the digital Universal Newborn Hearing Screen and created a new direct connection to agency client information systems. These digital projects are reducing manual data entry. Since the launch of the digital Universal Newborn Hearing Screen in March 2024, over 47,000 screening forms have been completed. The digital form and its automatic transmission to Newborn Screening Ontario has resulted in faster intervention for newborns with risk of permanent hearing loss.
• In Summer 2024, the ministry began transitioning the Infant Hearing Program to a new oversight agency. Through a call for proposals, the ministry selected a partnership of Newborn Screening Ontario at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the National Centre for Audiology at Western University to become the Infant Hearing Program oversight agency. Since July 2024, the agency has overseen the delivery of the core components of hearing screening and audiology services for children who are identified with permanent hearing loss. Implementation of the oversight agency has streamlined oversight and financial administration from 16 Transfer Payment Agreements to one and has promoted a screening program with strong province-wide consistency.

Services and supports for children and youth with special Needs, including the Ontario Autism Program

• The ministry is investing an additional $105 million annually in children’s rehabilitation services. As part of the Leading Innovation for Transformation (LIFT) strategy, this funding is being used to reduce waitlists and improve access to clinical assessments, early intervention, and speech-language pathology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy services.
• The ministry invested $12.9 million annually from 2022-23 to 2024-25 in the Integrated Pathways for Children with Extensive Needs pilot. This service, co-funded with the Ministry of Health, for a total of $32.3 million annually, connects children with complex needs and their families to a multidisciplinary team of professionals who work together to provide tailored support based on the individual needs of the child or youth and their family. Funding for the pilot project has been extended one additional year for 2025-26.

Ontario Autism Program

To respond to the individual needs of children and youth on the autism spectrum and their families, the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) offers a range of services and supports, including core clinical services, foundational family services, caregiver-mediated early years programs, an entry to school program, urgent response services, and care coordination. In 2024-25, the ministry continued to invest in services and supports for families, including diagnostic services, workforce capacity-building projects and the OAP Provider List.

• In 2024-25 the government invested an additional $120 million in the OAP, a 20% increase in funding, to serve more children in core clinical services and increase sector capacity to deliver OAP services.
• AccessOAP, the independent intake organization for the OAP, continued to invite children into core clinical services in the order they registered in the program. By March 2025, 22,000 children and youth were actively enrolled in core clinical services.
• Through three rounds of the Workforce Capacity Fund, the ministry awarded funding to 255 capacity-building projects delivered by children’s service providers and their community partners. Projects with a specific focus on building capacity in Northern, rural and remote communities, and projects focused on Indigenous and Francophone families were prioritized for funding. Round four projects will launch in Spring 2025.
• Collaborated with the Ministry of Health to regulate Behaviour Analysts as a new profession under the new College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario effective July 1, 2024, providing confidence for families receiving Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services.

Child welfare

The ministry is working to improve the child welfare system to focus on providing high-quality services that prioritize safety and protection and are responsive to the needs of children, youth and families. This work has three priorities:

• Providing enhanced supports that help strengthen families and communities
• Improving the service experience for people who need protection services from societies and out-of-home care providers
• Addressing over-representation of certain populations in the child welfare system

As part of this work, the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024 received Royal Assent in June 2024 and modernizes and standardizes important safeguards throughout the child and youth services sector.

Changes to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 strengthen oversight of licensed out-of-home care settings, including foster care and group homes. They allow for a modernized enforcement model and will support sector compliance with licensing requirements designed to protect the safety and security of children and youth in licensed out-of-home care, and to ensure children and youth receive high-quality care.

Changes include:

• Strengthening the ministry’s oversight of foster care and group homes.
• Increasing children’s aid societies’ oversight of children in society care through increased visits, information-sharing and service coordination, and by requiring safety assessments, safety plans and plans of care for children in extended society care in an adoption placement.
• In 2024-25, the ministry committed $53.6 million in financial payments directly to youth participating in the Ready, Set, Go Program. This program supports long-term financial independence and connects youth in the child welfare system with additional services and supports to better prepare them for life after leaving care. This includes life skills development, post-secondary education and pathways to employment. Between April 1 and December 31, 2024, this program supported almost 3,500 non-Indigenous youth as they prepared for adulthood. Year-end financial reconciliations will occur in July 2025, at which time the ministry will have more details on the final allocations for the Ready, Set, Go program.
• In 2024-25, $500,000 was invested through Ontario’s action plan to end gender-based violence to develop new anti-human trafficking training specifically for the child welfare sector, in order to help child welfare staff better respond to human trafficking and identify at-risk children and youth, and to better support victims and connect them to local anti-human trafficking resources.
• An additional $900,000 was invested to increase outreach and in-person education targeted to children, youth, and caregivers involved in the child welfare system, resulting in an overall increased awareness and ability for children, youth and caregivers to identify human trafficking risk factors and know where in their communities they can access anti-human trafficking supports and resources. This funding will also help identify best practices that can be shared with other children’s aid societies to support in-person learning opportunities and events.
• In 2024-25 the ministry provided $5 million through the Child Welfare Innovation and Change Program to support evidence-based innovative service and program models that will help to improve outcomes for children, youth and families involved in the child welfare system.
• As announced in the 2024 Ontario Budget, the government also invested an additional $310 million over three years to address operational costs for community organizations. For the child welfare sector, the increase was $36.5 million. This additional funding is a base increase and will be ongoing.

In 2024-25, the ministry selected KPMG LLP through a competitive Request for Services process to complete a comprehensive review of the child welfare system. The results of the review will provide the ministry with a comprehensive picture of the current state of Ontario’s child welfare system and inform strategies for societies to provide the best service to the children and families served.

Child, Youth and Family Services Act review

The Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) is the primary legislation governing child, youth and family services that are provided, licensed, or funded by the ministry including child welfare, adoptions, youth justice, community support and out-of-home care services.

As part of this legislation, a formal review and public report must be completed every five years to ensure that the CYFSA continues to promote the best interests, protection and well-being of children and youth across all services covered under the Act.

Beginning in May 2023, the ministry undertook a five-year legislative review of the CYFSA in compliance with sections 336 to 338 of the Act, the first since the CYFSA was proclaimed in 2018, assessing the effectiveness and relevance of the legislation and soliciting input on the following six focus areas:

• Child and youth rights
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples
• Equity and anti-racism
• Prevention and community-based care
• Quality services
• Accountability

In response to the review, the ministry amended the CYFSA and other acts as part of the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024 (SCFA), which received Royal Assent in June 2024. The amendments aimed to improve the safety, well-being and privacy of children and youth receiving services under the CYFSA by creating a framework for strengthened privacy protections for children with previous involvement in the child welfare system, clarifying circumstances when a child in care must be informed about the Ontario Ombudsman, and enabling improved information sharing between service providers and professional colleges.

Women’s social and economic opportunity

We are committed to an Ontario where all girls and women are empowered to reach their full potential. The ministry supports services and programs that advance gender equality for women and girls and collaborate with women’s organizations and across government to advance women’s equality, support their safety and well-being and improve their economic security and prosperity.

• In August 2024, the ministry announced an investment of up to $26.7 million over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program. The investment supports 25 local programs across the province that help low-income women gain the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to find a job, start a business, and achieve financial independence. From 2018 to 2024, 5,700 women benefitted from WESP, with 2,700 pursuing further education or training, or starting an apprenticeship, a business, or a job.
• We continued to deliver the Investing in Women’s Futures program at 34 sites across the province, benefitting over 10,400 women. The program includes a range of services and employment supports that help prevent gender-based violence, promote healing and wellness and empower women to gain the skills they need to secure employment and achieve financial stability.

Gender-based violence

The government is continuing to take action to prevent and address gender-based violence in all forms. Ontario is currently leading the way in Canada when it comes to addressing and taking action to prevent gender-based violence. In December 2023, the ministry launched Ontario’s four-year action plan to end gender-based violence to build safer, healthier communities, prevent violence before it happens and support survivors to heal and rebuild their lives.

The action plan builds on Ontario’s existing investments of $1.4 billion in gender-based violence services over the same four years and is supported by an investment of $162 million over four years from the federal Nation Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

• In August 2024, the ministry issued a call for proposals to invest in new community-based projects that respond to the needs of victims, survivors, families and communities. The call for proposals focused on four key areas:

  • Education and awareness
  • Early intervention and prevention
  • Community planning and service integration
  • Economic security and financial independence

  Through the call for proposals Ontario is investing approximately $98 million over three years (2024-25 to 2026-27) in 85 new, innovative projects across the province.

• Beginning in 2024, Ontario is investing $310 million over three years to address increasing operational costs for community organizations that support: survivors of gender-based violence, people who have experienced human trafficking, children and youth in care, children with special needs, and people with developmental disabilities.
• Ontario is also providing an additional $13.5 million over three years to enhance initiatives that support women, children, youth, and others who are at increased risk of violence or exploitation — such as Indigenous and racialized communities, and children and youth in the child welfare system. These initiatives include:
  • $6 million over three years to support the Children at Risk of Exploitation (CARE) Unit in Kenora District, with increased access to trauma-informed specialized supports for children and youth who have been sex trafficked
  • an additional $4.5 million over three years, beginning in 2024-25, for the Victim Quick Response Program+ to assist victims and their families in the immediate aftermath of a crime.
  • $2.5 million over three years for education and resources for children and youth in care who are at-risk or who have been sex trafficked
  • $0.5 million in 24-25 to help enhance training for child welfare workers to respond to human trafficking threats and identify children and youth at risk.
• Beginning in 2024-25, the ministry annualized an ongoing investment of $7.1 million for the Transitional and Housing Support Program. The program helps survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking optimize housing benefits and supports, access safe and affordable housing, and access the services they need to rebuild their lives. In 2023-24, over 20,000 women were served by the program.
• In 2024-25, the ministry invested up to $6.5 million in annualized funding to help women and children who have experienced violence and survivors of human trafficking access the supports and services they need to stay safe and rebuild their lives. This includes $2.9 million for Children and Youth Services and Supports and $3.6 million for Rural and Remote Services and Supports.
• In 2024-25, the ministry continued implementation of the Canada-Ontario Contribution Agreement on Crisis Hotlines Responding to Gender-Based Violence. This $8 million in federal funding over four years builds on Ontario’s existing investments in crisis lines, helps address the increased demand for services, and supports improvements towards more robust, responsive and sustainable services across the province. In 2024-25, the ministry invested $2.4 million to support Ontario’s GBV crisis lines.

Anti-human trafficking

The province’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy has demonstrated Ontario’s leadership in combatting human trafficking in North America. It leverages interconnected programs and partnerships to maximize investment outcomes and supports a coordinated and aligned response to human trafficking in Ontario.

Indicators of the progress made since its launch include:

• On average, each year the Toronto and Durham CARE Units serve more than 200 children and youth 12 to 17 years of age who are being or at risk of being sex trafficked.
• On May 1, 2025, Ontario announced a renewed Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy for 2025 to 2030, with a commitment to invest more than $345 million over the same period. The renewed strategy includes operational enhancements and will continue to enhance collective efforts across government to extend and strengthen initiatives under the four pillars of the strategy:
  • Raising awareness of the issue
  • Protecting victims and intervening early
  • Supporting survivors, including children and youth
  • Holding offenders accountable
• 1,300 frontline workers from multiple sectors have completed the Understanding and Working with Sexually Exploited Youth training as of June 2025.
• 52 Community Supports Fund and Indigenous-Led Initiatives Fund organizations served over 29,000 individuals between 2020-21 and 2023-24 through dedicated services that address the unique needs of survivors and persons at risk of human trafficking.
• The Intelligence-led Joint Forces Strategy has conducted 114 investigations, assisted 174 victims, laid 366 human trafficking charges and 290 additional charges, and charged 61 people as of December 2024.
• In May 2024, Ontario launched a review of the Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy, including sector specific engagements, public responses, a literature review, performance measurement data, and program assessments. This review heard from the public, including survivors of human trafficking, as well as individuals, frontline service providers, communities and organizations that are most impacted. Overall, the review findings noted significant progress achieved by the 2020–2025 strategy. The feedback helped inform Ontario's next steps in combating human trafficking – including how best to support survivors and protect people who experience greater risks of being targeted and trafficked.
• The renewed strategy includes an investment of $19 million over the next five years for CARE Units in the City of Toronto, Durham Region and Kenora District. CARE Units pair and train police officers and child protection workers, including Indigenous workers, to identify and locate children ages 12-17 who are being sexually exploited and/or sex trafficked and connect them to appropriate services and supports.
• Building on existing funding provided through the Community Supports Fund and Indigenous-led Initiatives Fund, Ontario is investing over $100 million in services for survivors of human trafficking over five years from 2025-2030. The Community Supports Fund and the Indigenous-led Initiatives Fund prioritizes projects that focus on early intervention, increased protection for children and youth who have been sexually exploited, and dedicated survivor supports developed and delivered by survivors of human trafficking. A number of the programs are designed for and by Indigenous-led organizations and communities, and/or survivors of human trafficking, or have survivors working within the organization to help inform and develop the program.
• In 2024-25, $2.6 million in ongoing funding was invested in a new program under the IHWS that provides Indigenous youth who have been sex trafficked with specialized trauma-informed care and access to mental health and addiction supports. Funded as part of Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness, this innovative programming is the first of its kind - targeted to support Indigenous youth who have been sexually exploited, and addresses a key gap in specialized, Indigenous-led, wrap around supports for Indigenous children and youth.
• The ministry also completed the second expansion to the province’s Youth-in-Transition Worker program, investing an additional $450,000 in annualized funding to provide specialized support to youth leaving the care of children’s aid societies who are at risk of or have experienced human trafficking and bringing the total number of dedicated Anti-Human Trafficking Youth in Transition workers in the province to 12.
• We are investing $47 million over five years in out-of-home care settings for children and youth. Two licenced group care settings for trafficked children and youth were established in the same jurisdictions as the CARE Units to serve up to six children at a time. A third site is being implemented alongside the CARE Unit in the Kenora District. Part of this investment is also supporting an alternative care pilot which provides specialized out-of-home care placements for Indigenous children and youth in care who have been sex trafficked.

Victim services

The government is committed to standing up for victims of crime and creating safer communities in every region of the province, including Northern and rural communities.

• As part of Ontario’s commitment to ensure that all Ontarians can access responsive and resilient victim services, we are investing $2.1 million in annualized funding to strengthen frontline services in underserved areas of the province.
• In 2024-25, the government allocated approximately $55 million to eight of the victim services programs transferred from the Ministry of the Attorney General in 2022. The Supervised Access Program was also transferred from the Ministry of the Attorney General and in 2024-25 had an annual allocation of approximately $8.8 million, an increase from the original annual allocation of $7.9 million upon transfer.

Family Responsibility Office

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) has prioritized increasing efficiency and addressing client service so that more money can get to families and children, enabling them to plan for their future. This enhancement has been achieved through investments in service improvements and technology including alternative service channels for clients, accessible and efficient case management processes, and improvements to FRO’s case management IT system.

• In November 2024, FRO Online underwent major enhancements to improve the client experience and to make the site more user-friendly. FRO Online allows clients to access their case information 24/7, submit documents, complete a select number of forms electronically and connect with their FRO case contacts. Insights gained from user research with clients and staff drove many of the site improvements. The site is now fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act and accessible on all mobile devices. FRO also implemented multi-factor authentication which adds an extra layer of protection to user accounts.
• FRO also worked with the US Central Authority Payment Service to modernize payments from the United States to Ontario, moving away from paper cheques to electronic funds transfer. This initiative saves money on payment processing and helps get payments to FRO’s clients quicker. Families in need of support now receive their payments at minimum a full week faster from the 28 American states using the electronic payment. Usage of the US Central Authority Payment service is expected to grow to at least 38 US states by the end of March 2026.

Investing in a sustainable youth justice system

The Youth Justice Division is focused on developing a comprehensive and sustainable youth justice services system to meet the needs of youth who are involved with the justice system. This includes youth in custody, in detention and on probation. This includes a focus on rehabilitation and the important role it plays in supporting youth and enabling active participation in their communities.

• In 2024-25, 25 custody/detention beds were added to address the urgent capacity pressures the youth justice system is currently experiencing due to the rise in incidences of youth violent crime. The division continues to work to add urgently needed capacity to the system.
• The ministry is committed to addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black youth in the justice system through enhanced services and supports that are culturally responsive and community driven. As part of this commitment the ministry has:
  • Allocated funding to support the delivery of five Indigenous Youth Justice Mental Health Programs in Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden and Sault Ste. Marie that increase youth's access to individualized, holistic and flexible supports, cultural knowledge and traditional practices
  • Implemented community-driven prevention initiatives for Indigenous children, youth and their families in four Remote First Nation Communities
  • Dedicated funding to sustain and enhance four existing community-led, culturally responsive diversion programming for Black and Indigenous youth
  • Invested an additional $2 million in 2024-25 to support Indigenous and Black-led organizations and communities resulting in fifteen new culturally responsive programs for Black and Indigenous youth
• In 2024-25 the ministry invested $2 million in thirteen Youth Violence and Human Trafficking Prevention Programs, including four targeted specifically for Indigenous youth, aimed at supporting marginalized communities.
• The ministry secured funding to sustain and enhance four youth justice Gender-Based Violence Prevention/Intervention Programs that aim to reduce risk factors that contribute to male youth who engage in gender-based violence. Three of the programs are targeted towards Indigenous and Black youth at risk or who have committed gender-based violence.

Poverty Reduction Strategy

The ministry is responsible for the province’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. It leads the development of an updated cross-government strategy every five years. The strategy operates through cross-government initiatives under four key pillars:

• Encouraging job creation
• Connecting people with the right supports and services
• Making life more affordable and building financial resilience
• Accelerating action and driving progress

Through the strategy, the government is providing supports and services to increase the number of social assistance recipients exiting to employment, while also making progress on other indicators that measure poverty, education, and employment outcomes.

• In 2024, the number of households exiting social assistance reached nearly 35,000, an increase from more than 28,000 the year before

Under the Poverty Reduction Act, the province must report annually to the Legislative Assembly on the government's strategy, including progress towards the target and updates on indicators and initiatives related to poverty reduction. The ministry will engage with community partners, including people at heightened risk of poverty to inform the development of a new strategy.

Infrastructure

The ministry partners with approximately 750 transfer payment recipients that deliver MCCSS-funded programs and services across 4,500 sites that are essential to the successful delivery of ministry programs and services. These physical assets are the foundation for providing services in safe, accessible, and appropriate spaces that will empower these children to succeed and thrive.

Key infrastructure highlights include:

• The ministry provided more than $21 million in funding to various children’s and social services agencies across Ontario to assist with necessary facility upgrades and repairs to improve accessibility and better support programming.
• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ontario committed capital funding to this project in 2023. Construction is underway to build an approximately 200,000 sq. ft. Children’s Treatment Centre in Ottawa that will expand the centre’s service capacity, reduce wait times and modernize services. Completion of this project is expected for Fall 2028.
• Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre – Construction of this 106,000 square foot centre in Ajax was completed in Fall 2024. This new centre created more treatment spaces with shorter wait times in a modern facility, so families in Ajax and the Durham Region can access the care they need sooner.
• Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham Kent – The ministry is investing in the construction of an approximately 58,000 sq. ft. centre, which is anticipated to be completed in 2026-27. This new construction will allow for expanded service delivery in Chatham-Kent and its surrounding communities, which includes Indigenous, Francophone, and low-income individuals.
• Frankfort Family Reena Residence – Ontario committed $7.7 million in capital funding to support the construction of the Frankfort Family Reena Residence, which will provide a home to 168 individuals, including people with developmental disabilities, adults with physical disabilities and seniors. This innovative 20-storey residence will feature 111 residential units designed with accessibility and community integration in mind. This supportive housing project aligns with Ontario’s priority to invest in key social infrastructure to empower and connect them to the services they need.
• Lansdowne Children’s Centre – Ontario is beginning planning work on the development of a new, modern facility for the Lansdowne Children’s Centre that would increase access to services for children and youth with special needs and their families in Brantford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties, Six Nations of the Grand River, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
• Anduyhaun Women’s Shelter – Ontario contributed $7.6 million to support the construction of a new Anduhyaun women’s shelter. Anduyhaun supports Indigenous women and their dependants who are fleeing violence to maintain their cultural identity and economic, physical, and spiritual well-being. Anduyhaun is the only ministry-funded Indigenous agency in Toronto that offers culturally relevant temporary emergency shelter to Indigenous women and their dependants.

Cross-ministry collaboration on social policy priorities

• MCCSS will also continue to partner with ministries such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on social policy initiatives to ensure strategic alignment across the various transformation initiatives, such as the Roadmap to Wellness, Mental Health and Addictions Strategy and the Action Plan for Supportive Housing.
• MCCSS is building upon existing relationships and current collaborations on actions to end violence against Indigenous women through Pathways to Safety, Ontario’s government-wide strategy in response to the Final Report into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Pathways to Safety includes initiatives across 10 ministries as Ontario continues to build on its initial commitment with new actions and initiatives that address the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice.
• In 2024-25, MCCSS collaborated with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Long-Term Care to develop a policy response to Ontario’s expansion of eligibility for the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) program and the indexation of the GAINS benefit to inflation as of July 1, 2024.
• MCCSS is working with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Red Tape Reduction, and external partners, including the Ontario Medical Association, to reduce administrative burden and help physicians spend less time on paperwork and more time treating patients. This includes simplifying social assistance medical forms completed by physicians and minimizing duplication and inefficiencies through policy and process improvements.
• MCCSS continues to work with several ministries to deliver Ontario’s action plan to end gender-based violence. To help the province move towards more integrated solutions, ministries will work together to implement actions that span across education, social services, housing, health and justice sectors.
• MCCSS incorporates activities across a range of ministries as part of Ontario’s anti-human trafficking strategy. Ontario’s cross-government action plan raises awareness of the issue through training and public awareness campaigns, empowering frontline service providers to prevent human trafficking before it occurs and take action early, supporting survivors through specialized services, and giving law enforcement the tools and resources they need to hold offenders accountable.

Detailed financial information

Table 2: Combined operating and capital summary by vote

Historic trend table

For additional financial information, see:

• Expenditure Estimates
• Public Accounts of Ontario: past editions
• 2024 Ontario Budget: Building a Better Ontario

Contact: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Provincial agencies

The mandate of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission provides financial support to all eligible Veterans and their immediate family members in the province under the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020. Recent changes to this legislation and regulations under the act make it easier to apply for funding and allows the commission to provide eligible applicants with up to $3,000, up from $2,000, over a 12-month period per household for eligible expenses. Additionally, members of the commission will now have a more active role in outreach and promotional activities to support program awareness within the Veteran community.

MCCSS provides the commission with annual funding for payments to applicants approved for financial assistance to support the program.

The commission’s board of directors shall consist of at least three members and no more than 11 members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The majority of the board of directors shall consist of Veterans or individuals who are either the parent, spouse, child or sibling of a Veteran. The Chair of the Commission reports directly to the minister.

In 2024-25, as part of the government’s commitments to protect Ontario’s Veterans, MCCSS provided $1,100,000 in funding from the commission’s allocation to True Patriot Love Foundation to support a range of Ontario-based initiatives for Veterans and their families, with a focus on mental-health and well-being.

Additionally in 2024-25, MCCSS invested $60,556 towards the Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command to support a website redesign that includes a more user-friendly format and a dedicated Soldier’s Aid Commission landing page with information on how to apply. The investment built capacity to support Legion-based applications to the Soldier’s Aid Commission and create opportunities to promote the commission within the Legion through its in-person events and networks.

Ministry organization

• Deputy Minister – Daniele Zanotti
  • Director, Legal Services – Elaine Atkinson
  • Director, Communications – Murray Leaning
  • Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister – Brigitte Marleau
  • CIO, Children, Youth & Social Services I+IT Cluster (dual relationship with MPBSDP) – Alex Coleman
  • ADM, Social Assistance Programs – Cordelia Clarke Julien
    • Director, Social Assistance Program Policy – Julie Shouldice
    • Director, Social Assistance Performance and Accountability – Jeff Bowen
    • Director, Social Assistance Central Services – Andres Laxamana
    • Director, Social Assistance Service Delivery (Central, East & North Regions) – Sharareh (Shari) Kamali
    • Director, Social Assistance Service Delivery (West & Toronto Regions) – Colleen Hardie
    • Director, Business Innovation & Implementation – Sunny Sharma
    • Director, Divisional Support & Integration – Natalie Prystay
  • ADM, Youth Justice – Trevor Sparrow
    • Director, Strategic Innovation and Modernization – Sebastian Mueller
    • Director, Quality Assurance and Oversight – Mateen Khan
    • Director, Programming, Interventions and Evaluation – Bridget Sinclair
    • Director, Service Delivery – Sonia Bozzo
    • Regional Service Delivery Directors – Kristina Lombardi (Central Region), Liane Proulx (East Region), Mamta Chail (West Region), Sherri Rennie (Toronto Region), Sandra Russell (North Region)
  • ADM, Child Welfare and Protection – Linda Chihab
    • Director, Child Welfare Operations – Sandra Bickford
    • Director, Child Welfare Secretariat – Peter Kiatipis
    • Director, Children and Youth at Risk – Emma Willer
    • Director, Child Well-being – Chester Langille
    • Regional Service Delivery Directors – Kristina Lombardi (Central Region), Liane Proulx (East Region), Mamta Chail (West Region), Sherri Rennie (Toronto Region), Sandra Russell (North Region)
  • ADM, Children with Special Needs – Jeff Gill
    • Director, Autism – Sarah Hardy
    • Director, Children’s Facilities – Tanya Kelly
    • Director, Integration & Program Effectiveness – Stacey Weber
    • Director, Child Development and Special Services – Ziyaad Vahed
    • Regional Service Delivery Directors – Kristina Lombardi (Central Region), Liane Proulx (East Region), Mamta Chail (West Region), Sherri Rennie (Toronto Region), Sandra Russell (North Region)
  • ADM, Community Services – Jacqueline Cureton
    • Director, Community and Indigenous Supports – Harriett Grant
    • Director, Developmental and Supportive Services – Jody Hendry
    • Director, Community and Developmental Services Policy – Amy Olmstead
    • Director, Implementation and Reporting – Christine Kuepfer
    • Regional Service Delivery Directors – Kristina Lombardi (Central Region), Liane Proulx (East Region), Mamta Chail (West Region), Sherri Rennie (Toronto Region), Sandra Russell (North Region)
  • ADM, Business Intelligence & Practice – Jennifer Morris
    • Director, Data Strategy and Solutions Platform – Binh Lu
    • Director, Analytics and Measurement – Cindy Perry
    • Director, Integrated Analytics Exploration – Heidi Gordon
  • ADM, Strategic Policy – Jennifer Morris
    • Director, Policy Development and Collaboration – Mike Bannon
    • Director, Policy Alignment and Intergovernmental Relations – Anshoo Kamal
    • Director, Delivery Planning and Implementation Support – Chris Ling
    • Director, Policy Research and Insights – Molly Mann
    • Director, Child, Youth and Family Services Act Review – Aly Alibhai
  • ADM/CAO, Business Planning and Corporate Services – Shella Salazar
    • Director, Business Planning – Kate Anderson
    • Director, Controllership and Fiscal Reporting – Andrew Chung
    • Director, Operational Finance – Angela Allan
    • Director, Human Resources Strategic Business Unit – Tara Jones
    • Director, Community Services Audit – Gordon Nowlan
    • Director, Capital Planning and Delivery – Jeremy Grootenbooer
    • Director, Social Care Housing Project – Robin Furmah
    • Director, Corporate Services – Cate Parker
    • Director, Operations – Seema Chhabra
  • ADM, Family Responsibility Office – George Karlos
    • Director, Client Liaison – Bani Bawa
    • Director, Case Triage & Resolution – Tina Connelly
    • Director, Strategic and Operational Effectiveness – Kelly Burnham
    • Director, Client Operations – Erin O’Connor
    • Director, FRO Legal Services – Hari Viswanathan
  • ADM, Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity – Taunya Paquette
    • Director, Strategic Policy & Analysis – Huma Durrani
    • Director, Programs and Integration – Vena Persaud

Annual report

Looking back at 2024-25

Developmental and community services

In 2024-25, Ontario invested approximately $3.5 billion in services for people with developmental disabilities. This includes funding dedicated to providing supportive living services and supports.

Services provided may include supported accommodation and help participating in the community or daily living activities. Some individuals may require higher levels of support like full supportive living care and other specialized services.

As of March 31, 2025, the Passport program supported 70,968 adults with a developmental disability by providing direct funding to support activities of daily living, community participation and caregiver respite. This included 6,489 approvals completed by Passport Agencies as of March 31, 2025.

Interpreting services

Interpreting services facilitate communication between adults who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, or deafblind and those with hearing and/or who do not use American Sign Language (ASL), la langue des Québécoise (LSQ) or other non-standard forms of visual language in a variety of health, mental health, and community settings.

Further, in keeping with the recognition of equality rights under the Charter identified in the Supreme Court of Canada’s Eldridge decision (1997), Interpreting Services enable the administration and funding of emergency sign language Interpreting Services as it pertains to health or mental health services.

Ontario funds Canadian Hearing Services to provide Interpreting Services to people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deafblind. In 2024-25, funding provided approximately 14,000 hours of services to approximately 3,470 people.

In 2024-25, the ministry invested approximately $7.8 million for Interpreting Services.

Intervenor services

Intervenor services provides auditory and visual information to people who have a combined loss of hearing and vision to enable them to access services and information and facilitate communication so that they can participate in their communities, make informed decisions, and live independently.

In 2024-25, the ministry invested approximately $59.9 million for Intervenor Services to serve approximately 470 individuals. Ontario funds approximately 22 transfer payment recipients to provide Intervenor Services to people who have a combined loss of both hearing and vision.

Services and supports for children with special needs including the Ontario Autism Program

The ministry funds programs, services and supports for healthy child development and children and youth with special needs, including those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

It also supports access to specialized assessment, treatment and intervention through the ministry operated Child and Parent Resource Institute - a facility operated in London that serves approximately 2,200 children and youth each year with the most complex combinations of special needs.

The ministry funds Children’s Treatment Centres and Preschool Speech and Language Lead Agencies to provide services for children and youth with special needs in schools and community locations. Additional investments started in previous years have brought the number of children served every year to over 210,000.

The ministry is also supporting initiatives that help children and youth with complex special needs connect to care and services. In 2024-25, MCCSS and MOH continued funding the Integrated Pathway for Children and Youth with Extensive Needs initiative. This pilot initiative is providing integrated care to children and youth with complex needs, including developmental and intellectual disabilities, mental health concerns and/or chronic health conditions at three children’s hospitals in Hamilton, Ottawa, and Toronto. In 2024-25, this initiative supported approximately 1,100 children and youth.

The Ontario Autism Program offers a range of services and supports designed to respond to the individual needs of children and youth on the autism spectrum, and their families.

In 2024-25, the ministry made significant progress on Ontario Autism Program service pathways and program supports:

• Awarded 70 capacity-building projects through the third round of the OAP Workforce Capacity Fund to build and retain a stable and skilled workforce, with a priority focus on Northern, rural and remote communities, and for Indigenous and Francophone families.
• AccessOAP continued issuing invitations for core clinical services based on the child’s date of registration in the Ontario Autism Program, as recommended by the Autism Advisory Panel. Core clinical services include applied behaviour analysis, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, mental health services including counselling and/or psychotherapy, and technology, program materials, and/or therapy equipment at the recommendation of a regulated professional.
• By March 2025, 22,000 children and youth were actively enrolled in core clinical services.

Urgent response services continued to provide rapid services and supports to eligible children and youth experiencing specific, urgent needs to help stabilize the situation, prevent crisis, and reduce the risk of a child or youth harming themselves, others or property. These services are available at no cost to families of children registered in the OAP. From April 1 to September 30, 2024, Urgent response services supported 1,557 children and youth.

• Care coordinators supported families throughout their journey by providing orientation to the program, service navigation and help with managing transitions.

In April 2024, AccessOAP, the Independent Intake Organization, moved into their third full year of operations. AccessOAP is a single point of access to the Ontario Autism Program and plays a key role in administering key elements of the program including intake and registration, service navigation and family support, as well as carrying out the determination of needs process and providing more families with funding to purchase core clinical services for their children and youth.

Eligible families with young children receive invitations to access early years programs and supports such as caregiver-mediated early years programs and entry to school, upon registering for the Ontario Autism Program to support their development and goals.

The ministry continued to provide interim one-time funding to eligible families who submitted their registration form and supporting documentation by March 31, 2021. This included renewing interim one-time funding payments of $5,500 or $22,000 for eligible families, based on their child’s age as of April 1, 2024, so that families could continue to purchase eligible services and supports that they feel are most appropriate for their child.

Social assistance

In 2024-25, the ministry continued to advance its service delivery transformation plan to build a more responsive, efficient, and person-centred social assistance system for the approximately 1 million Ontarians a month, on average, who received some form of monthly social assistance. The government is improving the way that social assistance is delivered in the province so that people get the support they need while making sure that people who aren’t eligible for social assistance are connected to other available benefits and skills training that will support their success.

In 2024-25, the ministry:

• Improved service delivery by centralizing intake and eligibility determination for nearly all 22,000 social assistance applications every month across all 47 municipal and District Social Services Administration Boards delivery partners, allowing caseworkers to focus on delivering person-centred supports. The centralized model features automated information verification with third party data sources so the ministry can more quickly determine eligibility, reducing applicant wait times for eligibility decisions, strengthening program integrity, and diverting potential losses. The new model has prevented over $35 million in loss as part of Ontario Works intake.
• Made it easier and faster to apply for social assistance with a simplified online application process that enables people to apply for Ontario Works and ODSP through one single application. The new digital application saves applicants about 74 minutes when applying for social assistance programs. New disability forms were also introduced to make it easier for clients and healthcare providers to complete necessary elements of an application.
• Provided digital communication channels for clients to connect with their caseworkers more easily by sending messages and documents or accessing information and reporting changes anytime online. As of March 2025, over 10.4 million messages and 4.2 million documents have been sent and received through MyBenefits since full rollout in June 2021.
• Partnered with ServiceOntario to provide enhanced support for social assistance applicants needing assistance or additional information about existing provincial programs. This approach provides the support needed for those seeking to apply, while enabling local offices to continue to focus on supporting existing clients.
• Continued to enhance program integrity and reduce administrative effort by expanding use of data and automation to ensure decisions for clients are consistently made based on the best information available, including consumer credit information and other anti-fraud related services.
• Fully implemented Integrated Employment Services with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development for an employment services system that is easier to use, more localized, and will improve access to employment and training services for Ontarians, including social assistance recipients. In 2024, exits to employment increased by 22%, rising to 34,994 from 28,599 in 2023, continuing an upward trend since 2021.
• Key accomplishments on dental care for social assistance recipients include:
  • Ensuring sustainability in Ontario’s publicly funded dental programs by establishing that the federal government pays first for dental care for eligible Ontarians.
  • Implementing an interim coordination of benefits strategy with the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), maximizing access to dental care for ODSP recipients.
  • Continuing to monitor the federal government’s roll out of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, including the latest implementation stage in May 2025 that will allow most social assistance recipients to apply.
• Ministry staff across the province conducted on-site visits to encampments to provide real-time support, and referrals to community resources and discretionary benefits through Ontario Works to help individuals transition to housing.
• Began centralized provincial collection of new inactive Ontario Works overpayments as the designated delivery agent for all 47 municipal Ontario Works and District Social Services Administration Board sites, introducing 2,938 cases to provincial purview in support of this centralization.

The ministry has also continued to make progress on advancing digital delivery to provide social assistance applicants with access to faster, simpler, and more convenient service options while reducing manual work for staff, implementing ways to process financial assistance faster.

Integrated employment services

MCCSS and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development have been working together to strengthen employment services for those on social assistance.

As of March 2025, the Integrated employment services model has been fully implemented across the province, with social assistance employment services, outside of First Nations delivery sites now provided by Employment Ontario. Working with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development we have created a better employment services system that is easier to use, more localized, and will improve access to employment and training services to drive the best outcomes for Ontarians, including social assistance recipients. In 2024, exits to employment increased by 22%, rising to 34,994 from 28,599 in 2023, continuing an upward trend since 2021.

Child welfare

The ministry is working to improve the child welfare system to focus on providing high-quality services that prioritize safety and protection and are responsive to the needs of children, youth and families.

Accomplishments over the last year include:

• In 2024-25, the ministry committed up to $53.6 million in financial payments directly to youth participating in the Ready, Set, Go Program that connects youth in the child welfare system with additional services and supports they need to prepare for and succeed after leaving care, and aims to improve their long-term financial independence through life skills development, post-secondary education and pathways to employment. In 2024–25, between April 1 and December 31, 2024, this program supported almost 3,500 youth as they prepared for adulthood.
• In March 2025, Ontario concluded negotiations and entered into a coordination agreement with Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation (AOPFN), their service provider, and the Government of Canada under the Federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. This is the third coordination agreement pursuant to the Federal Act completed in Ontario. Previously, Ontario has signed agreements with Wabaseemong Independent Nation and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug.
• The ministry continues to participate in negotiations under the Federal Act and appreciates the significance of the Act to many Indigenous representatives as a means of supporting the development and implementation of Indigenous-led models of child and family services.

Gender-based violence

In 2024-25, the ministry continued to implement Ontario’s action plan to end gender-based violence. We conducted a call for proposals to invest approximately $98 million over three years in new gender-based violence services and supports that prevent violence and address the needs of local communities and populations in four key areas:

• Education and awareness
• Early intervention and prevention
• Community planning and service integration
• Economic security and financial independence

The call for proposals took place in Fall 2024 and the ministry received over 600 applications from organizations across Ontario.

Ontario’s action plan builds on the province’s existing investments of $1.4 billion over four years to end gender-based violence and support victims. The plan is also supported by an investment of $162 million from Canada’s National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

In August 2024, the Ministry announced an investment of up to $26.7 million over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program to support 25 local programs across the province that help low-income women gain the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to find a job, start a business and achieve financial independence.

In 2024-25, the ministry invested approximately $167 million to provide services and supports to women and their children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing violence, including gender-based and domestic violence. This funding directly supports community-based agencies across the province including Indigenous organizations providing supports to Indigenous women and children.

The ministry also continued the following fiscal investments:

• As part of Ontario’s action plan to end gender-based violence, funding for Transitional and Housing Support Program enhancement, Children and Youth Services and Supports and Rural and Remote Services and Supports all became annualized in service contracts, beginning in 2024–25.
• Transitional and Housing Support Program (THSP): $7.1 million in annualized funding to help survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking access safe and affordable housing and access the services they need to heal and rebuild their lives.
• Rural and Remote Services and Supports: Up to $3.6 million in annualized funding for rural frontline agencies to increase collaboration, strengthen service delivery, improve culturally relevant supports for Indigenous women, and reduce geographic and transportation barriers to accessing services and supports.
• Children and Youth Services and Supports: Up to $2.9 million in annualized funding for prevention and early intervention services and supports for children and youth in VAW emergency shelters, and in Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy shelters, Healing Lodges and the Family Violence Healing Program.

Anti-human trafficking

In 2024-25, the ministry implemented and built upon a number of strategic initiatives to help combat human trafficking and to better support survivors. These included:

• A new program through the Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy beginning in 2024-25 to provide Indigenous children and youth who have been sex trafficked with specialized trauma-informed care and access to mental health and addiction supports. This program is receiving $2.6 million in operating funding as of 2024-25 and is funded as part of Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness.
• In January 2024, the ministry announced the launch of community engagements to establish a new Children at Risk of Exploitation (CARE) Unit in the Kenora District to combat the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and youth in Northern Ontario. Police and child protection partners in the District are working together to develop and implement the Kenora CARE Unit in 2025.
• Since 2021, over 1,300 frontline professionals have completed specialized training on understanding and working with sexually exploited youth. This training has a full day dedicated to Indigenous cultural competency and focuses on frontline professionals in sectors where the likelihood of encountering or working with children and youth at risk of/being trafficked is high (e.g. child welfare, police, victim services, violence against women organizations, youth justice).
• Public awareness initiatives are ongoing as there is continued work to expand provincewide education efforts to further raise awareness about this crime and ensure that everyone knows where to get help, especially to those most targeted such as children and youth. To date 260,000 materials have been disseminated at 980 locations via ministry partners.
• Developing public education materials to respond to specific sector needs and expanding distribution of existing awareness materials through partnerships across government and sector.
• Completing the second expansion to the province’s Youth-in-Transition Worker (YITW) program for an additional investment of $450,000 in annualized funding to provide specialized support to youth leaving the care of children’s aid societies who are at risk of or have experienced human trafficking. These expansions under the Anti-Human Trafficking strategy bring the total number of dedicated Anti-Human Trafficking YITWs in the province to 12 and complement other initiatives under the Anti-Human Trafficking strategy, like the CARE units. While data is not yet available for 2024-25, from 2022-23 to 2023-24, 472 youth were referred by YITWs to anti-human trafficking programs for further support.

Victim services

These community-based programs are designed to reduce the negative impacts of crime and violence on individuals and communities and serve a wide range of populations, including, but not limited to those who are impacted by: domestic violence, intimate partner violence, internet exploitation, sexual violence, homicides, human-trafficking, and hate crimes.

In 2024-25, the government allocated approximately $55 million to eight of the victim services programs transferred from the Ministry of the Attorney General in 2022. The Supervised Access Program was also transferred from the Ministry of the Attorney General and in 2024-25 had an annual allocation of approximately $8.8 million, an increase from the original annual allocation of $7.9 million upon transfer.

Family Responsibility Office

FRO provides financial security to 500-600 new families per month by navigating the flow of support between payors and recipients. Over 116,000 Ontario families depend on FRO to disperse nearly $612 million annually in support. FRO serves as an impartial intermediary within the challenging context of family separation, while exercising flexibility when economic circumstances change.

Support recipients and their families rely on FRO’s expertise to get them the support they need. In 2024-25, FRO had approximately 116,000 cases, which represents 235,000 support recipients, payors or third parties. Year over year, FRO has increased the number of calls answered live, increased the number of service request completion rates and saw a 28% reduction in clients seeking to escalate their case.

FRO Online is the client website that allows FRO clients to access their case information 24/7, submit documents, complete a select number of forms electronically and connect with their FRO case contacts. Improvements to the site are continual, but in November 2024, FRO Online underwent major enhancements to improve the client experience and to make the site more user-friendly. Insights gained from user research with clients and staff drove many of the site improvements. The site was updated to current Ontario.ca branding and is now fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act and accessible on all mobile devices. FRO also implemented multi-factor authentication which adds an extra layer of protection to user accounts.

Since FRO Online was launched, there have been more than 5 million logins to the system. FRO’s emphasis on improving client interaction through increased digitization led to an increase in numbers of clients that signed up for FRO online: 41% increase from March 2024 compared to March 2025. During the same period, FRO saw a 32% increase in digital forms received from clients.

Indigenous community and prevention supports

The government continues to work with Indigenous partners to reduce family violence and violence against Indigenous women and children, and support the health and wellness of First Nations, Inuit and Métis and urban Indigenous peoples and communities in Ontario.

In 2024-25, through the longstanding Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy, Ontario increased its investment to Ontario’s Indigenous communities from just over $99 million to almost $127 million through pooled government funding (MCCSS, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation). These investments support healing, health and wellness programs across the province that are designed and delivered by and for Indigenous peoples, including Healing Lodges, Community Wellness Workers, Crisis Teams, Family Violence Shelters and Healing programs, Mental Health and Addictions Treatment and Healing Centres, and capacity building programs. Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy programs are delivered from more than 240 sites across the province and provide over 650 full-time jobs for Indigenous peoples.

In addition, the ministry continues to invest over $96 million annually in other Indigenous-led, prevention-focused, community-based programs that support First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous children and youth, families, individuals, and communities.

These programs include the Family Well-Being program, Systems Planning, First Nations Student Nutrition Program, Indigenous Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – Child Nutrition Program, Akwe:go – Wasa-Nabin, Youth Resiliency, Integrated Rehabilitation for Northern and Rural First Nations Program, Prevention Focused Customary Care, Capacity Funding, Community Support-Native Services on Reserve, Northwest Prevention Initiative, Child Welfare Native Services on Reserve, and Child & Family Intervention - Native Services on Reserve.

The Indigenous Child, Youth and Family Community Based Well-Being programs are part of the continuing work of MCCSS under the Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy (OICYS) and are supporting the development of a distinct-Indigenous approach to child and family services.

The Family Well-Being program is a key investment under the Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy. The program was co-developed with Indigenous partners and supports Indigenous communities to determine how best to lead and deliver holistic programs services that meet the unique needs of their local communities. The co-developed long-term objectives of the Family Well-Being Program are to:

• End violence against Indigenous women and in Indigenous families and communities.
• Reduce the number of Indigenous children in child welfare and the youth justice systems.
• Improve the overall health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities.

Family Well-Being Program services include traditional land-based teachings and ceremonies, trauma-informed counselling, addictions support, safe spaces, and coordination of services. These services and programs help children, youth and their families to heal and recover from the effects of intergenerational violence and trauma, reduce violence, and address the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in child welfare and youth justice systems.

In 2020-21, as part of the Ministry of Health’s Roadmap to Wellness Strategy investments, $5.4 million was invested to expand the Family Well-Being program, increasing the total annual investment to $35.4 million. Starting in 2023-24, an additional $7.3 million over four years is being provided through the National Action Plan on Ending Gender Based Violence.

The Family Well-Being Program serves an average of 75,000 Indigenous clients and community members per year at over 200 sites throughout the province. This includes providing an average of 42,000 supports and services to Indigenous children, youth and adults, including one-to-one and individual counseling supports, family support sessions, group sessions, and community events.

Through the First Nations Student Nutrition Program, MCCSS is providing over $4 million to provide funding for breakfast, lunch or mid-morning meals in 161 sites in 65 First Nations and 27 urban Indigenous communities to support learning and healthy child development. The FNSNP provides over 1.4 million meals to Indigenous children and youth each year.

In 2024-25, MCCSS signed a three-year $108.5 million agreement with the federal government through the National School Food Program to increase funding including $18.5 million this school year through the National School Food Program, Ontario’s existing Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition Program will help more children and youth across the province access nutritious foods by providing an estimated 9.8 million more nutritious meals to students in Ontario.

Women’s social and economic opportunity

The ministry is building an Ontario where all girls and women are empowered to reach their full potential by supporting services and programs that advance gender equality. We collaborate with women’s organizations and across government to advance women’s equality, support their safety and well-being and improve their economic security and prosperity.

The ministry also supports the delivery of economic empowerment and gender-based violence prevention initiatives supporting women’s safety and improving women’s economic security. Examples of programs include:

• The Women’s Economic Security Program provides employment and entrepreneurship training and wraparound supports to low-income women to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to find a job or start a business. In August 2024, the Ministry announced an investment of up to $26.7 million over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program to support 25 local programs across the province.
• The Investing in Women’s Futures program supports 34 sites across the province to deliver a range of services and employment supports that prevent gender-based violence, promote healing and wellness and help women gain the skills they need to secure employment and achieve financial stability.
• The Building Indigenous Women’s Leadership program is delivered by Indigenous women for Indigenous women and provides leadership training and mentorship opportunities to Indigenous women to increase their full participation in leadership roles in their communities.
• The Preventing Gender-based Violence Program seeks to change the harmful norms, attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gender-based violence through a range of programming including public education, awareness raising, bystander intervention, direct client services and capacity building.
• The Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin “I am a Kind Man” Program is delivered by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres. Kizhaay is a community action initiative to address violence in Indigenous communities and foster overall community wellness. The program engages Indigenous men and youth to end violence against Indigenous women and girls by increasing men’s understanding of traditional roles and responsibilities in ending violence, promoting resiliency and resolving trauma.

Engaging Indigenous women leaders

In June 2020, Ontario established the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council to provide input on actions related to human trafficking and child, youth and family well-being.

The Council includes First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ leaders on violence prevention who also provide input on Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s strategy in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

The Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council (IWAC) mandate was extended to March 2026. The ministry will continue to work with the Council on key violence prevention issues and the implementation of Pathways to Safety.

Throughout this past year Ontario continued collaboration with the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council and Indigenous partners to deliver Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s strategy in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, as well as providing other services, supports and investments in collaboration with 12 other ministry partners.

Ontario will continue to work with the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council and communities as the strategy continues to be implemented in 2025-26.

Youth justice services

The ministry administers or funds programs and services for youth who are involved with the justice system between the ages of 12 and 17 at the time of offence.

The objectives of the youth justice programs provided or funded by the ministry are to reduce re-offending, contribute to community safety and prevent youth crime through rehabilitative programming, holding youth accountable, successfully transitioning youth out of custody and creating opportunities for youth at risk.

There are a range of community-based and custody-based programs for youth who are involved with the justice system that support and respond to the individual risks, needs and strengths of each youth, including:

• Community programs for police to refer youth as an alternative to charging them
• Community programs as an alternative to formal court proceedings
• Community programs that support reintegration, treatment, and rehabilitation
• Community-based program options for courts and providing alternatives to custody that address the needs of youth and provide appropriate supervision

Included in these youth justice services are culturally relevant and gender-responsive programs intended to respond to the diverse needs of youth. All youth justice programs are aligned with the principles and provisions set out in the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) and the provincial Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.

Since the Youth Criminal Justice Act came into force in April 2003, there has been an increased focus on prevention, diversion and community-based programs. The success of these programs has led to an 82% reduction in the number of youths admitted to custody and detention in Ontario from 2004-05 to 2023-24.