Revised: July 11, 2025
Published: October 19, 2023

Collection and integration of data from Ontario Autism Program, Special Services at Home, social assistance, Passport program and Developmental Services

As the Data Integration (DI) Unit for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS), the Business Intelligence and Practice Division (the “Division”) indirectly collects personal information for the purposes of data integration.

In its role as a DI Unit, the Division collects personal information about individuals receiving ministry services or ministry-funded services between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2024 on a semi-annual basis, from the following MCCSS programs:

This information comes from the following ministry systems: the Developmental Services Consolidated Information System (DSCIS), the Provincial Special Services at Home (PSSAH) application, the Social Assistance Management System (SAMS), the Ontario Autism Case Information System (OACIS), the Serious Occurrence Reporting and Residential Licensing System (SOR-RL), and the Disability Adjudication Database (DAD).

Information is also indirectly collected from PassportONE for the Passport program and AccessOAP, which is the independent intake organization for the Ontario Autism Program.

The personal information collected indirectly as a ministerial DI unit includes:

  • identifying information for children, youth and families, and/or adults receiving services from any of the program areas indicated above, including names, dates of birth, and addresses
  • demographic information including age, gender or sex, disability type (ICD-9 code) and other personal attributes, such as education, marital status, and family structure
  • case information for serious occurrences (SOs), including the date and time of serious occurrence, category and subcategory of serious occurrence for ongoing and historical records of services for children and adults in care or out of home care. Serious Occurrences refer to an incident, such as a death and/or serious illness or injury, that requires or may require intervention and/or investigation by a service provider, MCCSS and/or other applicable parties. Serious occurrences are reported by service providers when the SO occurs during the provision of service(s), which could be funded, licensed, or directly operated.
  • program and service information for program and service recipients including the program names, program types, client identifiers, status in the program or service and start and end dates

Who has access to the collected personal information

Personal information is only disclosed to members of the DI Unit within MCCSS, in the performance of their duties in connection with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Part III.1. The DI Unit within MCCSS may further disclose personal information it collects:

  • to another inter-ministerial DI Unit and/or an extra-ministerial DI Unit
  • as required by law
  • to an institution or law enforcement agency in Canada in relation to an investigation
  • for the purpose of a proceeding before a court or tribunal
  • to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
  • for research purposes

The collected personal information from any of the program areas will be linked and then de-identified to remove or anonymize identifying information. The dataset resulting from this exercise will be disclosed to authorized individuals within the Business Intelligence and Practice Division in the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for analysis. Linking data from these programs will help the ministry to better understand the patterns of program and service use throughout the life course of individuals with special needs and their families. The DI Unit is collecting personal information for the purpose of planning for the delivery of programs and services. Key findings are used to better inform policy and program options in each program area to improve the quality of the supports and services provided.

Data and privacy

The government is committed to transparency in the use of personal information for data integration and uses only as much personal information as is necessary to achieve the purposes identified above. As required under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Part III.1, the ministry complies with the Ontario Public Service Data Integration Data Standards. The Data Standards contain a minimum set of requirements for promoting responsible stewardship of the personal information collected by the Division in its role as a DI Unit. By outlining the obligations of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Part III.1, the Data Standards ensure a consistent and effective approach to transparency, accountability, and the protection of privacy across all DI Units.

The ministry is authorized to indirectly collect this personal information under section 49.2 and section 49.4 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Contact information

Questions about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information for the purposes of data integration may be directed to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Data Integration Unit:

Manager, Data Strategy and Policy Unit 
Data Strategy and Solutions Platform
Business Intelligence and Practice Division
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
3rd Floor, 315 Front Street West 
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 0B8
MCCSSdata@ontario.ca