Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Child Welfare: In this case, as with social assistance, we deferred to the ongoing work of
another commission, the <strong>Commission</strong> to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare, now two years
into its three-year mandate. Its reports to date are consistent with our themes, but dealing with
our 0.5 per cent growth cap per year will nonetheless be difficult. The government should
continue to implement reforms proposed by the <strong>Commission</strong> to Promote Sustainable Child
Welfare.
Ontario Child Benefit: The OCB provides up to $1,100 annually per child; about one million
children in almost 530,000 families benefit from it. The OCB is a non-taxable, income-tested
monthly benefit. The OCB has transformed children’s benefits by providing support to all
low- to moderate-income families with children under 18, making it easier for parents to move
from social assistance to employment. This is commendable in terms of helping to remove the
“welfare wall,” but we note that the 2011 Ontario Budget committed the government to raising
the maximum OCB to $1,310, at a cost of $245 million per year. This runs counter to our
recommendation that any savings from reducing spending below the 0.5 per cent growth rate,
if achieved, should be directed to specific social assistance measures; the current OCB
maximum should be retained.
Other Social Programs: Discretionary social programs are overseen by many ministries and
BPS partners with varying levels of capacity. There are common trends: the province funds
most services; the province has recently taken on more funding responsibility from
municipalities (e.g., social assistance) and the federal government (e.g., stepping in when
child care funding was cancelled); co-operation across sectors is improving, but much more
needs to be done; and wait-lists still exist for most services in most programs. Since the
province provides most of the funding, it must lead change in these programs.
Children’s Mental Health Services: The legislature’s Select Committee on Mental Health
and Addictions has noted that services are delivered across several ministries and offered in
many care settings. The government has taken steps to reduce this fragmentation. It should
further integrate child and youth mental health services.
Children’s Services Integration: Greater integration of services for children and youth should
be expanded beyond mental health. As with the alignment of other services, co-operation
across ministries and with other levels of government (particularly at the municipal level)
will be key.
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