ACSD Ontario: Financial Help for Kinship Caregivers of Children with Disabilities

Raising a relative's child with a severe disability means extraordinary costs that the standard benefits were not designed to cover — specialized equipment, respite care, adapted transportation, therapeutic assessments. The Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program fills part of that gap with $25 to $678 per month, and kinship caregivers are eligible.

What ACSD Covers

ACSD is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017. It provides monthly financial assistance to help with the extraordinary costs of a child's disability, including:

• Respite care (someone to give you a break while safely supervising the child)
• Specialized transportation to medical appointments
• Adaptive clothing and sensory equipment
• Mobility device batteries and repairs

The benefit ranges from $25 to $678 per month, adjusted based on the child's assessed extraordinary costs and the household's income.

Eligibility

Two key tests:

1. The child's disability — the child must have a severe disability that creates extraordinary costs beyond what standard health coverage provides. The application requires medical documentation from the child's doctor or specialist.
2. Household income — your household net income must be $77,640 or less. Unlike TCA (which ignores caregiver income entirely), ACSD does assess the caregiver's household income. But the threshold is relatively generous — most grandparents on pension income and many working relatives will qualify.

There is no requirement for legal custody or guardianship. As the child's primary caregiver, you can apply regardless of your legal relationship to the child.

How to Apply

1. Contact your local ministry regional office or download the ACSD application form
2. Have the child's doctor or specialist complete the medical section, documenting the disability and the extraordinary costs it creates
3. Provide household income verification (your most recent Notice of Assessment from the CRA)
4. Submit the completed application to your local ministry regional office

Processing can take several weeks. If approved, MCCSS will confirm the payment start date.

Stacking ACSD With Other Benefits

ACSD is explicitly exempt as income under Ontario Works rules and does not reduce any other benefit:

A grandchild with a severe disability could receive TCA ($274), the maximum CCB ($573.58), OCB ($146.66), the federal Child Disability Benefit ($290), and ACSD ($678 maximum) — totalling up to $1,962.24 per month. All of it non-taxable.

The Federal Disability Tax Credit

You can also apply for the federal Disability Tax Credit (DTC) via CRA Form T2201; DTC eligibility is assessed separately from ACSD. DTC approval automatically unlocks the Child Disability Benefit — up to $290 per month on top of the regular CCB. The CDB begins to phase out when adjusted family net income exceeds $82,847, but most kinship caregivers will receive the full amount.

Filing Form T2201 requires a qualified medical practitioner to certify the child's disability. If you are already completing the ACSD medical documentation, ask the same doctor to fill out T2201 at the same appointment.

For the complete disability benefits pathway — including how to coordinate ACSD, DTC, and TCA applications, the household income calculation, and what extraordinary costs qualify — our Ontario Kinship Financial Help guide covers the process from first application to ongoing benefit management.

See more Ontario guides →