Children's Opticare Manitoba: Help with Glasses for Kids in Kinship Care

A Benefit Most Kinship Caregivers Don't Know About

When you're raising a relative's child on a tight budget, an unexpected eye exam bill followed by the cost of prescription glasses can hit hard. Manitoba's Children's Opti-Care Program reimburses 80% of the cost of prescription eyeglasses, up to $84 per child. Claims can be made once every three years, with higher reimbursement available for verified special vision needs.

Eligibility is linked to the Manitoba Child Benefit, but you must submit a claim for glasses. That eligibility link is where many kinship caregivers fall through the cracks.

How Opti-Care Works

Opti-Care is a supplementary benefit tied directly to the Manitoba Child Benefit (MCB). Receiving the MCB makes your family eligible to claim for a child's prescription eyeglasses; it does not enroll the child automatically or pay without a claim.

What it covers:

• 80% of the cost of prescription eyeglasses, up to $84 per child; claims can be made once every three years
• Higher coverage amounts may be available for children with documented special optical needs (complex prescriptions, specialized lenses)

What it doesn't cover:

• Routine eye exams (Manitoba Health covers one routine complete eye exam in each two-year benefit period for children under 19)
• Contact lenses
• Non-prescription sunglasses or fashion frames

The MCB Eligibility Catch

Here's where kinship caregivers often get tripped up. The Manitoba Child Benefit provides up to $35 per month per child ($420 annually), but eligibility depends on two conditions:

1. You must be receiving the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for the child — this means you've completed the RC66 transfer with the CRA
2. Your net family income must be under $20,000 — full benefits at $15,000 or less, partial benefits on a sliding scale up to $20,000

And the critical exclusion: if you're receiving full EIA basic assistance, you're not eligible for the cash MCB. The reasoning is that EIA rates already account for children's basic needs. However, families receiving only the health-benefits portion of EIA remain eligible for the MCB — and by extension, Opti-Care.

This means a grandparent on a pension who qualifies for EIA health benefits but not the full basic allowance can still access both the MCB and Opti-Care. It also means a caregiver whose income is too high for full EIA but below $20,000 can access both programs.

How to Apply for the Manitoba Child Benefit

The MCB application is a paper form mailed to Provincial Services at 100–114 Garry Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4V4. You can also reach them at 204-948-7368 or toll-free at 1-877-587-6224 (email: [email protected]).

What you'll need:

• Your Social Insurance Number
• Proof that you're receiving the CCB for the child (your latest CCB notice from the CRA works)
• Income verification (your most recent Notice of Assessment)
• The child's name and date of birth

Processing takes several weeks. Once approved for the MCB, submit the Opti-Care claim form with the eye care provider's completed section, the eyeglass receipt, and prescription details. Claims must be submitted within 14 months of the glasses purchase and can be made once every three years.

If EIA Already Covers Optical

Children enrolled under EIA Section 5(1)(f) receive provincial health coverage that includes basic optical care. This means the child may already have some glasses coverage through EIA, even without Opti-Care.

EIA's optical benefit covers essential prescription glasses, but the specifics depend on the EIA program's contracted optical providers and rate schedule. If EIA's coverage isn't sufficient for the child's needs — for instance, if they need a higher-index lens or a more durable frame — check whether the MCB/Opti-Care route provides better coverage for your situation.

In practice, most kinship caregivers on full EIA won't need Opti-Care because EIA's own optical coverage handles the basics. Opti-Care matters most for caregivers who aren't on full EIA but have low enough income to qualify for the MCB.

Making Sure You're Not Missing Anything

Eye health is just one piece of the financial puzzle. The Manitoba Kinship Financial Help Guide includes a complete benefit interaction map showing how the MCB, Opti-Care, EIA health coverage, and federal benefits like the CCB all fit together — so you can see at a glance which programs you qualify for and which ones conflict.

See more Manitoba guides →