Can I Get Ontario Works for My Grandchild? How Child-Only TCA Works

You typed "Ontario Works for my grandchild" into a search engine because you need financial help for a child who is not your own, and you are not sure whether the welfare system even applies to your situation. It does — and there is a specific program designed for it.

TCA: Ontario Works for the Child, Not for You

Temporary Care Assistance is the child-only stream of Ontario Works, created under Section 10 of the Ontario Works Act, 1997 specifically for non-parent caregivers. When you apply for TCA, you are not applying for social assistance for yourself. You are applying on behalf of the child.

This distinction matters in three ways:

1. Your income is not assessed. Whether you earn $0 or $100,000, it does not affect the child's TCA eligibility.
2. You do not go on Ontario Works. TCA does not appear on your OW file. If you later need standard OW or ODSP for yourself, TCA for the child has no bearing on that application.
3. You are not required to look for work. The Participation Agreement — the standard OW job-search obligation — does not apply to TCA.

Who Can Apply

Any adult caring for a child who is not their biological or adoptive child and who has no legal obligation to support the child. In practice, this means grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, and family friends who have taken in a child because the parents cannot care for them.

The child must:

• Be under 18
• Live in Ontario
• Have non-exempt assets no greater than $500 and non-exempt income within the applicable budgetary requirements
• Not be included as a dependent in another OW or ODSP benefit unit

What the Child Receives

Monthly TCA payments:

• $274 for the first child in southern Ontario
• $224 for each additional child
• $440/$326 north of the 50th parallel in communities without year-round road access

Plus mandatory health benefits: prescription drug coverage through the Ontario Drug Benefit, dental care, and vision care.

And TCA stacks with the Canada Child Benefit and Ontario Child Benefit — you apply for those separately through the CRA, and they are not reduced by TCA.

The Application

Contact your local Ontario Works office or DSSAB and ask specifically for a Temporary Care Assistance application under Section 10. Bring the child's birth certificate and proof that the child lives with you (a school enrolment letter is the most common). You will also need to show that the child's non-exempt assets are no greater than $500, that non-exempt income is within the applicable budgetary requirements, and that you are not the child's biological or adoptive parent.

The caseworker may not be immediately familiar with TCA — it is less common than standard OW applications. If the intake process starts asking about your personal finances, redirect: "This is a Directive 3.10 TCA application. My income is excluded."

Common Questions

"I own my house — does that disqualify me?" No. Your assets, including real estate, are not assessed for TCA.

"My spouse works full time — does their income matter?" Not for TCA. It may affect the Canada Child Benefit amount (which is income-tested), but TCA ignores all adult household income.

"The child's parent gave me $1,000 for the child — does that count?" If the money goes into an account in the child's name and pushes assets above $500, TCA eligibility is affected. Keep the child's own non-exempt assets at or below the threshold.

For the complete child-only benefit process — from the initial TCA application through CCB and OCB transfers, CAS kinship funding, and disability benefits — our Ontario Kinship Financial Help guide puts every form, every deadline, and every caseworker response in one printable document.

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