Temporary Care Assistance Ontario Rates 2026

When you are raising someone else's child, the first thing you need to know is how much monthly help is actually available. Here are the current Temporary Care Assistance rates for Ontario in 2026.

Monthly Cash Rates

TCA rates depend on where in Ontario you live and how many children you are caring for.

Southern Ontario (south of the 50th parallel):

• First child: $274 per month
• Each additional child: $224 per month

Northern Ontario (north of the 50th parallel in communities without year-round road access):

• First child: $440 per month
• Each additional child: $326 per month

So a grandmother in Toronto caring for two grandchildren receives $498 per month ($274 + $224). The same arrangement north of the 50th parallel in a community without year-round road access would receive $766 per month ($440 + $326).

These rates have been frozen at 2018 levels. The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies has called for rate increases and kinship parity with foster care, but those remain advocacy proposals — the current legislated rates are the ones above.

Health Benefits on Top of Cash

Every child on TCA automatically receives mandatory health coverage that does not come out of the cash payment:

• Prescription drugs through the Ontario Drug Benefit formulary
• Dental care through Healthy Smiles Ontario; children in First Nations communities may receive direct OW dental cards
• Vision care — eye exams, frames, lenses, and repairs
• Special diet allowance — $10 to $250 per month if a medical condition requires a therapeutic diet
• Medical transportation — reimbursement for trips costing $15 or more

These health benefits are especially valuable for families who would otherwise have no extended coverage. A child with diabetes may receive coverage for eligible prescriptions and prescribed diabetic supplies that are not covered from another source.

How TCA Stacks With Other Benefits

TCA is not the only money available. It stacks with federal and provincial child benefits without any clawback:

At full benefit levels, a single grandchild in southern Ontario brings $994.24 per month across all three programs. None of this is taxable, and none of it reduces the caregiver's personal pension payments.

If the caregiver already receives OW or ODSP in their own right and the CCB has not started yet, the Transition Child Benefit provides up to $230 per month per child to bridge the gap.

What the Rates Do Not Include

TCA does not include a shelter component for the caregiver. Unlike standard Ontario Works, which provides a basic needs amount plus a shelter allowance for the adult, TCA pays only the child's basic needs rate. This is because TCA assumes the caregiver already has their own housing — the benefit covers the incremental cost of the child, not the household.

If you need shelter support for yourself, that is a separate OW or ODSP application for the adult benefit unit. Your personal eligibility for OW or ODSP does not affect the child's TCA eligibility, and TCA payments to the child are not counted as income against your adult benefit.

Keeping TCA Running

There is no one-year time limit on TCA — a myth that still circulates among caseworkers and on forums. The benefit continues as long as the child remains in your care, remains in financial need, and has not been formally adopted. Ontario Works reviews TCA cases at least once every 24 months to confirm the arrangement still qualifies.

For the complete breakdown of every benefit an Ontario kinship child can receive — including the ACSD disability benefit, CAS kinship service funding, and customary care subsidies for Indigenous children — our Ontario Kinship Financial Help guide puts all the rates, eligibility rules, and application steps in one printable document.

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