FAO RELEASES REVIEW OF THE MINISTRY OF CHILDREN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES’ SPENDING PLAN
TORONTO, June 5, 2024 – Today, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) released a report that reviews the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ (MCCSS) spending plan in the 2024 Ontario Budget and the 2024-25 Expenditure Estimates. The report compares the ministry’s spending plan against the FAO’s spending projection and discusses the key assumptions, issues and uncertainties behind the FAO’s forecast.
Based on current program design and announced commitments, the FAO projects that MCCSS spending will grow at an average annual rate of 3.4 per cent, from $19.3 billion in 2023-24 to $22.9 billion in 2028-29. In contrast, in the 2024 Ontario Budget, the Province projects that MCCSS spending will grow at an average annual rate of 1.1 per cent to 2026-27, the last year of the government’s projection.
The ministry’s largest program area (known in the Expenditure Estimates as a vote-item) is Financial and Employment Supports, which accounts for 53 per cent of planned ministry spending in 2024-25. Financial and Employment Supports consists of Ontario’s two major social assistance programs, the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the Ontario Works (OW) program. The FAO projects that spending for Financial and Employment Supports will increase at an average annual rate of 4.5 per cent from $10.3 billion in 2023-24 to $12.8 billion in 2028-29.
Direct financial assistance provided to Ontarians with disabilities through ODSP and Ontarians in financial need though OW are the two largest programs delivered by the ministry. The FAO projects that spending on ODSP – Financial Assistance will grow from $5.9 billion in 2023-24 to $7.7 billion by 2028-29, representing an average annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent. The increase is due to projected growth in the number of cases and the government’s policy to index ODSP allowances to inflation.
The FAO estimates that spending on OW – Financial Assistance will grow at an average annual rate of 2.6 per cent, from $2.9 billion in 2023-24 to $3.3 billion in 2028-29. This spending growth is due to projected increases in cases combined with the assumption of no changes to OW allowance rates, which have been frozen since 2018.
To learn more about the FAO’s spending projection for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, read the full report here.
Quick Facts:
- The FAO estimates that in the 2024 Ontario Budget, the Province has allocated $3.7 billion less than required to fund existing MCCSS programs and announced commitments from 2024-25 to 2026-27.
- The FAO projects that the Financial and Employment Supports program area will account for 72 per cent of the overall growth in ministry spending from 2023-24 to 2028-29.
- The third largest ministry program, Developmental Services Supportive Living, funds living arrangements for individuals with developmental disabilities. In 2023-24, the program cost an estimated $2.3 billion and served about 18,000 individuals. The FAO’s spending projection assumes that there will be no growth in the number of clients served, continuing the trend since 2017-18, and that program spending growth will be driven entirely by increases in spending per client.
About the FAO:
Established by the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) provides independent analysis on the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the provincial economy and related matters important to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Visit our website or follow us on X and LinkedIn for more information on our reports.
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For further information, please contact:
Sophia Zhu l 416 931 5498 l SZhu@fao-on.org l fao-on.org
