What if someone is in custody?

General Rule: Someone in custody does not qualify for income support from Ontario Works, whether they are waiting for a trial or serving a sentence. However, if your client does receive their full amount of income support during a month where they were in custody, you should warn them that they could have to pay back some or all of those amounts if Ontario Works believes they overpaid them for days they were in custody.

Exceptions: 

• Non-single recipients: If someone receives income support on behalf of family members (e.g., spouse, children, etc.), their support payments should still be provided to their family while they are in custody, but the payments will be recalculated to exclude the recipient’s budgetary needs while they are in custody.
• Someone serving a conditional sentence: They remain eligible for income assistance while serving a conditional sentence. If they are under house arrest, they are eligible for both basic needs and shelter support. If they are in a community residence, they are eligible for basic needs support if they are NOT residing in a community residence funded by the Correctional Service Canada. If they are residing in a community residence funded by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, they are eligible for $149/month for personal needs.
  • Depending on the restrictions on their sentence, Ontario Works might also defer your client’s participation requirements. Make sure your client talks to their caseworker about this if they are worried about meeting their requirements.
• Someone serving a part-time sentence: Their basic needs’ support will be reduced to account for the number of days they are in custody, but if they are maintaining or trying to secure housing in the community (home, apartment, etc.), their full shelter support may still be available if they are still paying the same rent, mortgage, etc. If they are receiving room and board but their shelter costs can’t be determined, their support payments will be calculated and prorated based on the number of days they spend in the community. More information about receiving Ontario Works while serving a part-time sentence can be found here.
• Someone on temporary absence: They remain eligible for income assistance for the days not spent in custody unless they are residing in a community residence funded in whole or part by the Correctional Services Canada.

How You Can Help:

• Step 1: Where possible, help your client contact their Ontario Works worker to let them know that they’ve been taken into custody and remind them to ask about receiving their full shelter support payments to avoid losing their housing.
• Step 2: Warn your client that their income support payments might be reduced later on to account for their time in custody. If your client is no longer receiving their income support or is receiving less income support than they usually do, you can also help them make a plan to avoid further civil legal issues, like being evicted for not paying rent, missing support payments or running into debt issues for not paying outstanding bills. If your client will be unable to make these kinds of payments without their income support, you can help them find other funding (e.g., rent bank programs, etc.) or refer them for legal advice before the issues escalate. 
• Step 3: If a client’s family is not receiving financial assistance while they are in custody, refer them to the recipient’s caseworker. If Ontario Works doesn’t reinstate income support to the family, refer them to a legal clinic.

Additional steps you can take: If your client wants to start a new application for Ontario Works while they are in custody and they meet the requirements, they can call to apply 10 days before their release. You can let them know that they will need to provide Ontario Works with information that shows they meet the eligibility requirements once they are released. More information about starting an application for Ontario Works while in custody can be found here.