Overview

Summary

Statistics Canada and Ontario Ministry of Community, Children and Social Services (MCCSS) are pleased to announce the availability of the MCCSS/Ontario Social Assistance Data derived from the case management records of the Ontario Social Assistance programs. The Ontario’s social assistance programs provide income and employment support to single adults and families who are in financial need. There are two social assistance programs: Ontario Works (OW) provides financial and employment assistance to help people move towards paid employment and independence. Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) provides financial assistance and employment support to enable people with disabilities and their families to live as independently as possible in their communities.
Social assistance policy directives can be accessed through the following link: http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/directives/index.aspx
The available microdata contain de-identified client-level administrative income support information for the period 2003 to 2014 (October) organized into five (5) separate files: benefit unit (family) information; member information; pay detail (benefit) information; income/deduction information; and skills information
Access to monthly time-series data on OW and ODSP provincial caseloads from 1990 to 2014 is also available consistent with the microdata.
Researchers may find the data useful in examining: disability (including financial and human impacts); effects of social assistance on demographic sub-groups (e.g. urban/rural clients, immigrants, newcomers, etc.); effective, sustainable employment outcomes and motivating people to work; social assistance caseloads and long-term attachments/dependency, including influence of policy instruments and external factors (i.e. socio-economic and labour market conditions); and inter-jurisdictional comparisons.
Linkages have been made to these casefiles. Please see the linkages available below: T1 Family File subset (1998 to 2019); T4 Statement of Remuneration (1998 to 2019); T4E Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits (1998 to 2019); T5007 Statement of Benefits (1998 to 2019)
If required for approved analytical projects, subsequent linkage keys would allow mapping of the Ontario IA tax analytical file as described above to *one* other type of data source at a time among the following: Census: 2016 Census of Population Long form; Employment: Record of Employment, Employment Insurance Status Vector; Immigration: Longitudinal Immigration Database; Health: Discharge Abstract Database, National Ambulatory Care Reporting System, Canadian Cancer Registry, Ontario Mental Health Reporting System Database, Vital Statistics – Death Database; Education: Postsecondary Student Information System, Registered Apprenticeship Information System

Available Cycles