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20,000 Ontario children haven't received money under new Liberal plan to alleviate poverty
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Ontario Liberals are trumpeting the new child benefit as the cornerstone of their pledge to fight poverty, but child advocates say the government forgot to include the 20,000 kids living in foster care.
They want Queen's Park to correct the oversight so provincial money meant to help low-income parents cover the costs of raising a child &em; such as buying books, paying for sports or saving for university &em; helps kids in care too.
The benefit, unveiled in last spring's budget, put a lump-sum payment of up to $250 per child in the hands of low-income families last July. By 2011, it will grow to an annual maximum of $1,100 per child under age 18.
"Our children, the most vulnerable, aren't benefiting from this announcement and it should be changed," said Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern, of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, which represents 51 societies in the province. "It's shocking."
The association first noticed the oversight during the budget lock-up last year and has been lobbying the province ever since.
"This is a substantial amount of money. It would make a difference to a lot of kids," added Virginia Rowden, the association's social policy director.
Last summer's $250 payment would have translated to about $5 million for the 20,000 kids in care, the association says. This year, when the annual benefit rises to $600, these kids would be owed $12 million.
And in 2011,when the total benefit hits the maximum of $1,100, about $22 million would be owing.
Ontario Children's Minister Deb Matthews said the government is working to fix the problem and hopes to extend benefits to children in care by July.
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Julaine Skyers, 18, and Melanie Bento, 17, two young women in the care of Toronto's Catholic Children's Aid Society, say they need the money to help in their efforts to save for college.
"We don't have families that can help us, so we need all the help we can get."
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Although the children's aid association says the simplest solution to the problem would be to transfer the child benefit funds to them on behalf of the kids, others believe the money should flow directly into registered education savings plans for each child.
That way, children in care would also be eligible for federal education grants of up to $550 a year.
"Money coming from a child benefit should be going into funds that any other child can get," said John Stapleton, an independent social policy consultant who used to work for the provincial social services ministry.
Any or all money paid out on behalf of children in any other family can be used to open an education savings plan, so it should be the same for kids in care, he said.
There are about 3,300 children under the care of the Toronto and Catholic children's aid societies.
About 63 per cent live in poverty, said Toronto CAS executive director David Rivard.
"When it comes to escaping poverty, education is crucial," he said. "Opening education savings plans for these kids is certainly one option that should be considered."
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"We live in a knowledge-based society," said executive director Peter Dudding.
"We have to lever the resources of government and the private sector to ensure these kids succeed."
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- reprinted from the Toronto Star