1. Know if an adult child is financially independent

If your adult child lives with you and is “financially independent”, the general rule is that Ontario Works (OW) does not include them in your household. But your child may be able to choose to be included. See Step 2.

To find out how this can affect your financial assistance, talk to a community legal clinic.

What “financially independent” means

OW will say that your adult child is “financially independent” if any of the following apply:

• they've lived with a spouse or their spouse is living with them now at your place
• they are or have been eligible for assistance from the First Nations Post-Secondary Funding Program or from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) if they were not a dependent student
• they've been out of high school for at least 5 years
• they have a college diploma or university degree
• they have or had decision-making responsibility, which used to be called custody, of their child

And, if there's a month when your adult child has assets or income above what OW allows for a single person on OW, they would be financially independent for that month.

Living independently for 2 years

OW will also say that your child is financially independent if one or more of the following apply and the time they apply adds up to 2 years or more:

• They had income above the amount OW allows for a single person on OW. And this income was not from child or spousal support.
• They got their housing costs and basic needs from someone other than their parents or an institution, like a hospital or a prison. For example, they lived with a friend who supported them.
• They got social assistance on their own from OW or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
• They lived away from their parents' home after the age of 18, unless they were away to attend school full-time.

The 2 years do not have to be all in a row.