Apply for income support before you’re released

You might want to apply for income support from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) if you:

• have a disability, and
• will have a low income when you're released.

To get income support from ODSP, you have to qualify both:

1. financially, and
2. in most cases, as a person with a disability.

Usually, the first step is proving that you qualify financially. The second step is proving that you’re a person with a disability.

To prove that you're a person with a disability, you get a Disability Determination Package from ODSP. The Disability Determination Package has forms that ask about your health. You send the completed forms to the Disability Adjudication Unit.

Starting with the Disability Determination Package

If you're in custody, you can start your application by sending in the completed forms in the Disability Determination Package.

Ask to see the doctor who works where you're in custody. They should have the forms and be able to fill them out and send them to the Disability Adjudication Unit.

When you're released, you meet with ODSP to show that you qualify financially.

If you proved you’re a person with a disability in the past

If you qualify financially for income support, you won't have to complete the Disability Determination Package if:

• you completed the Disability Determination Package before, and
• ODSP found that you're a person with a disability

Waiting for ODSP to decide

If you're being released in the next 10 days and don't have a decision from ODSP, you may want to apply for financial assistance from Ontario Works.

You may be able to get financial assistance while you're waiting to hear from ODSP.