Get Support for Learners

Learn about one-time funding to support children, youth and students during the 2020-2021 school year. Find out if you are eligible and how to apply

The deadline to apply is February 8, 2021.

Apply now

You can get financial support to help with additional costs during the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19covid 19. Eligible applicants will receive a one-time payment of:

• $200 for each child or youth up to Grade 12
• $250 for each child or youth up to age 21 with special needs

The deadline to apply is February 8, 2021.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you live in Ontario and are a:

• parent or guardian to a child or youth up to Grade 12
• secondary school student over the age of 18
• parent or guardian to a child or youth that is 21 or younger and has special needs

A child or youth with special needs is:

• any student reported to be receiving special education programs or services by their school board
• any child enrolled in licensed child care reported to be receiving special needs funding or support
• any child identified as having a special need

We do not consider students who are identified as being solely gifted to have special needs under this program.

It doesn’t matter if a child or youth is enrolled in school or child care.

Children, youth or students are eligible if they:

• attend a publicly funded school
• attend a private school
• attend a First Nation operated or federally operated school
• attend school in-person or online
• are homeschooled
• are enrolled in child care
• are at home

If you received funding under programs that are now closed, like the Support for Parents or Support for Families, you can still apply.

How to apply

You must submit a separate application for each child or student. We will only accept one application per child, youth or student.

For parents or guardians

Only one parent or guardian may apply for each child. The parent or guardian should have custody of the child. This could include a parent or guardian with shared custody.

It is up to the child’s parents or guardians to determine who will apply. We are not involved in these decisions and we will not accept  more than one application per child.

For secondary students who are over 18

If you are a secondary student over the age of 18, you can apply on your own, or one of your parents or guardians can apply for you.

We are not involved in decisions regarding who will apply and will not accept more than one application.

Apply now

Information you will need

When applying, you will need the following information for each child or youth:

• the name of their school and school board (if applicable)
• their date of birth
• a valid email address
• your banking information (bank name, branch or transit number and account number)

All information that you provide about a student should match their school’s record (if applicable).

We will send payments to the account of:

• • the parent or guardian who is applying for their child (not to a child’s account)
  • secondary students who are over the age of 18 and applied on their own

Payment options

You can get your payment through:

• e-transfer
• direct deposit

The easiest way to receive your payment is through e-transfer.

Before beginning the application, make sure that you have your banking information ready. You will need your:

• bank name
• branch or transit number
• account number

If you cannot provide banking information and need a cheque, you can make a special request in your application, but it will take us longer to send you your payment.

After you apply

As soon as you successfully complete your application, you’ll get a confirmation number. Record and keep the confirmation number for each application.

In one to five business days, you’ll also get an email confirming that we received your application. It will include your confirmation number. Be sure to check your junk mail folder if you do not receive the confirmation email.

It will take approximately two weeks to receive your payment. Some applications will take longer to verify and process.

We process all applications. We will delay or deny your payment if the information you provide is incomplete or inaccurate.

We will verify and pay each application separately. That means if you applied for more than one child, you may not receive all payments at the same time.

Get help

If you need support, please call:

Toll-free: 1-888-444-3770
Toll-free TTY: 1-800-268-7095

To read the original webpage click here.
Updated: January 11, 2021
Published: November 30, 2020

Image by Paula Cowan from Pixabay