BACKGROUND

Since January 2007, the Ontario Works caseload has increased by 45% from 2401 cases to 3466 cases in May, 2011. For several months the caseload remained stable but it has now started to slowly increase again.

The Ministry of Community and Social Services has projected the average caseload for October 2010 – September 2011 to be 3499 and predicted that it will continue to rise to 3597 for the same time period in 2011-12. During the past four years the caseload composition has changed as well. There has been a significant increase in the number of single people on the caseload and a decrease in the number of sole-support families on the caseload.