Direct Bank Deposit
Through Direct Bank Deposit, monthly Ontario Works payments are sent to your personal bank account. A statement of assistance, with details of your payment, will arrive in the mail along with your drug benefit card.

Benefits of using Direct Bank Deposit include:

• Faster service
• Greater privacy about receiving your payments
• No waiting for cheques to arrive in the mail
• No need to replace lost or stolen cheques
• Easier access to your funds

To sign up for this service, fill out a Direct Bank Deposit authorization form. This form is printed on the back of your monthly Income Reporting Statement / Change of Information form.

When filling out the form, you need to:

• give detailed information on your bank, trust company or credit union
• give your bank account number
• attach a copy of your updated bank book, or a blank cheque with the word ‘VOID’ written on it
• sign and date the form, and
• return the completed form to your caseworker.

If you need help filling out the form, ask your caseworker or speak to a bank representative.

Opening a bank account:

If you don’t already have a bank account, you can open one at any bank, trust company or credit union in Toronto. You will be asked to show one or more pieces of identification. If you don’t have proper identification, your caseworker can refer you to the correct government offices for the documents you need. Banks, trust companies and credit unions usually charge a monthly fee for their services. These fees will be different depending on where you do your banking. Before you decide where to open your account, be sure to ask questions and compare the service charges.

Let your caseworker know immediately if there are changes to your banking information such as:

• A new bank account number
• Moving your account to another branch
• Choosing to bank at a different place

If you make any of these changes, you will need to fill out and sign a new Direct Bank Deposit authorization form. If you don’t let your caseworker know right away, your next Ontario Works payment could be delayed.

Income reporting schedule
While receiving Ontario Works benefits, it is your responsibility to let your caseworker know of any other income you receive. Read about examples of income sources and other details under income reporting.

Report your income by filling out and returning the Income Reporting Statement that you receive in the mail. Also submit photocopies of any pay stubs that you have. Send your statement to your caseworker on the return date given in this chart:

Income Reporting Schedule

BENEFIT MONTH (Month in which income will be deducted from your assistance)	Report income between these dates		Income Reporting Statement RETURN DATE
February	Dec 16	Jan 15	JAN 15
March	Jan 16	Feb 15	FEB 15
April	Feb 16	Mar 15	MAR 15
May	Mar 16	Apr 15	APR 15
June	Apr 16	May 15	MAY 15
July	May 16	June 15	JUNE 15
August	June 16	July 15	JULY 15
September	July 16	Aug 15	AUG 15
October	Aug 16	Sept 15	SEPT 15
November	Sept 16	Oct 15	OCT 15
December	Oct 16	Nov 15	NOV 15
January	Nov 16	Dec 15	IMMEDIATE

If you do not receive your Income Reporting Statement in the mail, you can download a blank statement to fill out and return.

For information about payment dates see the payment schedule.

Interactive Voice Response
Interactive Voice Response is a telephone line run by the Ministry of Community and Social Services.  You can call this line to get information about your social assistance payments.

Call 1-800-808-2268 (toll-free) Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Weekends: noon to 5 p.m.

Through Interactive Voice Response, you will have secure access to:

• your payment details (within the past 45 days)
• the status of your case
• general information about Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, and
• overpayment balances (if this applies to you)

To get this information you will need:

• your 9-digit member identification number, which you can find listed on your monthly statement of assistance, and
• your 4-digit personal identification number, which you will receive in the mail when you start receiving social assistance.

Please do not share these numbers with anyone.

If you have difficulties using the Interactive Voice Response system, for information about your social assistance please contact your caseworker.

Payment schedule
While receiving Ontario Works, payments are normally sent directly to your bank account. If you are receiving your payments by cheque, you can sign up for Direct Bank Deposit.

If you do NOT receive your payment, or if you receive an Employment and Social Services letter telling you that your payment is going to be delayed or stopped, contact your caseworker.

The following chart shows the Cheque Mail Dates and Direct Bank Deposit Dates for 2010.

Benefit Month	Cheque Mail Date*	Direct Bank Deposit Payment Date*
February	Tue Jan 26	Wed Jan 27
March	Tue Feb 23	Wed Feb 24
April	Fri  Mar 26	Mon Mar 29
May	Mon Apr 26	Tue Apr 27
June	Wed May 26	Thu May 27
July	Thu Jun 24	Fri Jun 25
August	Mon Jul 26	Tue July 27
September	Thu Aug 26	Fri Aug 27
October	Mon Sept 27	Tue Sept 28
November	Tue Oct 26	Wed Oct 27
December	Thu Nov 25	Fri Nov 26
January 2010	Mon Dec 20	Tue Dec 21

* The date the payment is received depends on Canada Post delivery to your area or the bank you deal with.

You can learn specific information about your social assistance, including payment amounts and dates, through the Interactive Voice Response system.

Printable brochures and forms
The brochures can be viewed or printed, and give you details on the supports and services provided by Employment and Social Services. The forms can be printed for filling out.

Many of the brochures and forms listed are in PDF file format. You need the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open, view or print these PDF files.

Brochures	For more information visit:
Benefits and supports: Already working? Starting a job? Here’s how Toronto Employment & Social Services can help Family Support Program: Helping you pursue child and/or spousal support Financial assistance for funerals, burials and cremations How do I apply for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) kids@computers Scholarship	. Help for people who start to work Family Support Program Help with funeral costs Applying to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) kids@computers
Employment-related: Employment Placement - Self-Employment Development What is Employment Placement (EP)?	. Self-Employment Development Program Employment Placement
Applying for and receiving Ontario Works in Toronto: Multilingual Access to Social Services	. Services in other languages
Forms	For more information visit:
Appealing decisions: Request for Internal Review form Request for Review by Decision Review Committee Notice of Appeal form	. If you disagree with a decision
Direct Bank Deposit: DBD Authorization form	. Direct Bank Deposit
Employment-related: Consent to Share Information (with employment / educational organizations) Volunteering Details form Volunteering Extension Request form	. Volunteering
Reporting income/changes: Income Reporting Statement / Change of Information form	. Income reporting Reporting changes

T5007 (tax slip issued to people who have received social assistance)

The T5007 statement of benefits, or “T5” for short, is a tax slip that the Ministry of Community and Social Services issues to people who have received social assistance. You will receive a T5 in the mail by the end of February if you received social assistance during the previous year.

If you have not received or have lost your Ontario Works T5 slip, call Employment and Social Services for a replacement at 416-397-0290 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. You will need to have your Social Insurance Number available when you call.

Please note that, for T5 replacements, Employment and Social Services:

• does not issue duplicate slips for amounts less than $500.00
• issues slips in the applicant’s name only
• includes benefits paid such as Special Diet but does not include all benefits (for example the Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit)
• cannot issue a replacement T5 to you if you are currently receiving assistance in another municipality or from Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
• cannot change the  amount shown on the original copy of the T5 as it is issued by the Ministry of Community and Social Services