Child Support: Not the child’s income; a look at ODSPA payments

with Stephanie Ansky

Transcript Child Support: Not the child’s income; a look at ODSPA payments Video

Please note: The script may not be exactly what is spoken, but contains the same information as presented in the video.

Adult Children with disabilities is a vast and complicated area, be it for payment of basic child support, the duration of the support, and what sources of payment are available to the adult child with disabilities.

It has been determined by the Social Benefits Tribunal, Divisional Court and Court of Appeal that income in the context of the ODSPA does not include child support. In a recent Ontario case the Director of Disability Support Program sought to deny an adult child, a 21 year old woman with Asperger’s syndrome, a high functioning form of Autism, from receiving disability payments. In this case the Mother was receiving child support for her from the father. The ODSPA wrongfully wished to deny her the payments deeming the child support paid from her father to her mother as income to her.

All three levels held that since the funds were provided to her Mother, the daughter has no independent right to them or legal entitlement to it.

In addition in this case the funds Mother received from the father were used to pay for therapies and other disability related expenses. One of the indicia and common traits of a person with Asperger’s syndrome is the very high, almost obsessive, interest in a particular subject or thing. This young woman had an interest in horses. The Mother purchased a special needs horse for which she uses for therapy. She participates in horse therapy 16 times per month.

The purpose of the ODSPA emphasize that support of the disabled is a shared responsibility between families and government. The young woman applied in her own right for support.

Through her counsel, the young woman made a very good point; that the Director’s position unfairly discriminates against single parent households. I would suggest that this is in relation to the fact that if she were in a two parent household and thus no “child support” was being paid, there would be no issue with respect to income to her.

In fact, the Divisional court stated that is was their view that “it would be inconsistent with the intent of the ODSPA to establish a partnership between government and families that would fairly contribute to children with disabilities, to attribute income to a child as a result of child support order. Child support is intended to allow children who find themselves in a separated family to continue to live a standard consistent with each parent’s financial resources. It would be inconsistent and unfair to give an interpretation of “income” that allows children in an intact family to live at a standard consistent with both parent’s financial resources without any deduction for their ODSP and require a deduction of child support to a child from a separated family. The whole purpose of the support is to ensure the standard, as best as can be possible, remains the same for those children.” The Court of Appeal agreed.

Thank you.