The roots of poverty are complex and the task of reducing poverty in Ontario is multi-faceted and challenging. Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy sets out a comprehensive plan to address the needs of Ontarians and build structures necessary to break the cycle of poverty.

Ontario is focusing first on children and their families, with the goal of reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years. Our plan is about investing in the potential of all Ontarians and we are putting programs and supports in place so each of us can grow, succeed and contribute. It was developed with the goals of increasing opportunities and reducing barriers.

All children should have what they need for the best possible start in life:

• High-quality early learning and child care
• Opportunities for educational achievement and success in later life
• Resources for families so they can support their children's well-being

All Ontarians should have the opportunities and tools they need to succeed:

• Tax relief and reform
• Access to jobs and a path out of unemployment
• Fair minimum wages and fair working conditions

Strong economic and social foundations are critical to a prosperous and healthy Ontario:

• Strong communities and community-based services
• A not-for-profit sector that is valued and supported

Poverty affects all of us and poverty reduction requires that all of us play a role. The Ontario government acknowledges with gratitude the many partners — individuals, organizations and communities across the province — who are making a difference every day and helping to achieve the goals of Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.

BREAKING THE CYCLE:
THE THIRD PROGRESS REPORT

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy 2011 Annual Report Highlights

Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy was launched in December 2008 with the goal of reducing the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over five years. We have focused our efforts primarily on children and families. But we have also taken steps to create opportunity for those most adversely affected by the economic downturn, and build the economic and social foundations to achieve our long-term goals to reduce poverty. Here's how Ontarians are benefiting:

From 2008 to 2009, the first year of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, 20,000 children moved out of poverty. This represents a decrease of over four per cent in the number of children living in poverty.

Stronger, healthier kids and families

• 50,000 four- and five-year olds in nearly 800 schools are getting an educational head start through Full-Day Kindergarten, while their parents are saving up to $6,500 a year on child care.
• Close to one million children and their families receive the Ontario Child Benefit. Parents currently receive up to $1,100 annually per child under 18, increasing to $1,310 in 2013.
• 130,000 kids will have access to preventive dental care through Healthy Smiles Ontario.
• A provincewide network of Best Start Child and Family Centres is being developed to provide children and families with seamless and accessible family-centred programs and services in Ontario communities.
• Child care is transferring to the Ministry of Education to enable a more integrated and modernized approach to the continuum of child care, early learning and education.
• 50,000 kids will benefit from Ontario's new Mental Health and Addictions Strategy, which provides faster access to high-quality services, identifies and intervenes in kids' mental health issues earlier, and closes critical service gaps for vulnerable kids and those in remote communities.
• 4,000 more Aboriginal children and youth will benefit from funding to hire new Aboriginal mental health and addictions workers who will provide culturally appropriate services.
• Funding of $22.7 million for child well-being to First Nation communities for assessment, counselling and other services to address social and community concerns.
• School dropout rates are being lowered by as much as 70 per cent in targeted low-income communities through the Pathways to Education mentoring and tutoring program.
• The Student Nutrition Program provides over 660,000 students with nutritious breakfasts, snacks and lunches in 2010-11.
• The Building Families and Supporting Youth To Be Successful Act, 2011 removes barriers so that more kids in the care of children's aid societies can find permanent families.

Poverty rates for single mom-led households decreased from 43.2 per cent in 2008 to 35.2 per cent in 2009.

Opportunity for all

• Ontario's first comprehensive review of social assistance in 20 years is well underway, with the goal of making social assistance more streamlined and coordinated and helping more people get into jobs.
• Funding of $481 million through a new affordable housing agreement between the provincial and federal governments will build 1,000 new affordable housing units, renovate over 6,000 units and create over 5,000 jobs.
• Funding of $5 million every year is helping tenants avoid eviction through the Provincial Rent Bank.
• Important changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 will, if passed, cap rent increases and give renters more stable housing costs.
• Low-income families will be better able to meet their monthly costs of living through the new Ontario Trillium Benefit, which combines the quarterly Ontario Sales Tax Credit, Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit and Northern Ontario Energy Credit into one monthly payment.
• Ninety-three per cent of Ontarians received a permanent tax cut in 2010, averaging $355 per family, and 90,000 Ontarians were removed from the tax rolls altogether.
• A new college and university tuition grant reduces average tuition for lower- and middle-income students by as much as 30 per cent, helping to remove financial barriers to postsecondary education.
• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is helping people with disabilities – traditionally among the lowest-income groups in Ontario – with opportunities to participate more fully in employment and community life.
• Since 2003, more than 50,000 skilled newcomers have been getting the training they need to successfully enter their professions in Ontario through Bridge Training Programs.

The number of children living in households that could not afford two or more essential items has dropped to 8.7 per cent in 2009, down from 12.5 per cent in 2008.

Stronger foundations in our communities

• The Social Venture Exchange (SVX) is being launched to attract investment in organizations with a social mission and help accelerate progress in reducing poverty.
• The Partnership Project is building a partnership between government and not-for-profit organizations, so they can focus their resources to better deliver services to Ontarians.
• A Social Innovation Summit was held in 2011 to bring business, government, academic and community leaders together to explore better ways to unleash the potential of social enterprises, and to guide the development of social innovation policy.