Dependent Child
A person who depends on an adult for his or her subsistence and is in one of the following situations:
- is under 18, and:
- is not fully emancipated by a court judgment
- is neither married nor in a civil union
- is not the parent of a dependent child
- is 18 or over, and:
- attends an educational institution full-time or part-time
- is neither married nor in a civil union, and does not have a spouse
- is not the parent of a dependent child
Anyone who applies for or receives social assistance benefits and is deemed to be dependent on his or parents.
Restrictions
You are considered to be independent of your parents if you are in one of these situations.
- You have provided for your needs and not lived in the home of your mother or father for at least 2 years, aside from any period when you attended an educational institution full-time.
- You have not been a full-time student for at least 7 years since no longer being required by law to attend schoolu have not been a full-time student for at least 7 years since no longer being required by law to attend school.
- For at least 2 years, regardless of whether you lived with your mother or father, you have held a paid full-time job or received one of the following for such a job:
- employment insurance benefits
- parental insurance benefits
- benefits from the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail
- benefits from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
- salary insurance benefits
- You are or have been married or in a civil union.
- You live together in a de facto union with another person of either sex with whom you have cohabited for at least 1 year.
- You have, or have had, a dependent child (see Definitions).
- You have a bachelor’s degree.
- You are at least 20 weeks pregnant.
- Your mother and father cannot be located, or are unknown or deceased.
- Your parents receive benefits under the Social Assistance Program or Social Solidarity Program.
- Your parents refuse to provide for your needs and you no longer live with them.
- Your parents are or have been physically or psychologically violent toward you.
BenefitsSocial assistance benefits are reduced by the amount of the parental contribution.
How the Parental Contribution is CalculatedThe parental contribution is based on the gross income of both parents. Depending on the parents’ situation, the following amounts are deducted from their income:
| Situation |
Deduction |
| Parents living together |
$32,233 for both parents |
| Parents not living together |
$26,310 for each parent |
| One parent cannot be located or is deceased |
$26,310 for the other parent |
The result is divided by 12 to determine the monthly contribution, and divided again by the number of children to which the parental contribution applies.
ExampleIncome of parents living together: $36,000 – deduction of $32,233 = $3,767
$3,767 / 12 months = $313.92
$313.92 / 2 children receiving social assistance who are deemed dependent = $156.96; that is the amount that will be deducted from each child's social assistance benefit.
Parental contributions generally apply for 3 years after the date of the first application for social assistance benefits. The contribution is reassessed each year.
The concept of parental contribution was introduced on August 1, 1989, when the Act respecting income security came into force.
