Attracting New PSW Graduates to Long-Term Care and Home and Community Care

Available Funding

• Recruitment incentive of $10,000 for eligible PSWs who commit to 12 months of employment at a full-time work schedule offered by a participating employer.
• An additional incentive of up to $10,000 for PSWs who make an employment commitment to an employer in a rural, remote or northern Ontario community.
• An additional relocation incentive of up to $10,000 to support relocation costs to a rural, remote or northern Ontario community that is at least 100 kilometres away from their principal residence.

Rural, Remote and Northern Community and Relocation Incentive Eligibility

Rural, remote and northern community and relocation incentives are available for participating employers within either of the following locations:

• northern Ontario (defined by the North East and North West Ontario Health regions)
• rural and remote Ontario (defined as communities with a Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score of 40 or higher)

Information for Employers

Participating employers must be publicly funded long-term care homes or home and community care organizations in Ontario, and must offer full-time hours to an eligible PSW to deliver publicly funded personal support services for a minimum of 12 months.

Direct questions about your organization’s eligibility for rural, remote and northern community and relocation incentives to info-hfo@ontariohealth.ca.

Application Instructions

All employers must submit an Employer Application Form to participate, even if they were approved in a previous cohort of the program (March 31, 2026 or earlier).

Payment Schedule

Contingent on confirmation of continued employment of any participating PSW, recruitment incentive funding of up to $10,000 will be disbursed to employers to be paid to each PSW in two instalments:

• $5,000 upon completion of 6 months of employment
• $5,000 upon completion of 12 months of employment

Eligible rural, remote and northern community incentives will be paid in two instalments:

• $5,000 upon completion of 6 months of employment
• $5,000 upon completion of 12 months of employment

Eligible rural, remote and northern relocation incentives will also be paid in two instalments:

• $5,000 upon the start of employment
• $5,000 upon completion of 6 months of employment

Eligibility for PSW Graduates

To be eligible for a recruitment incentive of $10,000, a PSW must meet each of the following criteria:

• Successfully complete an Ontario PSW training program at a publicly assisted college, career college, district school board or Indigenous Institute that meets the 2022 program standard established by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, on or after April 1, 2023.
• Begin employment with a participating employer between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.
• Commit to 12 months of employment at a full-time work schedule offered by a participating employer.

To be eligible for a rural, remote and northern community incentive of $10,000, a PSW must meet the eligibility criteria for the recruitment incentive and commit to 12 months of employment with a participating employer in northern Ontario or in a community with a Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score of 40 or above.

To be eligible for $10,000 in rural, remote and northern relocation support, a PSW must:

• Meet the eligibility criteria for the Recruitment Incentive and commit to 12 months of employment with a participating employer in Northern Ontario or in a community with a Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score of 40 or above.
• Relocate a minimum distance of 100 km from your primary residence for the purposes of employment with a participating employer.

Eligible PSWs can combine a recruitment incentive ($10,000) with a rural, remote and northern community incentive ($10,000) and rural, remote, and northern relocation support ($10,000) if applicable.

An individual eligible PSW may receive the PSW incentives only once.

Additional Information for PSWs

Funding for PSWs is provided through long-term care homes and home and community care organizations participating in the program. Ontario Health can connect you to participating employers and keep you up to date on incentive funding, job search support and program updates. To receive job search support or program updates, please complete the PSW Expression of Interest Form.

Contact

Questions? Please send a detailed email to info-hfo@ontariohealth.ca.