OTTAWA -- The Ontario Ministry of Education says a deadline is approaching for families to apply for a one-time COVID-19 payment to cover some costs for their children.

The program launched in April, when schools were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers cheques and direct deposits of $200 per child 12 years of age and under and $250 for dependants with special needs from birth to age 21.

"This one-time funding will allow parents to access additional tools for our kids to use while at home and studying remotely," Premier Doug Ford said in April.

The government used its existing "Support for Families" portal, initially set up during the teachers' union strikes in late 2019 and early 2020, to speed up processing in the spring. There were some issues with payments reported, but the province claimed they were the result of a glitch that had been resolved.

In a tweet Monday, the Ministry of Education said there are just two weeks left to apply, if you haven't already.

"Until August 31, 2020, parents can apply for direct one-time funding to offset the cost of buying materials to support their children’s learning, while they practice self-isolation and physical distancing," the page says. "The deadline for the Support for Families program is August 31, 2020 at midnight EST. We will process all applications that we receive before the deadline."

With files from CTV's Colin D'Mello.