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Answers
$57.9 million in 2023-24 to a private consortium for autism program administration. Here's what you need to know.
In brief
$57.9M (2023-24) goes to administration — an MCCSS spending breakdown obtained under Freedom of Information by The Trillium, July 4, 2024 — while 71,263 children wait for funded therapy.
Registered
91,974
91,974Children registered
Total registered in the Ontario Autism Program
Funded
20,711
20,711Have active funding
Only 22.5% of registered children
Without active agreement
71,263
71,263Without an active funding agreement
An administrative status; it does not confirm current service delivery.
Verified · MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 |
| Have active funding | 20,711 |
| Without an active funding agreement | 71,263 |
AccessOAP is the front door to the Ontario Autism Program. When a family registers their child for publicly funded autism services, they go through AccessOAP. The system handles:
Enrolling children in the OAP after autism diagnosis
Determining needs-based funding levels through clinical evaluation
Matching families with OAP-approved service providers in their region
Administering Core Funding Agreements and setting funding amounts
Processing claims from service providers and managing disbursements
Contact AccessOAP: 1-833-425-2445 (toll-free)
AccessOAP is not run by the Ontario government. It is operated by a private consortium:
Subsidiary of the Ontario Dental Association (ODA). Originally created to administer dental benefit claims. (source: federal Lobbyist Registry)
The province's primary autism advocacy and family support organization.
Provides clinical assessment frameworks and evidence-based evaluation tools.
Technology platform and contact centre operations for family-facing services.
Why this matters: The decision to delegate autism program intake to a dental administration company has been questioned by parents and advocates. The consortium structure means accountability is distributed across multiple private entities.
In 2023-24, AccessOAP operations cost $57.9 million, approximately 8.4% of total OAP spending of $691.2M. Here is how that compares:
AccessOAP costs more than the entire Entry to School Program and more than System Capacity Building and Foundational Family Services combined. This is approximately $660 per registered child per year spent on administration rather than therapy.
Because AccessOAP is operated by private entities, it is not directly subject to Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). This creates significant accountability gaps:
No FOI access: The public cannot file Freedom of Information requests about how AccessOAP spends its $57.9M (2023-24) budget.
No public reporting: There is no requirement for AccessOAP to publish operational efficiency metrics, staffing levels, or cost breakdowns.
FIPPA erosion risk: The IPC Commissioner warned that the FIPPA amendments in Bill 97 (passed April 23, 2026) further reduce oversight of delegated public services.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has published findings warning about accountability gaps when public services are delivered by private entities exempt from FOI law.
Source for AccessOAP allocation figure of $57.9M
Consortium structure and contract details
FIPPA and delegated delivery accountability reports
Federal Lobbying Act registration for AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc. (Accerta) listing the Ontario Dental Association as its Parent Company
Frequently Asked Questions
Verified answers on AccessOAP, who runs it, what it costs, and why transparency matters.
AccessOAP is the intake and care coordination gateway for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP). It handles registration, needs assessment, clinician matching, and funding agreement administration. It is operated by a private consortium, not by the Ontario government directly.
AccessOAP is operated by a consortium led by Accerta Services Inc., which is affiliated with the Ontario Dental Association (ODA). The consortium includes Autism Ontario, McMaster University, and Serefin. The contract is worth $57.9 million per year as of 2023-24 (MCCSS spending breakdown obtained via FOI by The Trillium, July 2024).
AccessOAP cost $57.9 million in 2023-24, approximately 8.4% of total OAP spending of $691.2M. This is more than several direct-service categories combined, and more than the $54.7M spent on the Entry to School Program. This money goes to administrative operations, not therapy for children.
Because AccessOAP is operated by a private entity, it is not directly subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has warned that this "delegated delivery" model creates accountability gaps, the public cannot see how the $57.9M (2023-24) is spent.
Next Steps
71,263 children waiting while $57.9M (2023-24) goes to administration with zero public accountability.
How many children are on the Ontario autism waitlist in 2026?
VerifiedAs of May 13, 2026, 91,974 children are registered with the Ontario Autism Program. However, only 20,711 (22.5%) have an active Core Funding Agreement. This represents ~300% growth in registrations since 2019, with 71,263 children still waiting for essential funding.
Source: MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 · Open source record
Is the Ontario Autism Program underfunded?
VerifiedThe 2026-27 Ontario Budget allocated $965 million for autism services, up from $779 million in 2025-26, while 91,974 children are registered. The budget record supports the current allocation; the historical FAO funding model is cited separately.
Source: 2026-27 Ontario Budget · Open source record
Sources on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
91,974
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), less than one in four
$965M
Ontario allocated $965M to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism. Timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement
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