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AccessOAP is the Ontario Autism Program's intake organization. See what it is, who operates it, how to sign in, and the $57.9M reported for its operations in 2023-24.
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Ontario Autism Program (ontario.ca) · AccessOAP FAQs · Page reviewed 2026-10-13
About This Article
Last updated: October 13, 2026
This is the path AccessOAP describes for families. Registering is the first step. It is not a funding agreement: as of May 13, 2026, 71,263 of the 91,974 registered children (77.5%) were still waiting for a Core Clinical Services funding agreement.
Online at accessoap.ca, by phone, or by mail. AccessOAP says online or phone takes a few minutes if you have the information ready. By mail it takes up to 5 days from the day it receives your complete package.
Your child needs a written autism diagnosis from a qualified professional, must be under 18 and must live in Ontario. If you registered with the ministry before, create an account and consent to the record transfer instead of registering again. Registration steps and documents.
AccessOAP says it invites families in the order they registered. Registration confirmation is not funding. How the invitation system works.
The invitation explains how to book, online or by calling AccessOAP. On the call you meet a care coordinator who discusses next steps. What to expect on the welcome call.
A care coordinator asks about your child’s goals, strengths and support needs across ten domains. AccessOAP says this is separate from a clinical assessment and informs the funding allocation. AccessOAP call guide.
After the interview you get a summary notification with the funding your child can receive for core clinical services for the year. Your family then signs a funding agreement.
Care coordinators help you understand service options inside and outside the OAP.
Source: AccessOAP FAQs and Ontario Autism Program page, read 2026-10-13. An active funding agreement does not by itself mean a child is receiving services.
The AccessOAP phone number is 1-833-425-2445 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm Eastern Time). Other questions go to other teams.
| Contact | Ask about | Reach them |
|---|---|---|
| AccessOAP | Registering for the OAP, creating an account, general OAP questions | 1-833-425-2445, info@AccessOAP.ca |
| Central Resource Team (ministry) | Registered with the OAP but not yet connected to AccessOAP, a form you sent the ministry, childhood budgets, interim one-time funding | 1-888-444-4530, oap@ontario.ca |
| Autism Ontario | More autism services and answers about autism spectrum disorder | 1-800-472-7789 |
Source: Ontario Autism Program page (updated April 16, 2026) and AccessOAP, read 2026-10-13. The full contact table with mail and relay numbers is on our registration guide.
AccessOAP is the front door to the Ontario Autism Program. Ontario says its care coordinators answer questions, explain service options and help families reach needs-based services in their community. Its own pages describe these jobs:
Registers children and youth who are eligible for the OAP.
Families create an account. Families registered through the ministry also consent to move their OAP record to AccessOAP.
Care coordinators answer questions and explain service options inside and outside the OAP.
A care coordinator guides the interview used to identify support needs. It is separate from a clinical assessment.
After the interview, families receive a summary of the core clinical funding for the year and sign a funding agreement.
What it does not set: AccessOAP says the Government of Ontario sets the policies and parameters for eligible services. Families use their funding to buy services from qualified professionals they choose, and those professionals complete the clinical assessment and treatment plan.
AccessOAP says Accerta Services Inc. operates it. Together with Autism Ontario, Serefin and McMaster University, it delivers services as the independent intake organization funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The AccessOAP Contact Us page describes Accerta Services Inc. as responsible for the delivery of AccessOAP.
Named by AccessOAP as the operator. The federal lobbyist registry entry for AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc. (Accerta) lists the Ontario Dental Association as its parent company. (source: federal Lobbyist Registry)
Named by AccessOAP as part of its team. Ontario also lists Autism Ontario as a separate contact for more autism services and answers about autism spectrum disorder.
Named by AccessOAP, through McMaster's Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) and the Offord Centre for Child Studies.
Named by AccessOAP as part of its team. The AccessOAP pages we read do not describe its role.
Why this matters: Ontario's website names AccessOAP as the program's Independent Intake Organization, and AccessOAP says the ministry funds it. For the operator record, see Accerta's federal lobbying record and is AccessOAP working?
The official pages we read on 2026-10-13 do not state a reason, and we do not guess at motives. They do give these dated steps:
Sources: Developing and implementing a needs-based autism program, AccessOAP FAQs and the Ontario Autism Program page, read 2026-10-13. If you have an official source that states a reason, send it through our contact page.
$57.9M (2023-24) was reported for AccessOAP operations, from an MCCSS spending breakdown obtained under Freedom of Information by The Trillium, July 4, 2024, while 71,263 children are still waiting for a Core Clinical Services funding agreement.
Ontario's figures, as of May 2026 (MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026).
Registered
91,974Children registered
Total registered in the Ontario Autism Program
Funded
20,711Have active funding
22.5% of registered children
Without active agreement
71,263Without an active funding agreement
An administrative status; it does not confirm current service delivery.
Figures as of May 13, 2026 · MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 · checked November 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 |
| Have active funding | 20,711 |
| Without an active funding agreement | 71,263 |
Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, MCCSS Spending Plan Review (June 2024); MCCSS FOI documents published by The Trillium (Village Media), July 4, 2024 · Verified 2024-07-04.
Source: MCCSS spending breakdown obtained through FOI by The Trillium, July 2024; program total cross-checked against the FAO MCCSS Spending Plan Review, June 2024 · Verified 2024-07-04.
In 2023-24, AccessOAP operations cost $57.9M, approximately 8.4% of total OAP spending. Here is how that compares:
AccessOAP operations are reported separately from direct-service programs. The amount is an administrative cost, not therapy for children.
The $57.9M figure comes from an MCCSS spending breakdown released under Freedom of Information and published by The Trillium. The FAO's review confirms the program total but does not break out the AccessOAP amount.
No line-by-line breakdown found: We have not found a public breakdown of AccessOAP's staffing or cost lines. This page makes no claim about whether Ontario's FOI law applies directly to AccessOAP. That is a legal question.
A complaints route exists: AccessOAP says its Independent Review Office deals with complaints about the services it provides. How to file a complaint about AccessOAP.
Not what you were looking for?
This site has no AccessOAP job listings. Questions about jobs go to the operator.
Source for the AccessOAP operating amount
Program-total cross-check; the review does not break out the AccessOAP amount
Legislative history, third reading, and Royal Assent status
Federal Lobbying Act registration for AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc. (Accerta) listing the Ontario Dental Association as its Parent Company
AccessOAP role, eligibility, and the AccessOAP, Central Resource Team and Autism Ontario contacts; read 2026-10-13
Operator, funder, step-by-step sequence, phone and hours; read 2026-10-13
Verified answers on AccessOAP, who runs it, what it costs, and why transparency matters.
AccessOAP is the Ontario Autism Program’s Independent Intake Organization, as ontario.ca describes it. Families create an account and register a child there, and its care coordinators answer questions and help families find services. Sign in or register at accessoap.ca.
AccessOAP says Accerta Services Inc. operates it, together with Autism Ontario, Serefin and McMaster University. It describes itself as the independent intake organization funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The province’s spending breakdown reports operations at $57.9M in 2023-24 (MCCSS spending breakdown obtained through FOI by The Trillium, July 2024; program total cross-checked against the FAO MCCSS Spending Plan Review, June 2024).
A family creates an account and registers a child with a written diagnosis. AccessOAP invites families into Core Clinical Services in the order they registered. Then come a welcome call, a Determination of Needs interview, a funding agreement and ongoing care coordination. Registration is not funding.
The pages we read on ontario.ca and accessoap.ca do not state a reason. Ontario describes AccessOAP as the program’s Independent Intake Organization. Dated steps from official pages are listed on this page, and we do not guess at motives.
Ontario’s website describes AccessOAP as the program’s Independent Intake Organization. AccessOAP says it is funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and operated by Accerta Services Inc. It also says the Government of Ontario sets the policies for eligible services.
AccessOAP says families use their funding to buy eligible services from qualified professionals they choose. Those professionals do the clinical assessment and treatment plan. Ontario describes AccessOAP care coordinators as people who answer questions and help families find services.
AccessOAP operations cost $57.9M in 2023-24, about 8.4% of total OAP spending. The FAO review confirms the program total; it does not break out the AccessOAP amount. This money goes to administrative operations, not therapy for children.
MCCSS records about AccessOAP spending were obtained through FOI and published by The Trillium. This page does not claim to know whether Ontario’s FOI law applies directly to AccessOAP.
71,263 children are waiting for a funding agreement. $57.9M (2023-24) was reported for AccessOAP operations. Read the records and ask questions.
Guides and tools related to this page.
How many children are on the Ontario autism waitlist in 2026?
As 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. 71,263 registered children have no active funding agreement. The FAO counted 70,176 registered at the end of 2023-24.
Source: MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 · Open source record
Is the Ontario Autism Program underfunded?
The 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
Check the author’s context, review method, and how to report an error.
Founder & Autism Advocate
Lived experience: Parent of autistic child in the OAP system