The scale of the crisis
$57.9M goes to administration while over 69,166 children wait for funded therapy.
Registered
89,799Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Funded
20,633Have active funding
Only 23% of registered children
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Waiting
69,166Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Verified , MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 89,799 |
| Have active funding | 20,633 |
| Still waiting | 69,166 |
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
How many children are on the Ontario autism waitlist in 2026?
As of March 4, 2026, 89,799 children are registered with the Ontario Autism Program. However, only 20,633 (23%) have an active Core Funding Agreement. This represents approximately 290% growth in registrations since 2019, with 69,166 children still waiting for essential funding.
Source: OAC FOI Mar 2026, FAO Report 2024 · Verify Link
Is the Ontario Autism Program underfunded?
Yes. The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) determined that $1.35 billion annually is needed to serve all registered children at 2018-19 service levels. The 2026-27 Ontario Budget allocated $965 million, leaving an estimated $385M+ annual shortfall. This gap is the primary driver of the perpetual 89,799+ child waitlist.
Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario [FAO] · Verify Link
Written by Spencer Carroll
Founder & Autism Advocate
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements (23%) — 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