Is AccessOAP Working?

By the measures of wait times and service access, AccessOAP is not working. As of May 2026, 91,974 children are registered with the OAP, but only 20,711 (22.5%) have an active funding agreement. 71,263 (77.5%) are waiting. The Ontario Autism Coalition reports 5+ years for families registered in August 2021 (community-reported, Ontario Autism Coalition, July 2026). AccessOAP, the intake-and-administration consortium operated by Accerta Services Inc., costs $57.9M per year (MCCSS spending breakdown obtained through FOI by The Trillium, July 2024; program total cross-checked against the FAO MCCSS Spending Plan Review, June 2024). The OAP spending total for 2023-24 was $691.2M. It runs a registration portal and a needs-assessment process, but it does not set program funding levels or provider supply.

AccessOAP cost $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). The consortium is led by Accerta Services Inc., affiliated with the Ontario Dental Association, with Autism Ontario, McMaster University, and Serefin as partners. The Entry to School Program allocation was $54.7M.

AccessOAP administers registration, needs-assessment, and invoicing, it does not control program funding levels, therapy capacity, or provider supply. The $965M OAP budget for 2026-27 is set by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Treasury Board. Even if AccessOAP processed every file perfectly, the underlying funding-to-need gap (FAO estimated $1.35B was needed at 2018-19 service levels for a smaller population) would persist.

Because AccessOAP is operated by a private consortium, 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 line-item spending on the $57.9M/year administrative cost. As of May 2026, no published Auditor General performance audit has examined OAP or AccessOAP operations.

A working delivery system would close the gap between registration and service access. AccessOAP today reports 22.5% with an active funding agreement, which is not proof of service receipt. The structural issues include funding, provider supply, and how invitations are ordered, not portal performance.