At a glance
The public record raises a simple value-for-money question.
On July 8, 2026, I filed a formal request asking Ontario's Auditor General to consider a value-for-money audit of AccessOAP.
The Auditor General's last value-for-money audit of children's autism services was tabled in 2013 — before the current OAP design and before AccessOAP existed.
The Determination of Needs tool used to set each child's funding has been withheld from public disclosure.
The Ministry's published 2026–27 service objectives list eight figures AccessOAP must report. None carries a numeric public target.
Exhibit A · Administrative cost
The administrator is funded every cycle.
Paid to AccessOAP operations in fiscal 2023-24 — an administrative layer that has never been examined for value for money in its current form.
Source: Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, MCCSS Spending Plan Review (June 2024), and MCCSS spending documents reported by The Trillium (July 2024).
OAP spending breakdown, with each amount’s share and record source.
| Spending area | Amount | Share of total | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Ontario Autism Program spending · $691.2M | $691.2M | 100.0% | Financial Accountability Office of Ontario · Fiscal 2023-24 |
| Core clinical services · 44.5%The therapies families wait for | $307.3M | 44.5% | MCCSS spending documents reported by The Trillium, July 2024 |
| AccessOAP operations · 8.4% | $57.9M | 8.4% | MCCSS spending documents reported by The Trillium, July 2024Administrative operations |
AccessOAP is the single point of access to the Ontario Autism Program. It handles intake and registration, service navigation, the determination of needs process that sets each child’s funding, and funding reconciliation.
The Financial Accountability Office reported total OAP spending of an estimated $691.2M in 2023-24. MCCSS spending records obtained under Ontario’s freedom-of-information law and reported by The Trillium disaggregated that amount.
Exhibit B · Program reach
The children it exists to serve are not.
As of May 13, 2026, fewer than one in four registered children held an active funding agreement.
Registration and funding status from the published Ontario Autism Program snapshot.
| Status | Children | Share or date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children registered | 91,974 | As of May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 |
| Active funding agreements | 20,711 | 22.5% of those registered | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 |
| Registered without active funding | 71,263 | Waiting as of May 13, 2026 | MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026 |
Between March 4 and May 13, 2026, registrations rose by +2,175 while active funding agreements changed by +78.
The Ministry later said it had met its target of 20,000 children “enrolled” in core clinical services. Public reporting does not explain the practical distinction between a child who is enrolled and a child whose funded therapy has actually begun.
The request
Four questions, put directly to the Auditor General.
Is the roughly $57.9 million in annual administrative expenditure achieving value for money when measured against program outcomes, rather than activity volumes?
Does the Ministry's agreement with the operator contain enforceable performance measures or targets, and how are they monitored?
What is the administrative cost per child served under each definition the Ministry uses — registered, enrolled, and receiving payments — and why do those definitions differ?
Are decisions to continue or extend the agreement supported by documented value-for-money analysis?
Exhibit C · Performance framework
Eight figures to report. Zero public numeric targets.
The Ministry’s published 2026–27 service objectives require activity reporting, but do not attach a public volume commitment, target, or funding amount.
Reporting activity is not the same as defining success.
Published activity reporting requirements and source record.
| Reported figure | Public numeric target | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals invited to complete a Determination of Needs assessment | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
| Determination of Needs assessments completed | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
| Independent reviews initiated | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
| Independent reviews resolved | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
| Three categories of staffing full-time equivalents | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
| Ministry-funded expenditures | None published | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, 2026–27 service objectives (updated May 5, 2026) |
Much of the machinery is also closed to public inspection. The Determination of Needs tool used to set funding levels was withheld under the economic-interests exemption in Ontario’s freedom-of-information law. The Information and Privacy Commissioner upheld that withholding in Order PO-4494.
AccessOAP itself is a private operator and is not directly subject to Ontario’s freedom-of-information statute.
Audit history
The structure now in place has never been examined.
Ontario’s last value-for-money audit of children’s autism services predates the redesign, the current needs-based model, and AccessOAP itself.
Audit and program milestones, with the public record for each milestone.
| Year | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Auditor General tables value-for-money audit of autism services. | Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Ontario Autism Program public record |
| 2015 | Follow-up checks implementation of earlier recommendations. | Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Ontario Autism Program public record |
| 2019–20 | Needs-based OAP redesign announced and launched. | Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Ontario Autism Program public record |
| 2021 | Independent Intake Organization announced; AccessOAP established. | Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Ontario Autism Program public record |
| 2026 | Formal request filed for a new value-for-money audit. | Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Ontario Autism Program public record |
A 2015 follow-up examined the status of the 2013 recommendations, but it was not a new value-for-money audit of the system now operating.
Disclosure
Who is asking, and in what capacity.
I am the parent of a child registered with the Ontario Autism Program. I operate End The Wait Ontario, a public archive of program data. I am also an applicant in a proceeding before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario concerning the program. I make this request and publish this record in my personal capacity as an Ontario resident.
Source record
Every central figure is tied to a public record.
MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information.
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario — Order PO-4494 (March 4, 2024).
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services — Ontario Autism Program and published 2026–27 AccessOAP service objectives.
Office of the Auditor General of Ontario — 2013 autism services value-for-money audit and 2015 follow-up.
The Trillium reporting based on MCCSS documents obtained under FIPPA, including the $691.2M / $307.3M / $57.9M spending breakdown.
Read the request as filedFull letter to the Auditor General · July 8, 2026
- To
- Auditor General Shelley Spence
- From
- Spencer Carroll · End The Wait Ontario
- Date
- July 8, 2026
- Re
- Value-for-money audit — AccessOAP, the Independent Intake Organization of the Ontario Autism Program
Dear Auditor General Spence,
I am writing to ask that your Office consider a value-for-money audit of how the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services administers and oversees its agreement with the Ontario Autism Program’s Independent Intake Organization, operated as AccessOAP by a consortium led by Accerta Services Inc.
I make no allegation of wrongdoing against any organization. The public record raises value-for-money questions that, in my respectful view, only your Office is positioned to answer.
What the public record shows
- The Financial Accountability Office’s June 2024 MCCSS Spending Plan Review reports estimated Ontario Autism Program spending of roughly $691.2M in 2023-24 and describes AccessOAP’s functions.
- MCCSS spending documents obtained under FIPPA and reported by The Trillium disaggregate that total, showing $307.3M directed to Core Clinical Services and $57.9M to AccessOAP operations.
- The FAO reported that, as of February 29, 2024, 19,966 children had been enrolled in core clinical services while 14,290 had received payments.
- FIPPA release CSS2026-0749 shows that, as of May 13, 2026, 91,974 children were registered and 20,711 held an active funding agreement, leaving 71,263 registered without active funding.
- The Ministry’s published 2026–27 service objectives list eight reporting figures but attach no public numeric service target, volume commitment, or funding amount.
- The Determination of Needs tool used to assess children has been withheld from disclosure under section 18(1)(d) of FIPPA, a decision upheld in Order PO-4494.
Questions a value-for-money audit could answer
- Whether the approximately $57.9 million in annual administrative expenditure is achieving value for money, measured against program outcomes rather than activity volumes.
- Whether the Ministry’s agreement with the operator contains performance measures or targets, and how the Ministry monitors and enforces them.
- What the administrative cost per child served amounts to under each definition the Ministry uses — registered, enrolled, and receiving payments — and why those definitions differ.
- Whether decisions to continue or extend the agreement are supported by documented value-for-money analysis.
Disclosure: I am the parent of a child registered with the Ontario Autism Program, I operate End The Wait Ontario, a public archive of program data, and I am an applicant in a proceeding before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario concerning the program. I make this request in my personal capacity as an Ontario resident.
The Office’s most recent value-for-money audit of children’s autism services was tabled in 2013 — before the 2019–2020 needs-based redesign and before AccessOAP was established in 2021.
I would welcome the opportunity to provide source documents for any of the figures above.
Respectfully,
Spencer Carroll
End The Wait Ontario