How OAP funding moves from registration to an agreement.

OAP Core Funding amounts range from $6,600 to $65,000 per year in Ontario's published matrix. The child's age and assessed support needs, set during the Determination of Needs process, determine the applicable allocation. As of May 2026, 20,711 of 91,974 registered children hold an active Core Funding Agreement.

The 2026-27 OAP allocation is $965M. The Financial Accountability Office's 2020 estimate was $1.35B a year to serve about 40,700 children at the service levels used for that estimate; it is not a current cost estimate for today's 91,974 registered children. Comparing that historical benchmark with the current allocation leaves a $385M gap. Separately, 71,263 registered children (77.5%) have no active Core Funding Agreement, according to MCCSS FOI via OAC · May 2026.

Families can use OAP Core Funding for evidence-based clinical services such as Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and other autism-specific clinical supports. Families buy these services from registered OAP providers. The funding does not cover general childcare, respite, or recreational programs; separate SSAH funding may cover some of those instead.

In 2023-24, 44.5% of $691.2M in OAP spending went to Core Clinical Services (MCCSS data via FOI, reported by The Trillium). The rest funded other OAP services and AccessOAP ($57.9M).

Families who disagree with an OAP eligibility or funding decision can request an internal review through AccessOAP. If the outcome still falls short, they can escalate to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) or contact the Ontario Ombudsman. Families in active service disputes can also seek advocacy support from the Ontario Autism Coalition or a community legal clinic.